The Mummy (2026) – 4/5 Stars
Leave it to Lee Cronin to take a title burdened with decades of cinematic baggage and turn it into something deliriously unhinged, wildly excessive, and—somehow—way more fun than it has any right to be. The Mummy has quietly slipped into theaters under the guise of “just another early summer studio release,” but make no mistake—this thing is a Trojan horse packed with chaos.
For much of its first half, the film plays things relatively straight, teasing mythology and grounding its characters just enough to lull audiences into a false sense of security. But then something snaps—and when it does, Cronin unleashes the kind of off-the-rails insanity that feels spiritually aligned with his work on Evil Dead Rise. The second half goes full splatter-soaked fever dream, embracing grotesque visuals, manic pacing, and a sense of gleeful destruction that’s impossible not to admire.
And then there’s that funeral scene.
No spoilers—but trust me when I say it’s one of the most jaw-dropping sequences in recent studio horror. Sitting in a packed theater, you could feel the moment hit like a shockwave. I watched as entire rows of people physically recoiled, their faces dropping in synchronized disbelief. It’s the kind of sequence you go to horror movies for: audacious, disgusting, hilarious, and unforgettable.
Ironically, the film’s biggest flaw might be its title. Calling this The Mummy sets up a very specific set of expectations—ones rooted in legacy, lore, and a more traditional monster-movie structure. What Cronin delivers is something far more chaotic and irreverent, which will likely leave some critics scratching their heads or judging it against the wrong metric. This isn’t your classic bandaged boogeyman tale—it’s something meaner, weirder, and far less interested in playing by the rules.
But here’s the twist: that misleading title might actually be the film’s greatest asset. It’s what allowed a truly no-holds-barred horror film to slip into multiplexes nationwide with a full-blown IMAX release. And when audiences walk in expecting one thing and get this instead? The result is pure cinematic whiplash—in the best possible way.
The Mummy is messy, manic, and completely unhinged—and it absolutely rules.
