Is Lee Cronin’s new movie, The Mummy (2026), an actual mummy movie or just a secret Evil Dead sequel wrapped up in bandages? When you hear the title, you probably immediately picture Brendan Fraser shouting in a sandstorm or Boris Karloff lumbering through a classic, but you can throw all those expectations right out the window.
This movie is an original premise, and I cannot stress enough how refreshing it is to sit down in a theater and realize you don’t know what the origins or lore of this particular mummy are going to be. We are not in overly tread territory here. We are in a completely uncharted, deeply weird, and very gory waters. The fact that the mummy is a kidnapped child immediately throws a spanner in the works. It takes everything you expect from a giant, imposing monster movie and shrinks it down into this bizarre, terrifying little package.
“[…] could arguably be an Evil Dead film save for a few bandages.”
Suddenly it’s less about stopping a world-ending plague and more about the absolute horrors of bringing an ancient, maybe undead kid into your home and trying to love and care for it. Fans of Lee Cronin’s previous film, Evil Dead Rise, are going to have a lot of fun with the film, as it plays very closely to the Evil Dead vibe. In fact, it is so incredibly similar to its chaotic, vicious energy that it could arguably be an Evil Dead film save for a few bandages.
From a critical standpoint, this both helps and hurts the film. On the plus side, the practical effects are completely out of control. It creates some gnarly body horror like teeth pulling, toenails coming off, vomit, and gore galore. It’s gooey, it’s nasty, and it will absolutely make you wince in your seat. But on the other hand, because it leans so hard into that askew, in-your-face possession style of violence, it can feel a little less Egyptian mummy than the title promises. You are getting way less dusty tomb curses and way more flying body fluids.
There is still a mystery to solve at the film’s core though, which keeps the plot moving even when the mummy madness kicks in. The narrative makes us jump between the family babysitting their newly found mummy daughter in Albuquerque and a detective trying to solve her case back in Egypt. It’s such a wild, weird juxtaposition. You have this gritty, sunbaked procedural happening on one side of the world and a total suburban nightmare on the other.
Honestly, the film is strongest when we’re deciphering ancient Egyptian texts while poor Katie (Natalie Grace) clacks her teeth at grandma upstairs. The absolute absurdity of trying to do a serious archaeological translation while your undead kid is just terrorizing the in-laws is the exact kind of dark, silly humor that works perfectly for the genre.
“If you are looking for a wild, gross-out ride, you’re gonna have a blast. “
So, what’s the final verdict? Overall, a super fun theater experience. Grab your popcorn and definitely try to see it with a loud crowd who will groan at all the gross bits. I found the second half to be weaker than the front half, mostly because that amazing slowburn mystery kind of gets swallowed up by some repetitive mummy action. The Mummy does mummy things, but with indoor wind and some sand gusts inside, but it doesn’t disappoint on the horror front, even if that horror is very reminiscent to Lee’s previous work. If you are looking for a wild, gross-out ride, you’re gonna have a blast.
Lee Cronin’s The Mummy (2026) is in theatres now! Let us know what you thought of this gory new take on the classic Universal monster over in the Nightmare on Film Street Discord! Social Media is A Cesspool. Come Hang Where The Cool Creeps Are.
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