After the resounding success of his sophomore project 'Evil Dead Rise', Lee Cronin, backed by the hit team of Jason Blum and James Wan, attempts a sort of horror recast of 'The Mummy', set in Egypt, without the original actors, to lend it validity.
The story itself is way different from the original but the mythology concerning the mummy, the paranormal accompaniments and horror symbolism appear to be similar. But this is no adventure; it's just disgustingly puerile stuff.
The Canon family, including dad Charlie (Jack Reynor), a successful TV journalist, mum Larissa (Laia Costa), and their two children, Katie (Natalie Grace) and Sebastian (Shylo Molina), are enjoying life in Cairo when Katie gets abducted from the garden, leaving no trace. She isn't found for eight years thereafter. A new addition to the family comes later in Maud (Billie Roy), the younger sister. When Katie is returned to the family, the joyful reunion turns into a nightmare.
While Larissa believes love alone can cure her daughter, Charlie works with Egyptian detective Dalia Zaki (May Calamawy) to find answers. Don't expect any complex character study here.
The problem is that you don't even feel engaged with what is transpiring on screen.
The film is drama heavy, with the first half focussing on bringing home the trauma that the Canons are experiencing following the abduction. When Katie returns, the tone shifts to shock horror replete with staple jump scares, off-putting gruesome gore and kitsch horror tricks. There's no real attempt to develop a psychological underpinning to envelop the audience in a fear psychosis.
The paranormal elements are disgusting; nauseating bloodiness makes the experience shocking rather than fear- inducing.
At 133 minutes, it's way too long for this kind of over-the-top goop-laden horror. The overdone exposition and threadbare plot mechanics leave the audience reeling under thoughtless gross-outs.
The failure to tie together the diverse plot points also adds to the unsettling nature of this enterprise.
The performances are the only appreciable aspect of this film. Natalie Grace does brilliantly as the mummified child, while Jack Reynor and Laia Costa give impressive turns as the clueless parents trying to unravel the mysteries of horror pop culture masquerading as ancient myth.
Clearly, writer-director Lee Cronin appears to be strongly influenced by the 'Evil Dead' series, and several other noted horror franchises. This is an interpretation that, while divisive, is sure to get a new-age audience to lend it cult status. There are takers for this kind of grossed out tonal swings for sure. The third act is so excessive that you might either want to shut your eyes and ears to the repulsive carnage or even walk out from the theatre. Not for the faint-hearted surely!