The Mosley Review: Lee Cronin’s The Mummy
I’m at a bit of loss here as to what I just saw. I don't think this film knew what it wanted to be in the first place. Don't get me wrong, this was a well made horror film, but it was truly missing so much that would've given it a lasting appeal. All horror films have multiple themes and any good storyteller will use at least 2 of those themes to tie together the entire narrative. Well this film had at least 5 different story plots and themes happening at once. So the question is, what was this film? Was it a supernatural horror film? Was it a family driven missing persons mystery? Was it a gore driven film that was just there to push the envelope without any substance? Well, yes to all. Ironically, it wasn't structured enough to break out of the same old song and dance that the Evil Dead franchise created and has been duplicated by others for years.
The cast do the best they can with they have and honestly, they were perhaps the worst family on screen possible. Jack Raynor and Laia Costa were good as the Father and Mother, Charlie and Larissa Cannon. Given that Charlie was an investigative journalist, I wish he actually put those skills to better use more throughout the film to find his daughter. For the most part of the film, he just stands there with the same look of shock on his face until the end of the film when he finally makes a decision. Larissa was the caring nurse and I did like seeing her try to take care of Katie, but what I would've enjoyed seeing is the emotional toll. Let her have a moment where she even doubts her daughter’s chances or even a moment to herself to break down. The two of them together had pretty good chemistry for the first half of the movie and then after that there wasn't much time to get to know them. Shylo Molina was good as the oldest son, Sebastián Cannon. He does a good job handling the standard angst and troubled teen arch that doesn't really go anywhere. Billie Roy delivers the perfect sweet and innocent personality of the youngest daughter, Maud Cannon. She eventually becomes apart of the darkness the plagues the house and joins in on the gross out moments. Together, they were perhaps the most dysfunctional family I’ve seen in a while. I didn’t feel any connection to them or a sense of family bond. May Calamawy was awesome as Detective Dalia Zaki and I enjoyed her side of the story the most. I always enjoy the story of a rookie investigator becoming a detective over time. Through her, I felt the story was actually going somewhere and possibly had some stakes to it. She was drastically underplayed in my opinion. Natalie Grace delivers a fantastic physical performance as Katie Cannon. She delivers on the creepy and grotesque nature of her condition and I enjoyed her dedication. I would've like to have had more suspense around her condition instead of going for the obvious demonic tone.
The score by Stephen McKeon was thunderous and delivered the terror with the shrieks and churns of the strings. His score truly takes off in the last half of the film and he doesn't hold back when creating an epic sound to the visuals. Speaking of sound, this film is loud and not in a fun way. Sound design is one of if not the most important factor of all horror films and well this one bombards you throughout. The first half was alright because it was more subtle, but once we get to the Cannon household, everything is turned up to twelve. The house is so creaky and everyone’s footsteps sounded as if the wood paneled floor beneath them was about to break. It was just too much at times. The make-up in the film was excellent on Katie, but this where I had the biggest problem with the film. The film focused so heavily on gross prosthetics and disgusting visuals that the story truly disappeared halfway through and I was bored. I've seen plenty of viscera from many a horror film, but this was in your face just to be in your face. I get it, you want us to see how horrible this entity is, but the expression “less is more” means alot here. Overall, I truly wished this was more of a detective story about a father searching for his missing daughter. Maybe then this wouldn't have been such a waste of potential. Let me know what you thought of the film or my review in the comments below. Thanks for reading!
