A bleak, high-concept horror mystery with a strong hook and a nasty emotional premise, but the reaction suggests it leans more on mood, cruelty, and spectacle than on clean storytelling. If you like possession-adjacent body horror, family trauma, and director-driven genre swings, it has enough bite to be worth a look.
Lee Cronin's The Mummy
Where to watch: Buy
Movie · Horror · Mystery
Wed · 2h 13m
Director: Lee Cronin
Starring: Jack Reynor, Laia Costa, May Calamawy
Overview
The young daughter of a journalist disappears into the desert without a trace—eight years later, the broken family is shocked when she is returned to them, as what should be a joyful reunion turns into a living nightmare.
Director
Lee Cronin
Cast
Jack Reynor, Laia Costa, May Calamawy
Curator Review
Verdict
A bleak, high-concept horror mystery with a strong hook and a nasty emotional premise, but the reaction suggests it leans more on mood, cruelty, and spectacle than on clean storytelling. If you like possession-adjacent body horror, family trauma, and director-driven genre swings, it has enough bite to be worth a look.
Best for
viewers who like elevated horror with family-drama underpinnings
fans of body horror and cursed-reunion stories
people who enjoy stylish, aggressive genre filmmaking
audiences open to messy but memorable horror concepts
Skip if
you want a straightforward monster movie
you need airtight logic and lore
you dislike bleak child-in-danger horror
you prefer classic Universal-style mummy adventure
Overview
This sounds less like a tomb-raiding adventure than a grief-soaked nightmare about identity, parenthood, and the horror of getting what you lost back in the wrong form. The premise has immediate emotional stakes, and the best versions of this kind of story can turn a simple supernatural setup into something deeply unsettling and sad.
Worth noting
The audience response points to a film that is memorable for its imagery and audacity, but also one that frustrates viewers with logic gaps and a deliberately abrasive tone. That usually means the craft is doing a lot of heavy lifting: strong atmosphere, grotesque effects, and a willingness to push the family-drama angle into uncomfortable territory.
Bottom line
If you’re in the mood for horror that behaves more like a trauma fable than a puzzle box, this should land better. If you want coherence, mythic grandeur, or the fun of a pulpy mummy revival, it may feel like a punishing detour instead.
Top Letterboxd reviews
Adam Nayman · 11977 likes
If only we knew who made it
Jim Caddick (2.5★) · 10555 likes
No he isn’t, he’s the director
jonathan fujii (3★) · 9368 likes
Yeah I don’t care how long my daughter was missing, if THAT is how you found her, just keep her bro
Jake (1.5★) · 8564 likes
doctors: yeah so, she's a mummy now.... parents: doctors: ....so lots of hugs, quality time, etc.
ram<3 (4★) · 6933 likes
this film is so realistic, swifties are exactly like that
Themes
grief, family trauma, body horror, possession, identity, desert isolation, supernatural mystery, parenthood
Topics
horror, mystery, body horror, psychological horror, family drama, desert setting, trauma, bleak tone, supernatural, elevated genre