Apparently Cronin forgot he wasn't making an Evil Dead movie. Everything about his Mummy movie is just an Evil Dead movie with a Mummy "skin" thrown over it. The Evil Dead movies, even Cronin's, don't work for me. I just don't find them scary. They rely on tired horror tropes (often involving puritanical repulsions to sexuality) and a lot of exercises in how gross the film can be. Lee Cronin's The Mummy feels like another retread of this and it was just boring.
Mummy films walk a thin line between falling into orientalist biases and western fascination with ancient Egypt in general. This film barely manages to stay above a colonialist world view. But in doing so it also misses out of taking advantage of the ancient Egypt-ness about it. Sometimes this film feels like a cheap and generic Exorcist rip off. There is an ancient demon and the characters must use a ritual to contain it. Everything in this film feels been-there-done-that.
But it's not just that. The film's script is lazy. So many things happen that just would not happen, especially around rules of international travel and health care. The story requires so mach suspension of disbelief that I just couldn't anymore.
So by the time the scene's overly drawn out final scene arrived, I was so bored and so done, I wished it was over. Perhaps people who really like his Evil Dead film will get excited for this. For anyone else, skip it.
Lee Cronin's The Mummy
Starring: Jack Reynor, Laia Costa, May Calamawy, Natalie Grace
Starring: Jack Reynor, Laia Costa, May Calamawy, Natalie Grace
Writer/Director: Lee Cronin

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