Those who've followed some of the most buzzworthy horror movies to be released as of late may have noticed that body horror has been back in a big way. And that trend continues with the latest title on the schedule of upcoming horror movies, Lee Cronin’s The Mummy. If you’ve been wondering why the subgenre (which had its heyday in the 1980s) is back, know that CinemaBlend talked to horror Cronin and producer James Wan to get their thoughts about why grotesque body transformations are all the rage right now.
James Wan is easily one of the most prolific horror filmmakers to have worked in the past few decades. Throughout his career, Wan has worked in directorial and producing capacities for franchises like Saw, The Conjuring, Insidious and M3GAN. This new The Mummy movie honestly feels on brand for him in the best possible way. In terms of the resurgence of body horror, here's what Wan shared with CB:
I think it's cyclical, right? We go through a period of supernatural and then we're like, ‘Oh, we want to go back to slasher now. We want to go into the body horror aspect and now we want to go into the giallo.' I don't know. I think just horror goes through a cycle. And then the audience just tells us kind of what they feel like.
As Wan explained, much like fashion, different sides of the horror genre cycle in and out of interest among filmmakers and the audiences who watch them over time. In the past few years, body horror initially seemed to gain traction through more niche titles like Swallow, Possessor and Titane. And then The Substance became a cultural touchstone when it earned mass praise and awards buzz, including earning five Oscar nominations. (The Demi Moore-led film ultimately won the Academy Award for Best Makeup & Hairstyling.)
Lee Cronin’s The Mummy presents a lot of body-based scares and provides a off-kilter story as well. The film follows a family dealing with the fallout of their young daughter, Katie, going missing. Eight years after she mysteriously disappears in the Egyptian desert, she returns, but only after having been locked away in an ancient sarcophagi with 57 other individuals. The parents bring their child home to New Mexico but, as the film's trailer teases, it’s perhaps the most terrifying family reunion someone will ever have.
Cronin, who wrote and directed this new Mummy flick, found himself hooked into the project after being asked when there had ever been an adaptation of The Mummy that was “really, really terrifying.” During our interview, Cronin shared a thoughtful take on the reason for body horror's uptick in popularity:
I think also we're kind of in a little bit of a spell where we had a lot more cerebral horror pre-COVID and then post COVID, that that sense of event has come back in terms of watching horror movies and body horror or these kind of visceral moments they lend themselves to the spectacular. And, I think audiences are looking for the spectacular at the moment.
The first reactions to Lee Cronin’s The Mummy have been quite visceral, with people using adjectives like "freaky" and "disgusting" to describe it. Of course, those sentiments were very much meant to be complimentary to the movie’s direction. This movie is definitely a far cry from Brendan Fraser's The Mummy franchise, which is getting a fourth installment. Still, horror hounds looking for body-based frights will surely want to see what Cronin's been cooking up.
Check Lee Cronin's The Mummy when it hits theaters this Friday, April 17. In the meantime, read up on other scary fare that's set to hit the 2026 movie schedule.