There's likely truth be found in the idea that once you enter The Asylum universe, you know exactly what to expect. An established indie production and distribution company, The Asylum is known for its low-budget, direct-to-video cinematic fare somewhat akin to Roger Corman flicks and nearly always possessing of familiar titles and storylines ever-so slightly twisted. 

The Mummy, not to be confused with a Brendan Fraser film, a Tom Cruise cinematic suckfest, or a certain current Blumhouse release, is the work of writer/director Maurice Chauvet, who penned the Philip Seymour Hoffman led Owning Mahowny, is one of the latest such films from The Asylum. As one would expect, The Asylum has changed its name from Chauvet's Bride of the Dead to resemble something, well, a little more familiar. 

In the opening moments of The Mummy, Ara (Apoorva Mittra) is selected as a concubine for pharaoh. Before that can occur, she's stabbed to death and, you guessed it, mummified. Thousands of years later, archaeologist Robert Corwin (Jon Jacobs) works and lives in Mexico City with his wife (Siena Goines) and teenage daughter, Isabel (Sheba Jade). The house they live in has a rather unique history, while Robert grows increasingly concerned about his daughter's mysterious sleepwalking. Throw in the obligatory corporate baddie (Lisa Zane), and you have the makings for an intriguing indie horror. 

There's little possibility of confusing this film with the current Lee Cronin's The Mummy, a far more traditional horror flick as opposed to this slower, more sizzling film. To be completely fair to Chauvet, there's much promise to his work here amidst a film that never quite gels and flounders in the hands of its indie ensemble with Sheba Jade being the ensemble's true highlight as the young girl with increasingly alarming behaviors. 

The tech team, on the flip side, definitely impresses with Andrew Parke's lensing being a feast of visual delights and the film's overall visual palette being brought vividly to life by Alyssa Katz's production design and Cheri Moon's art direction. I also appreciated the original music by Sean Musaeus. 

While I can't quite talk myself into giving The Mummy a true thumbs-up, it's definitely a notch above the usual fun-to-watch but impossible to praise B-movie schlock we've come to expect from The Asylum. 

Written by Richard Propes
The Independent Critic