Lee Cronin's The Mummy brings blood, tension, and ancient horror to the screen, but its confusing story leaves too many questions unanswered.
Over 100 years ago, King Tut's tomb was discovered, and in it lay bodies wrapped in layers of clothes and "mummified." However, long before this discovery, there was a mystique that surrounded mummies and the concept that they were evil creatures rising from the dead and tormenting the living. Of course, this legend led the way to several horror movies that utilize the mummy as a central character. Beginning in 1932, The Mummy, starring Boris Karloff (Frankenstein) as the monster, was a modest box office hit for Universal Pictures. Since that time, there have been a number of movies that starred the divisive character, to varying levels of success. The newest version, Lee Cronin's The Mummy, was released by Warner Bros. Pictures this past April and hits the home entertainment market this week.
The Cannon family has been living in Cairo, Egypt for the past five months, and the daughter, Katie (Natalie Grace; Raymar / Emily Mitchell; Vicious), has befriended the neighbor's daughter. One day, the neighbor's mother gives Katie candy and an apple through the fence before kidnapping her. Eight years later, the Cannons are living in Albuquerque when the father, Charlie (Jack Reynor; Power Ballad), receives a phone call from the Cairo authorities that Katie has been found alive. Having been starved and deprived of sunlight, she is in bad shape and becomes more and more aggressive, requiring constant sedation. They decide to bring Katie home to New Mexico, but once she arrives, strange things start happening, most of them surrounding Katie.
Written and directed by Lee Cronin (Evil Dead Rise), as evidenced in the title of the movie, this is one of the scariest entries of this story and certainly the bloodiest one to date. It may also be one of the most confusing versions brought to the big screen, for, as the credits rolled, I wasn't sure how I felt about the film. The gore was especially horrific, but the all-important question - why? - never really gets answered. Why is this mummy so angry and vengeful? Why was the demon captured and restrained in a live host? Why did the film need to be so bloody?
The 2160p video quality is a highlight of this home entertainment package, which makes sense as so much of the movie is visual. Details are almost too clean and sharp, which is part of what gives the movie its graphic, gory elements. The color palette overall is muted, but the reddish-brown hue of the blood is very well done.
The Dolby Atmos is an excellent complement to the 4K video quality. Scenes where wolves are howling outside are layered and muted, and moments where Katie is crawling through the walls, and why does that house have crawl spaces behind the walls anyway, are rich with ambient sounds that echo throughout the house.
The combo pack offers the movie, digital download, and a small but interesting handful of extras, including Audio Commentary featuring Lee Cronin, The Making of Lee Cronin's The Mummy, Bloody Grotesque Spectacle, Producing Possession and Ancient Demons, and seven Deleted Scenes.
As reimaginings go, Lee Cronin's The Mummy certainly makes use of all the latest technology available, but even that assistance can't produce a great film if the script and filmmaking aren't A+ material. The tension begins almost immediately and never lets up, but it is often too "over the top," especially since the film has an unnecessary over-two-hour run time.
For those who truly love horror films, especially those who subscribe to the mantra, "The bloodier, the better", Lee Cronin's The Mummy is right up their alley. For the rest of us, it is a grotesque study into the realm of ancient horror tropes, without much success.
Grade: C
