Universal Pictures gave up on plans for its Dark Universe shortly after The Mummy movie starring Tom Cruise flopped. Still, despite a shared world of movie monsters falling by the wayside, multiple projects are in the works across multiple studios, featuring different versions of them.
The Bride! has generated a lot of positive buzz, while the Brendan Fraser-led Mummy franchise is also gearing up for a long-awaited comeback. Unfortunately, things don't look good for Lee Cronin's The Mummy, a movie that's reportedly been renamed "The Resurrected."
According to Feature First (via FearHQ.com), the negative buzz on social media from test screenings is correct. The movie, which has a 2-hour runtime, is reportedly so bad that Atomic Monster founder James Wan (The Conjuring) walked out halfway through!
It seems Cronin, who received positive reviews for Evil Dead Rise, might have pushed the horror elements too far. One scene is described as "truly vile" by the site, with "a scorpion that crawls into somebody’s mouth and severs their vocal cords, leading someone to stick their fingers down that person’s throat and press on their cords, allowing them to speak."
The report doesn't elaborate on any other issues The Resurrected might have, but if this is a hard-R horror movie, then it might explain why the decision was made to move away from The Mummy branding.
In terms of plot details, the site has learned that it follows two parents (Jack Reynor and Laia Costa) and their children (Shylo Molina, Emily Mitchell), who are struck by tragedy when the daughter vanishes after being cursed by a mysterious woman. Nearly a decade later, a plane carrying a sarcophagus crashes, and inside is a now-adult Katie who "isn’t all what she used to be," unleashing "a dark mysterious force" on the family.
The site has also shared a leaked plot synopsis for the movie, which, as of now, still appears to be called The Mummy in early press materials:
After the record-breaking revival of the dead in Evil Dead Rise, screenwriter and director Lee Cronin turns his attention to one of the most famous horror stories of all time, transforming it into a bold and twisted reinterpretation: Lee Cronin’s The Mummy! The young daughter of a journalist disappears without a trace in the desert. The shattered family is stunned when the girl suddenly reappears eight years later. But what should have been a joyful reunion quickly turns into a true nightmare. The leading roles in Lee Cronin’s The Mummy are played by Jack Reynor, Laia Costa, May Calamawy, Natalie Grace, and Veronica Falcón.
Lee Cronin's The Mummy is set to be released in theaters on April 17. Is it really as bad as these early reports are making out, or could it be one of the year's most twisted horror flicks? We'll have to wait and see.