Lee Cronin’s ‘The Mummy’ Bets Big on Horror: ‘Power of a Frightful Image Is Something Really Special’ (EXCLUSIVE)

Lee Cronin, known for his movies like “Ghost Train,” “The Hole in the Ground,” and “Evil Dead Rise,” is excited about his upcoming movie, “The Mummy.” He has taken off from the “Mummy” franchise, creating a version that has chills and thrills. The movie stars Jack Reynor, Laia Costa, May Calamawy, Natalie Grace, and Verónica Falcón. Excerpts from a chat with Variety India….

How did you conceive ‘The Mummy’? 

One of the things that I enjoy about being a filmmaker is not necessarily knowing what's around the corner. And I didn't necessarily think making a movie about a mummy or a movie called ‘THE MUMMY’ would be next up on my dance card until conversation started around the topic of how maybe there hasn't been a truly terrifying version made before. That drew my interest in it, but as always, I needed to find a story. And once I did that—I found a piece of lore, a set of characters I was interested in, a story that takes place at two different times around the same people—I started to get really engaged and involved with what this thing could become. 

How much of this film is inspired by the Egyptian folklore around mummies?

With this film, I wanted to tell a story about a buried secret. The Mummy's in Egyptian lore. They're always about secrets, things that you discover later on, but I also knew it wasn't going to be something that was going to take place over 3,000 or 4,000 years, even though there is lore and elements of this story that do have that depth buried in the mystery. There are connections that go back thousands and thousands of years, but the key story is about someone who goes missing and gets returned, not necessarily sooner than expected, but sooner than an entire lifetime having passed. So, it felt like investigating that mystery.

How would you describe the film’s narrative?

I wanted to tell something that had more than just an A narrative, but also had other things going on within the background. So, there is a big detective angle to this, which is maybe a little different from a conventional horror movie that you might watch, whilst also having a lot of the traditional haunted-house elements at play. The movie in my mind as I approached it was some sort of combination between 'Poltergeist' and 'Se7en'—'Se7en' encapsulating the more hard-boiled detective side of things, and some of the darker body horror, too, and then 'Poltergeist' in terms of the exceptional circumstances that are faced. And then with the family in this movie, Poltergeist was also a touchpoint for capturing the domestic relationships and also the heart that was in place between the family. I definitely wanted to mash up some really dark themes with some warmth. 

How does the horror element play out in the movie? 

This is a movie that plays a number of different horror chords, and I've got history and renown for being someone that creates some pretty gory set pieces and some quite shocking imagery. And this movie is no different in many ways, but it also plays with psychology, dread and chills as well. I think when it comes to gore and imagery that is really arresting and sticks in your mind, it has to be earned. It has to be based on context. I think for me, the simple equation is to find characters that people fall in love with, and then maybe you can start to turn the screw and do horrible things to them. Without that connectivity to the characters, I think gore fails. 

According to you, how much does gore elevate the horror experience in a film? 

But I do think the power of gore and horror set pieces that sear into your mind is all part of the experience. I try and think of the movies that I make and the stories that I tell as some sort of dark ride or roller coaster. And sometimes it's silence, and sometimes it's just clicking toward the corner… but sometimes you also just need to be hit very dramatically in the face and in your mind with something that completely raises your heart rate and changes how you're feeling about the experience at the time. And, yeah, the power of a frightful image is something really special and unique that I always love to play with and use to bring the audience on a ride and to entertain as well.

How was it collaborating with Blumhouse and Atomic Monster, known as ‘Masters of Horror’? 

It was really exciting to team up with Blumhouse and Atomic Monster, and with New Line, with whom I have a continuing working relationship in the horror space. It was a new departure for me working with Atomic Monster and Blumhouse—James Wan and Jason Blum—but I knew them by their reputation and their taste. They were brilliant partners, and throughout the making of this movie, all I really felt was supported.