The Official Trailer for “Lee Cronin’s The Mummy” Unwraps a Horrific Family Homecoming

Not since director Mary Lambert’s 1989 adaptation of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary has the reunion of two parents and their child gone so drastically wrong as in Lee Cronin’s The Mummy. The official trailer for the writer/director’s new film centers on a shocking reunion between a family and their long-lost daughter, who disappeared into the Cairo desert eight years ago. This setup is decidedly different from previous Mummy projects, and it’s a jolt to see the transformation the young daughter, played by Natalie Grace, has undergone during her long absence.

The trailer opens with the family—the parents, played by Jack Reynor and Laia Costa, and the kids, played by Emily Mitchell and Shylo Molina—who have had nearly a decade to grieve and piece themselves back together. They’re looking quite happy when they get a call from the deputy chief of the U.S. Embassy. He has news. “Your daughter Katie has been found.”

Before seeing their daughter for the first time, they’re given stern instructions on how to react. “It’s very important you prepare yourselves for what you’re about to see. No sudden moves. No loud noises.” When they finally see Katie, they hide their shock pretty well—she looks like the living dead.

Katie spent her eight years in the desert inside a 3,000-year-old sarcophagus, hence the transformation. Her family, led by her mom, is committed to caring for Katie and to getting back as much of her old self as they can. From the looks of this trailer and Cronin’s track record of reviving the Evil Dead franchise with Evil Dead Rise, we’re guessing this won’t happen. There are hints of a larger nightmare at play here, with Katie not the only child who had been abducted. There are also hints that Katie will eventually (as she must) turn on her family—it sure looks like her grandma doesn’t fare too well.

Cronin produced alongside James Wan, Jason Blum, and John Keville. His creative team includes cinematographer Dave Garbett, production designer Nick Bassett, editor Bryan Shaw, costume designer Joanna Eatwell, composer Stephen McKeon, and casting directors Terri Taylor and Sarah Domeier Lindo.

Check out the trailer below. Lee Cronin’s The Mummy arrives in theaters on April 17.

Featured image: NATALIE GRACE as Katie in New Line Cinema, Atomic Monster and Blumhouse’s LEE CRONIN’S THE MUMMY. A Warner Bros. Pictures Release. Courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures