Lee Cronin’s The Mummy 2026 Review: Why It Feels Powerful Even with Mixed Reviews

Since Lee Cronin helmed Evil Dead: Rise (2023), and it turned in a mind-blowing comeback for the franchise, no wonder The Mummy (2026) tries to follow the same footsteps, and we love it!​

Here is our version of Lee Cronin’s The Mummy 2026 review, which breaks down why the film stands out despite low critic scores and high audience scores.

Plot details of The Mummy (2026)

The daughter of a journalist disappears in a desert and reappears after eight years. No trace of her was found during these years. The family had no choice but to go on with their lives while continuing their search for her. 

One day, they get a call that their daughter has been found, but she is not herself. The reunion that was meant to be joyful spiraled into horror when they brought her home. 

Watch the trailer here:

Actors’ performances in The Mummy (2026)

It is quite easy to praise Jack Reynor, who played Charlie Cannon, the journalist, and Laia Costa as his wife, Larissa Cannon, but the worth-mentioning factor of the film is Natalie Grace, who portrayed the brain-melting version of Katie.

For Katie, Grace embodied an unsettling entity that was physically demanding. Her performance was that of a malevolent figure who does not want to spare anyone. Her character subtly struggles between keeping her humanity alive and becoming an absolutely insane creature.  

What do critics add to The Mummy 2026 review?

The critics’ consensus on Rotten Tomatoes does not approve of the film much, as it says,

“Director Lee Cronin’s take on The Mummy injects some juicy gore and personal stakes into the classic horror setup, but the scares in this gross-out extravaganza get entombed by a padded running time.” [Source]

The critics believe it was “unpleasant” and “grotesque” because it could not be for everyone. They felt more disgust than horror, as the ghoulish visuals did not offer any fun that it should have. It instantly covers itself with the cloak of Evil Dead, and nothing new could be sensed with the possessed-girl-in-the-house narrative, which has been rehashed several times before. 

Fans’ reaction

The general public has contrasting views of the film, and they were happy about it. They liked that it was darker and more vicious this time, as suited to the liking of modern audiences. Again, the film could not escape the trap of comparison by the viewers too, as they called it a fusion of Evil Dead, The Conjuring, and Hereditary, but they liked the idea that it was completely different from the typical mummy movies that they had watched before.  

Is it worth watching?

I found Lee Cronin’s The Mummy quite fascinating, as it is entirely different from Brendan Fraser’s The Mummy. Cronin has changed the meaning of a mummy entangled in the best horror one could imagine for an ancient figure like that. 

Though it is full of gore, similar to Evil Dead, and of course that explains it due to Cronin’s attachment to the franchise. It is one ‘mummy’ movie that made sense when injected with horror. Expectations were dicey when the trailer was launched, despite grabbing audiences right from the start, but it is surely a stunningly terrifying version of a mummy movie with intense thrills, suspense, and butchery from the diabolical entity that was never meant to be out of the box.  

The story could become even more interesting with one possibility: there have been reports that, due to their shared director, The Mummy (2026) is connected to the Evil Dead universe. The Mummy shows Professor Bixier, who is an archaeological expert. He is known as an Easter egg that ties The Mummy to Evil Dead Rise, where the main family’s surname is also Bixier. The director has also confirmed this detail, and Professor Bixier is known to be a distant relative of the characters in Evil Dead Rise. 

Though Evil Dead stories are about the Necronomicon that is chaotic, demonic, infectious, and spiritually corrupt, The Mummy is more about the mummification of the demon and, later, mummy awakening. It implies the evil is not cultural or historical; it could spread to generations, bloodlines, civilizations, and even centuries. The mummy becomes less of a monster and more of a vessel.

Though Bixier’s role is to decipher the mummified encryption, his role could change if he becomes a true generational connection in the next Evil Dead movie. He has inherited knowledge about forbidden artifacts and demonic entities and possibly a family curse tied to ancient evil. That could turn him into a continuation of a bloodline tied to horror itself.   

What we liked

• Lee Cronin’s darker horror approach
• Natalie Grace’s terrifying performance
• The intense atmosphere and suspense
• A unique reinvention of the mummy mythology
• Strong family-driven emotional stakes
• The connection to the Evil Dead universe
• The film refuses to play safe

What could be better

• The “possessed girl in the house” narrative felt familiar
• The film leans heavily into disgust over fear
• The shared universe concept remains subtle
• Not everyone will enjoy the bleak tone 

Here is a detailed breakdown of our rating for The Mummy (2026):

Story/plot	8/10
Characters and acting	8/10
Direction and pacing	8/10
Visuals and cinematography	8/10
Soundtrack/score	7/10
Themes and message	6/10
Emotional impact	5/10
Creativity/originality	7/10
Rewatchability	5/10

Our rating: 7/10

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Is The Mummy (2026) available for streaming?

Warner Bros. distributed Lee Cronin’s The Mummy (2026) (R-rated) in cinemas on April 17, 2026, but now it is available to stream on Amazon Prime, Apple TV, Fandango at Home, and more. 

Genre: Horror

IMDb rating: 6.3

Rotten Tomatoes: 47 percent on Tomatometer (critics’ score) and 74 percent on Popcornmeter (audience’s score)

Cast: Jack Reynor, Laia Costa, May Calamawy, Natalie Grace, Shylo Molina 

Director: Lee Cronin 

Writer: Lee Cronin

Producers: James Wan, Jason Blum, John Keville

Release date: April 17, 2026

Movie runtime: 2 hours 14 minutes