2026, Lee Cronin (The Hole in the Ground) -- download
The preamble begins in Egypt, the countryside, where a lovely family sings songs in the car on the drive back from buying groceries. Unfortunately the family pet has died bloodily and the parents descend into the basement to check on the sarcophagus hidden there. "Is he awake?" mom hisses. They crack the seal, get a few jump scares and then dad is impaled by one of the winch hooks, and mom lets him die. We can assume that whatever is mummified in there, wrapped in loose leathery bands, has been satiated.
Years later, an American family, dad (Jack Reynor, The Peripheral) is a reporter seeking out a new job back in the US. Mom (Laia Costa, Devils) is a nurse, and expecting a new child soon, and they have two young kids, Katie and Seb. Unfortunately, and yes, that is a thing in horror movies (every reveal is followed by an unfortunately) Katie has made "friends" with a creepy lady who offers her candy and magic tricks, and unfortunately an evil spell. As a sandstorm engulfs the city, Katie is stolen away. The dedicated but beleaguered police don't give them much hope in finding her alive.
We then switch gears to a plane crash, where the aforementioned sarcophagus is discovered in the wreckage. Its eight years later. The family has relocated to Albuquerque, New Mexico, which is distractingly shot in ... Spain. They live with their abuela (Veronica Falcón, Jungle Cruise), in her old house full of character. And they get the call; Katie has been found. Yes, a teenage girl was found mummified in leathery wrappings inside the sarcophagus from the plane crash. And she's fucking alive, but "locked in", severely abused and deformed. In probably not the most advisable decision, they immediately transfer her back to the US and into the family home.
Yeah, with the abuse and trauma she must have experienced, especially considering the horror show appearance of her body, she would be institutionalised. But, and it is implied, maybe the family doesn't have the money for that, as it is the US.
They have Katie (Natalie Grace, The Drone That Saved Christmas) back, but they also have the new daughter Maudie. They have guilt and horror and resentment that has just built up over the eight years. And they have this creepy looking, grey skinned, creaking, cracking, clacking ... child... in a bed, covered in scars, with nasty toenails that likely would have been cleaned up in the hospital, but ....
Meanwhile back in Egypt, the young police officer (May Calamawy, The Actor) who was originally on the Katie Case, is obsessed with figuring out what happened with her when she was taken, the sarcophagus, the state of her, etc. and starts learning of the woman who did this to Katie.
The final act slips from Katie just being a traumatized young woman returned to her grieving family into ... well, full blown The Exorcist meets The Evil Dead and considering Cronin's last movie, I would completely believe he was directed to go in this ... direction. I am not saying its bad, as it is properly creepy and weird and gorey, but it escalated away from eerie to full-blown monstrous, giving up any attempt to temper the "action".
To be honest, the scene that horrified me the most was when mom tries to clip one of those big nasty toe nails and accidentally pulls a strip of flesh from her shin, in one of those scenes that harkens to what people think might happen when they pull at a persistent hang nail... riiiiiip. Except, there is meaning in that strip of "flesh".
I did not dislike the movie, but I did feel there was some meddling go on. For example, the whole "set in New Mexico" aspect of it was ... entirely misplaced. They are supposed to be returning to where the mother was raised, but her accent is so very very Spain Spanish, not Mexican or Mexican-American. I almost felt as if Cronin was wanting to give the movie a very del Toro vibe, but was edged out of that idea at the last moment.
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