Who is Lee Cronin and what is his Mummy movie about?

This weekend you’ll notice the arrival of a new movie in cinemas worldwide. The film is Lee Cronin’s The Mummy – a supernatural horror based around a young family, a missing daughter, and a terrifying return. 

Distributed by Warner Bros., the official blurb for the film reads as follows: “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.”

Starring Jack Reynor, Laia Costa, May Calamawy, Verónica Falcón, and Natalie Grace, the film takes the Mummy legend and gives it a new twist courtesy of filmmaker Lee Cronin. The writer/director is putting his stamp on this iconic corner of horror, to provide audiences with a Mummy movie they won’t forget in a hurry.

But you may be sat there scratching your head, asking yourself a number of key questions regarding this Mummy movie. And one of these questions might be: Who is Lee Cronin?

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Who is Lee Cronin?

Lee Cronin is an Irish filmmaker who is currently making a name for himself in the film industry, as well as in the horror genre. Cronin began his film career in 2004, directing the short film Wilbur & Anto, before continuing with other shorts including Through the Night (2010), Billy & Chuck (2011), and Ghost Train (2013), as well as some TV work including episodes of The Masterplan and 50 States of Fright.

In addition to this, Cronin has gone on to direct feature-length films, beginning with 2019’s Hole in the Ground, which he co-wrote with Stephen Shields. The horror film focused on a single mother who begins to suspect her son might not be her son at all.

But it was Cronin’s next film, 2023’s Evil Dead Rise, which really put him on the map. As writer and director, the then-relatively unknown Cronin really impressed critics, audiences, and studio bosses alike with his work on the film, which in turn brought the Evil Dead franchise to a whole new generation.

In fact, the success of Cronin’s Evil Dead movie is the reason 2026 will see the release of Sébastien Vanicek’s Evil Dead Burn, and in 2028, Francis Galluppi’s Evil Dead Wrath. There’s a real buzz around the Evil Dead franchise at the moment, and Cronin has played a key role in this.

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Why is The Mummy called Lee Cronin’s The Mummy?

Because Cronin is such a rising filmmaker right now, his name has been added to the title of 2026’s The Mummy. When a filmmaker’s name proceeds the title of a film, such as 1994’s Wes Craven’s A New Nightmare, it is to tell the audience this is potentially something special or noteworthy.

In this case, the studio is essentially saying, ‘this isn’t just any old Mummy movie, this is Lee Cronin’s Mummy movie. So, if you loved his Evil Dead film, then chances are you’ll like this one too.’

The other reason Cronin’s name has been added to the title of this film is to differentiate it from past Mummy movies. Plenty of Mummy films have come before, and Warner Bros. want audiences to know this one is different – thematically, stylistically, and in terms of story and characterisation.

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Is Lee Cronin’s The Mummy part of the Brendan Fraser Mummy movie series?

Placing Cronin’s name at the front of the title is to say that, no, this Mummy movie is not part of an existing series. This film is not connected to the Brendan Fraser films of the past (i.e. 1999’s The Mummy, 2001’s The Mummy Returns, or 2008’s The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor), nor is it connected to 2017’s The Mummy, which starred Tom Cruise.

Likewise, the film shares no connection to Universal Pictures’ 1932 film, The Mummy or any of its sequels. Instead, Cronin’s movie is very much its own thing, and is for now a stand-alone affair.

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Is Lee Cronin’s The Mummy scary?

In the UK Lee Cronin’s The Mummy is an ‘18’ certificate movie, while in the US it is an ‘R’ rated movie. The film is an ‘18’ in Chile, Germany, Hungary, and Ireland, while in South Korea it is a ‘19’.

The film has received these ratings, and many more like it in other countries, because it contains dark, adult material, as well as some disturbing imagery. The content is designed to unnerve and unsettle, and for some audiences it will be quite scary.

Some of the imagery involves terrible things happening to children, or terrible things perpetrated by children. There are also scenes involving bodily fluids, torture, and ancient rituals, as well as a rather nasty sequence involving toe nails.

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Is Lee Cronin’s The Mummy worth watching?

If you’re a horror fan you’re probably going to want to watch Lee Cronin’s The Mummy – especially if you like gore or films with dark themes. If you’re a fan of movies such as The Exorcist, The Omen, Pet Sematary, or the aforementioned Evil Dead movie series (especially Cronin’s film) you may also wish to take a look, as it demonstrates influences from these horror pictures, and more.

On this blog, I reviewed Lee Cronin’s The Mummy and awarded it four stars out of five, calling it “a compelling and unsettling picture which really gets under the skin. It’s grubby, it’s gruesome, and it’s shocking, and at times it is horror at its most horrific.”

There are moments which are very reminiscent of Cronin’s Evil Dead Rise, yet The Mummy is very much its own thing. At 133-minutes in length (2 hrs 13 mins) it takes its time to develop its story, and feels very much like an old school horror rather than a patchy modern horror filled with jump scares.

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What to watch after Lee Cronin’s The Mummy?

If you decide to check out Lee Cronin’s The Mummy, you like it and want something of a similar ilk, then you may wish to try out the following:

• The Exorcist (1973) – William Friedkin’s supernatural horror about a young girl who is possessed by a demonic entity. The Exorcist stars Ellen Burstyn, Max von Sydow, and Jason Miller, with Linda Blair as Regan, the possessed girl.
• The Omen (1976) – Richard Donner directs this supernatural horror about a young boy prophesied to be the Antichrist. Filled with superb set pieces, as well as excellent performances from Gregory Peck, Lee Remick, and David Warner, The Omen is a genre classic.
• Evil Dead Rise (2023) – Lee Cronin wrote and directed this fifth entry in the Evil Dead series, which focuses on a young family who find themselves under attack from a demonic force. Alyssa Sutherland, and Lily Sullivan star in Evil Dead Rise.
• Pet Sematary (1989) – Directed by Mary Lambert and based on the Stephen King novel of the same name (King also wrote the screenplay), Pet Sematary follows the story of a father who brings his child back from the dead with the aid of a mysterious cemetery. But when the child returns they are not what they appear to be.
• Drag Me to Hell (2009) – Sam Raimi’s supernatural horror about a young woman who becomes cursed by an elderly woman. Plenty of gore and splatter follows in the curiously titled Drag Me to Hell.

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Thank you for stopping by It’s A Stampede! to read this newsletter post about Lee Cronin’s The Mummy. For more posts be sure to check out the recommended reads below.