First they opened the tomb, then they opened the sarcophagus and then they released the curse.
Released April 17, “The Mummy” is a mediocre attempt to dig up and retell the original story, trading action for terror, and tries to reimagine the franchise once again but through a different lens. Still, the film gives a thrilling performance and shows that production companies still have plans for some of their oldest film franchises to this day.
“The Mummy” franchise began in 1932 with Boris Karloff’s portrayal of the Egyptian priest Imhotep, which would be the start of a thrilling adventure about the cursed Egyptian tales. The 1999 reboot with Brendan Fraser (playing as Rick O’Connell) would reimagine it as a swashbuckling adventure, while the 2001 version attempted to kick off a cinematic horror universe but ended up failing, ending any momentum the universe had before it even started.
While Lee Cronin’s adaptation was mediocre at best only achieving a 45% on Rotten Tomatoes, it was interesting to see a version where rather than being focused on the Egyptian setting, the movie centered around the disappearance of the protagonist’s daughter Katie and the events following.
Although with Cronin’s 2026 reboot, the franchise takes a different turn attempting to return to the roots of horror, utilizing slow pace style and atmospheric terror this time around.
While the film does a great job of utilizing the slower pace at first, it starts to feel overused towards the end, ultimately ruining this new addition and resulting in an overly long run time. It is confusing that the film director decided to fully lean into the horror aspects rather than balancing horror and adventure like the original; however, it was nice to see the franchise through a new lens, for fans like myself.
Although there were some redeeming traits, in the end the cons outweigh the pros when it comes to the big picture. Some examples of where the film does a great job is with its use of psychological horror and gory make-up/prosthetics rather than only CGI. Not to mention the outstanding performance by Natalie Grace as the mummy, and Billie Roy’s performance as Katie, as it was no easy task to fully embody such an ancient artifact of the past and properly portray the character with all the prosthetics on.
Overall, the film felt like a mediocre experience feeling rather prolonged and unneeded but still made. Although it has more faults than triumphs, it stills shows that even after all this time “The Mummy” has what it takes to dig up its audience for another film.
