My Review Of "Mummy Reborn"

Written by Dan Allen and Scott Jeffrey, "Mummy Reborn" stars Becca Hirani, Tara MacGowran, Tiffany-Ellen Robinson, Victor Toth, Louis Findlay and Rita Siddiqui. Packed with adventure and coffined with scares, a horror legend returns.

"The Mummy Reborn" tells of a group of teens in financial ruin that decide to rob the local antique store of an ancient amulet. But what they don't realise is that this tomb is cursed, and when the amulet is separated from it's master he will do anything to get it back. Our burglars must save the day and return the Mummy to it's tomb before it is too late to save the world.

"The Mummy Reborn" is a straightforward horror comedy with low budget props and low budget laughs. A lot of films, even British born, fall apart quickly when tackling both iconic horror tropes and convincible humor. This movie avoids most of those pitfalls and succeeds in creating a entertaining, heartfelt dicatomy between thrills and emotion. The story may not be completely original. It doesn't stray to far from the classic "mummy's curse" that we all know. It does, however, freshen things up with a more organic, Western setting in the English countryside, and more light, emotion driven family friendly situations. 

The cast offer believable, endearing characters. The acting feels a cut above the expected low budget fare with Tina and Max anchoring the bond. It softens the roughness of the movie's jittery tempo. There are moments that lines land flat and comedic antics are a bit over-the-top, but by all accounts the actors own these characters. Most of the comedy lands. The film feels more Saturday afternoon action-adventure on public broadcast than theatrical release. On some level it works in favor of "Mummy Reborn".

The horror elements are light, keeping more with the softer comedy angle the overall film takes, the deaths and mayhem stay mild and uncelebrated. The effects are mostly low budget practical tricks, with a small amount of CGI. Think Power Rangers VFX. The results vary. Some of the practical stuff is pulled off through clever screen shots and simple action. A few times the lens lingers a bit too long and the quality drops. For the most part everything, including the soundtrack and creature design work in favor of the overall asthetic of "Mummy Reborn". 

Overall the film is not going to appeal to the greater horror movie fan, the creature is visible but not in a scary, nightmarish way. The fact that most of the movie takes place during daylight stiffles any chiller effect. "Mummy Reborn" isn't anything like the blockbuster/mockbuster counterparts, but it isn't really trying to be.  What it is is a small, indie mummy comedy film tied together with a few heartstrings. Check it out but don't go into thinking it is a Brendan Fraser /Tom Cruise knock off. (2.5/5)