"Lee Cronin's: The Mummy" - The Movie: The Review.

Egyptian based journalist Charlie (Jack Reynor) and his physician wife Larissa (Laia Costa) are bereft when their daughter Katie goes missing one day. Years later, with another daughter, and still reeling, they receive a call from the Egyptian embassy and a detective assigned to their case (May Calamawy) telling them that Katie has been found...

(Credit: New York Times)
I'm ecstatic that Cronin can get his name in the title denoting this as a "Lee Cronin Project", and it certainly feels like that to the greater extent. Namely it splits the difference between his previous two works: the subtle kitchen sink Fae-tale "The Hole in the Ground" (with its uncanny, "the children are awry" focus on maws and bodily parts and eyes and big grand homes) and the balls-to-wall bloodbath "Evil Dead: Rise" (Lily Sullivan even shows up for a bit in a cameo role, probably thankful to be having an easier time of it here), with some spectacular gross imagery and wonderfully visceral gore. My favourite part was a creative, disgusting part with a scorpion in the final act (fuck scorpions, man). It juggles genres, not quite meshing with its detective adventures (honestly a highlight for me), haunted/possessed child narrative and horror of home care (which it could have gotten enormous mileage out of); though the final act comes together in a wonderfully gory, bloody display after a great funeral sequence and some flashes of blood and guts throughout. The old house they're in makes me wonder if Cronin wanted to originally do a period piece... It's a perfectly fun little horror which drags a little, come for the gore and some interesting fun bits, though it's not as mischievous as "Evil Dead: Rise" nor is it as intriguing and sinister as "Hole in the Ground". But on its own merits, it's alright.

"Aunt Beth's Babysitting Adventure" - Review

Guitar technician Beth (Lily Sullivan) has been estranged from her sister Ellie (Alyssa Sutherland) for a few years now. But she's in town, and willing to catch up. Ellie is a single mother to 3 children: aspiring DJ Danny (Morgan Davies), activist Bridget (Gabrielle Echols, who looks like a budget Selena Gomez) and amusing and savvy Kassie (Nell Fisher); and is trying to scrabble money together from her tattooing business to support the 4 of them before they are forced to leave their soon-to-be-demolished home. Together, they have differing ideas on motherhood, outlooks on the other's lives, and grow to bond over a dark and stormy night mirroring the tumult of their relationship.

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We had 4 walkouts and my girlfriend was fear-sweating throughout, whilst the friend next to me was pleading for shit to stop.
10/10, solid follow up. Weird sequel to "Hole in the Ground" though.