From the 1932 original to the swashbuckling, Brendan Fraser-led franchise of the 90s to the 2017 film with Tom Cruise nobody remembers, there have been many, many iterations of “The Mummy.” For the 2026 version, director Lee Cronin took the idea of a mummy movie in a new direction but lost its identity along the way.

“Lee Cronin’s The Mummy” — or just “The Mummy” for short — begins much like every other mummy movie: a decrepit corpse wrapped in bandages rises from its sarcophagus and bodies start dropping. 

After that, the film goes off the ancient track and switches focus to the Cannons, an American family living in Cairo. When the daughter, Katie, is abducted by an Egyptian magician for some sinister ritual, you’d think that the movie would follow the family trying to rescue their young daughter from the crusty clutches of some long-dead sorcerer or pharaoh. 

But this version of “The Mummy” takes a turn once again with an eight-year time jump and no Katie rescue, which admittedly surprised me, and I had no clue where the movie would go next. 

When Katie reappears in the sarcophagus from the film’s beginning, still alive but looking quite rough and acting not quite herself, the plot focuses on the central question that made its tagline: what happened to Katie? 

As the Cannons try to find answers, their home quickly turns into a den of jump scares, suspense and gore as the supernatural element of Katie’s situation becomes clear. While I won’t spoil exactly what happens to Katie, I was disappointed in how little the story ended up relating to mummies considering the title. 

Although Cronin’s version of “The Mummy” lacks the titular shambling, bandage-wrapped corpses of other iterations, its scares are top-notch. 

Straight-up horror is something basically none of the many mummy movies have done. The Boris Karloff original wasn’t scary, even by 1930s standards, and most other versions go the route of action flicks or even comedies — looking at you, “Bubba-Ho-Tep.”

But “Lee Cronin’s The Mummy” does horror disgustingly well. The visual effects are mostly practical, which allows them to be intensely realistic and gross. I’d say I’m quite the horror buff, and I can stomach a great deal, but even I had a hard time watching this film due to how shocking and gory it could be at times. So don’t watch it with snacks.

The other element of the movie that amplifies its horror is the acting of Natalie Grace, who plays Katie. For her first lead role in a feature film, Grace does a phenomenal and horrifying job. After Katie is removed from the sarcophagus, she acts animalistically, and Grace makes the character seem totally inhuman with her movements and mannerisms.

Billie Roy also puts on an excellent performance as the Cannons’ youngest child, Maud. She displays great range in “The Mummy,” shining with perfect line deliveries in the film’s sparing comedic and unsettling moments alike. 

But that’s where my praises for the acting and characters end. The Cannon parents, Charlie (Jack Reynor) and Larissa (Laia Costa) have little personality outside of loving their kids and not loving each other for most of the film, and they act cartoonishly stupid at times. 

A large chunk of those gripes can be placed on Cronin’s writing, who seems to focus more on shock value than storytelling. But some of the blame for stunted scenes and awkward line deliveries still lies on the actors. 

Cronin’s writing and directing also strip away most of the identity from his version of “The Mummy.” Most of the film is set in the Cannons’ New Mexico home; Katie can barely be considered a mummy; and the story’s connection to Egyptian mythology are superficial at best.

 I applaud Cronin for trying to do something original, but the film seems like a distant cousin of other mummy movies and a little sibling of “The Evil Dead.”

And that’s not surprising considering Cronin directed 2023’s “Evil Dead Rise” and is producing the upcoming “Evil Dead Burn.” His latest project has me worried he can’t break his writing free from that franchise’s mold, and the lack of clear identity hurts “The Mummy.”

Although the story leaves much to be desired, the film’s other aspects stand strong. The cinematography sets up suspenseful shots and scares, and the audio design and score enhance the terror. 

But those elements don’t push the scale enough to make “Lee Cronin’s The Mummy” worth the ticket price. Though that isn’t to say it’s a bad film; it has its merits, but you’d be better off waiting to watch this movie until it drops on HBO Max — just remember not to eat when you do.