The New 'Mummy' Movie Is Everything Blumhouse's 'Exorcist' Sequel Should Have Been
Lee Cronin’s The Mummy (2026) finally hit theaters and left fans feeling uncomfortable. Rather than that feeling stemming from sand or scarabs, it was more so from its dark possession story and how it turned an innocent girl into supernatural nightmare fuel.
The many parallels it has to The Exorcist (1974) are hard to ignore, and more than that, they recontextualize Cronin’s film in some interesting ways. The most recent sequel to The Exorcist, The Exorcist: Believer (2023), failed to resonate with audiences, but Lee Cronin’s The Mummy gives fans exactly what they wanted for a sequel to The Exorcist franchise.
‘The Exorcist: Believer’ Was a Divisive Sequel Audiences Failed to Connect With
After the equally divisive Halloween reboot trilogy, David Gordon Green set his sights on the legacy of The Exorcist to kick off a franchise that would directly connect to the original, just like Halloween (2018) did. The idea was ambitious, but his past work proved it was possible, and the way he structured The Exorcist: Believer helped justify the opportunity for more movies. But with the idea of more sequels also came the inevitable realization that planning for more than one movie is worse than trying to make a solid single film.
Unfortunately, the direction of The Exorcist: Believer left much to be desired. The movie decided that instead of one possessed girl, there would be two. As a result, it became a rehash of what came before, minus the utterly chilling moments that made the original such an iconic horror film. Even worse, the movie missed the hopeful message the original had with its themes of sacrifice to protect the innocent.
In the end, Green’s franchise ended before it began, and audiences barely even realized. Ultimately, what The Exorcist: Believer lacked was genuine shock value, and it left audiences hoping for an Exorcist film that never came. It also gave a sense that the franchise may not be able to thrive with a modern audience. Thankfully, Mike Flanagan’s upcoming Exorcist film could change that, but even then, nothing compares to the Exorcist-like qualities that came with Lee Cronin’s The Mummy.
‘Lee Cronin’s The Mummy’ Knows What it Takes to Tell an ‘Exorcist’ Story
Lee Cronin’s The Mummy’s foundation is in Egypt, and the family’s missing daughter, who is returned, is found in a sarcophagus. However, beyond that, there are no curses or mummy-like moments to make the film separate from a possession movie. While this is divisive for fans of the classic monster movie, it’s perfect for Exorcist fans.
Through Katie, viewers see an ancient demon possess a young girl and have her do unspeakable things, from killing family members to forcing siblings to rip out their own teeth, all the while lying in bed and trying to get stronger to create more chaos. The film has everything that makes an Exorcist film great, as well as a crude antagonist that makes a young girl say and do terrible things. But more than that, it has a hopeful message that The Exorcist: Believer failed to deliver on.
Ultimately, Lee Cronin’s The Mummy is about a family saving one another through grief, and it raised the stakes in a way that made me feel more connected to its characters. This also made the scares better because no one wanted the other children or parents in the movie to die. Therefore, even the threat of a body count was just as effective as having one at all, and suspense keeps the terror alive.
Lee Cronin’s The Mummy may not be the greatest mummy movie in the world, but it understands the fundamentals of a possession film and what makes those work. It’s creepy, unsettling, and forces viewers to face horrific moments no one could rationally think up. More so, it also pushes violence to new levels without making it something more akin to Evil Dead (2013) with unnecessary amounts of gore. With that in mind, it’s an unofficial Exorcist sequel that not only blows its predecessor out of the water but proves this subgenre isn’t down for the count yet.
