Lee Cronin's The Mummy Continues A Disturbing, Transgressive New Horror Trend

This article contains minor spoilers for "Lee Cronin's The Mummy."

The horror genre is all about transgression, and the easiest (and most effective) way to commit transgression in art is to explore the taboo. For this reason, the notion of placing young, innocent children in some form of mortal or moral peril has been part of horror storytelling since at least the Brothers Grimm, if not earlier. In the same vein, subverting the role of parents has been a favorite horror trope for almost as long, too. While evil step-parents and fathers are almost self-explanatory, the concept of a wicked mother is arguably the most taboo evil parent of them all, as the assumed wholesomeness of a woman with maternal responsibility is turned sour. In horror cinema, we've seen all manner of violent, murderous children, Bad Dads, and Malicious Moms before.

Yet a group of mainstream horror films released over the past two years seems to be adding an intriguingly disturbing and transgressive offshoot to those aforementioned classic horror tropes. "Bring Her Back," "Weapons," and now "Lee Cronin's The Mummy" all indulge in both the Evil Child and Dark Mother archetypes, only these films subvert them in new ways. Rather than the villains being the victims' actual mothers, the women responsible for the evil in each film are more like surrogate parents. Meanwhile, the evil children turn out not to be inherently evil themselves, but are instead pawns of a larger, malicious force that's directing them. As this pearl-clutching tweet regarding a poster for "Lee Cronin's The Mummy" proves, this new trend seems to be striking a nerve. It's fascinating to think about what's spurring the trend on, and why it continues to feel so effective.

Typically, most evil moms in horror are presented as having the natural affection for their offspring twisted into something dark: either vengeful, overprotective, or otherwise sinister. This new trend of mother figures in horror is a variation on those themes. Instead of harming their own children, these women prey on other children to whom they have no relation. It's a twist that harkens back to fairy-tale and folklore tropes, especially the witch archetype. This archetype can be found in stories like Hansel & Gretel and films like "Snow White," "The Witches," and "The Witch." Quite often, the witch is presented as a visibly older woman, which can link it to the subgenre of hagsploitation. Both Laura (Sally Hawkins) in "Bring Her Back" and Gladys (Amy Madigan) in "Weapons" can be seen as belonging to that subgenre, especially in the ways those characters subvert their age and the expectations of responsibility and trust that come with it.

It's the matriarch, known as The Magician (Hayat Kamille), in "Lee Cronin's The Mummy," who pivots away from the trend toward the classic "psycho-biddy film." She doesn't appear resentful of her age, nor does she flaunt it. Yet she is presented in a very fairy-tale, witch-like fashion, especially when capturing young Katie (Emily Mitchell) with a literal poisoned apple. The witch archetype applies best to this trend: all three characters are practitioners of black magic, and each lures their child victims to them in some fashion. However, unlike the archetypal witch, each of these women has sympathetic, ulterior motives for their vile actions, allowing them to be nuanced villains more grounded in reality than in fantasy.

The other part of the equation in this new trend involves the children themselves. Typically, the evil child in most horror films is either a genuinely malicious being hiding behind the visage of innocence (as in "The Omen") or is an innocent kid whose body and soul are co-opted by evil (as in "The Exorcist"). "Bring Her Back," "Weapons," and "Lee Cronin's The Mummy" all generally belong in the latter category, as the children are possessed by a demonic entity, while the kids of "Weapons" become hollow shells beholden to Gladys' spell. 

Although the usual themes of innocence sullied and the sins of the adults reflected in the harm visited on the children can certainly be found in each movie, the most important distinction among these three films is that the kids are replaced rather than changed. Instead of a possession occurring subtly or ambiguously, the monstrous nature of the children can be traced back to those aforementioned witch-like mother figures. In this way, the films invite commentary not just on a rot within the immediate family, but also on the effects of neighbors, community, and society as a whole.

Perhaps this theme has grown out of an abundance of millennial panic about the increasingly dire state of affairs at home and abroad. It allows these horror films to tackle the topic of raising a child in a dangerous, violent, perhaps even doomed environment obliquely, rather than head-on, a la "First Reformed," "Mass," or "We Need to Talk About Kevin." Then again, perhaps these are the shiny new lines to cross to help shock and disturb desensitized audiences, something horror always seeks to do. We'll see what happens as the trend continues.

"Lee Cronin's The Mummy" is in theaters now.