Body horror? Check. Paranormal jolts? Check. Buckets of gore? Double check. A fresh, unpredictable story? Not so fast. Yep, Lee Cronin’s The Mummy has a lot going for it, but originality in its narrative isn’t one of its strengths. The plot is disappointingly standard and often frustratingly thin (despite the film’s overlong length) - which is a real shame, because nearly everything else is executed with unnerving precision. When Cronin leans into pure horror, the film becomes a nightmare factory. And while this is technically a “Mummy” movie, banish any thoughts of those action-adventure romps from the Brendan Fraser era. This is horror with a capital H. And while the mummy mythology is present, sure, the film also borrows heavily from possession cinema. There are shades of The Exorcist everywhere, and more than a few moments feel pulled straight from 2018’s Hereditary. If you’re going to echo other films, at least Cronin is echoing the heavy hitters. At its core, the movie plays as a domestic horror story, with the Cannon family at the center of the unfolding terror. The cast really grounds the chaos too - you feel the parents’ desperation and genuinely root for them to claw their way out of their waking nightmare. Their performances add more emotional weight than the script often gives them. And, there’s no denying the craftsmanship at hand. This is a slick, meticulously designed film, packed with grisly detail and gnarly practical effects. Cronin knows how to make skin crawl - sometimes literally. Oh, did I mention the gross-out factor here? If you’re even slightly squeamish, consider this your warning. All told, Lee Cronin’s The Mummy is a familiar horror package wrapped in genuinely grisly, often impressive terror!