The Monthly Dose of Horror: “Exit 8,” “Lee Cronin’s The Mummy,” and More

A quick look at six horror films released during the first half of the year, with various degrees of success. Lee Cronin’s The Mummy, Exit 8, Hokum, and more. 

Now that we have officially reached July, we can confidently say that the first half of 2026 has been dominated by horror films. I’ve already written about the phenomenon that was Backrooms and Obsession, but these first six months of the year have brought many other representatives of the genre to our screens. Some good, some bad, and some terrible. 

As I know there are many of these films I have not talked about, I’ve randomly decided this week would be the perfect moment to catch up on my horror reviews and make a little recap of the year so far, in no particular order. 

Dolly

The film follows Macy and Chase, a couple that goes on a hike in a remote wooded area. Chase planned the trip to propose to Macy, who apparently is not that excited about it, as an early scene lets us know. This information serves no purpose, but it’s there. 

While in the forest, they come across an area full of creepy, mutilated dolls. Instead of doing the sensible thing (running away and never coming back), they keep wandering around and then separate to check out some mysterious noises. In this brief interval, Chase encounters a large individual wearing a porcelain doll mask, who brutally attacks him with a shovel. “Dolly” then finds Macy, but instead of hurting her, she takes the woman to her house and forces her to partake in a disturbing childlike roleplay. 

This is not a film made for a wide audience, but it will perhaps have some merit for you if this is your cup of tea. It’s definitely not mine. I would describe this as boredom, with a little impressive gore and a side of plot. If you like movies such as Terrifier… maybe you will also be pretty bored. There is some very explicit violence, but those scenes are few and far between, staying away from the excesses of our friend Art the clown.

The protagonist is stupid to a degree that is absurd, even for horror movies’ standards. Who pauses to emotionally stare at a proposal ring when a dangerous murderer is after you? Can you hurry up, please?

As highlights, Dolly was shot on 16mm film, and the characterization of the villain is pretty great. Dolly’s delicate mannerisms, interrupted by sudden explosions of violence, are quite effective. 

Watch at your own risk. 

Exit 8

Based on the Japanese video game, Exit 8 has a simple premise: a man accidentally gets stuck in a subway corridor that works as a loop and has to figure his way out by finding anomalies in the space. That is, if he walks the corridor of Exit 0 and sees an anomaly (which can be anything from a change in a poster to blood raining from the ceiling), he has to turn back. If he was right, he moves to Exit 1. He has to go through this process to reach Exit 8, but if he makes a mistake, he is sent back to Exit 0.

I liked that the movie wastes no time and goes straight to the point. The opening scene is shot from the protagonist’s point of view, so we get to see what is happening on the subway, as well as hearing his phone calls, which give us some necessary information about him. After that, he immediately gets lost, and the problems start. 

Aside from the protagonist, we only have four other characters. In fact, their appearance allows us to understand that the mysterious game is way more complex than it appears, and not everyone manages to find the exit. But the film does not get distracted trying to enhance the universe, always keeping the focus on the protagonist, which I appreciate. Also, the running time is only 95 minutes—long enough to wrap up the story in a satisfactory way.

Besides the fear of being trapped in an infinite loop in a creepy place, the protagonist has another problem. Before taking the wrong turn that took him there, he had received the news that his ex-girlfriend was pregnant with his child. The woman calls him from the hospital, asking him what to do. So he needs to get out to meet her, but he also needs to make a decision. 

The lost man is not sure if he would make a great father, and the film does not portray him as a particularly brave person. But the extreme situation he is put in makes him realize that he is a capable man and can stand up to be a protector when it matters. Honestly, even though the whole concept is interesting, this is the point that made the film memorable to me. 

Overall, a wonderful little film, and probably one of my favorites of the year so far. Most recommended.

Send Help

Does this film qualify as horror? I watched Send Help in the theater back in February and haven’t thought about it since. 

Socially awkward Linda Liddle is eagerly waiting for a big promotion. She has been with the company for several years and has an impeccable track record. However, Bradley, the new CEO (the young son of her former boss), has other plans: immediately after his appointment, he gives the position to a new employee who used to be his fraternity brother. 

Things take a turn when, during a business trip, the airplane crashes and everybody except Linda and Bradley gets killed. The two survivors wash up on an island, Bradley being badly hurt. From the start, we are shown that Linda has a passion for survival reality shows, so she is well equipped to deal with the situation at hand. But despite being forced to rely on her, Bradley keeps mistreating her and acting like his boss. This tension will rise, making the wait for help a challenging one. 

Send Help falls into a now common trope: the female protagonist is extraordinary in every way, but misunderstood, while all the male characters are evil, ignorant, and sometimes downright stupid. The film presents Linda not getting the promotion she wanted as a terrible injustice, but really: who would put such a socially incompetent person in a position where interacting with others is key? As a socially awkward person myself, this is very antipathetic, but it’s true. Some jobs require those skills, and if you don’t have them, you are not the right fit for the position. 

Of course, the boss and coworkers are jerks and relentlessly bully her, so in some way the script is setting up a justified motive for Linda to become kind of a villain as the movie progresses. Because not long before they get stranded on the island, you start to suspect Linda is crazy. In short, one more film to show us girlies how to castrate the patriarchy (literally) and make clear that if you are a woman, you can get away with anything. You go, sister!

Despite all of that, I must say that as a Sunday afternoon movie, this works. It’s entertaining, it’s less than two hours long, and Rachel McAdams is great in her role. The messaging didn’t escape me, but I had fun. 

Lee Cronin’s The Mummy

TV reporter Charlie is living in Cairo with his pregnant wife, Larissa, and their two kids, Sebastian and Katie. One afternoon, while playing in their garden, Katie is abducted by a mysterious individual. Despite the police’s efforts, the girl cannot be located. 

Eight years later, Charlie and Larissa receive a call that changes everything: Katie has been found alive, but the circumstances are disturbing. The young girl, now in a catatonic state, seems to have been mummified as part of a ritual. Hoping the family’s support will help Katie get better, the parents take her back home. A completely stupid decision. 

The Mummy was one of the most boring horror experiences of the year. A story that relies largely on the adult characters having no functioning brain cells and wastes no opportunity for being disgusting with long scenes that end in the mummified kid vomiting. More than scary, it’s gross. 

The mystery of Katie’s disappearance is tied to the ritual she was forced to take part in. Who did it? What was the purpose? Why did they choose Katie? All these questions receive superficial answers because the director would much rather show us a lot of vomit and self-mutilation. Apparently, there’s an ancient demon that destroys families and communities. That’s all; don’t ask any more questions. Let’s watch another scene of Katie eating her grandmother’s remains. 

This film has no business being over two hours long; you could have cut an entire hour, and it would have still been a waste of time. Honestly, even Dolly was more fun to watch.

They Will Kill You

Another film I watched in theaters months ago, and I completely forgot about. Looking at the trailers, I was hoping for something in the style of Abigail or Ready or Not, something violent but absurd to turn my brain off. This is not quite it. 

They Will Kill You follows the story of Asia, an ex-convict who applies for a maid position at an exclusive hotel, with a very specific purpose: finding information about Maria, her younger sister. Asia has been investigating Maria’s whereabouts for a while and is certain that she was last seen at The Virgil, a place tied to plenty of missing people over the years. What our protagonist doesn’t know is that the hotel is not only a sketchy place but also a temple to Satan. 

The film has a promising start, a protagonist with a clear mission, and some cool fight scenes. Zazie Beetz does a great job in those action sequences and is believable in the role in general. I also liked that the sisters were given a backstory, and we got to see how their relationship was broken. The problem with They Will Kill You is that it quickly crosses the line that separates “absurd” from “dumb.” 

While Asia is a good fighter, the main problem set for her is that her enemies are immortal. No matter how many times she attacks them, they can always regenerate and come back for more; a pretty cool concept. However, instead of using it to build up tension, the movie manages to make it repetitive. Both Asia and Maria are equipped with thick plot armor that prevents them from getting hurt. In fact, one of them is killed, but the film takes it back at the last second, completely ignoring the implications of that for the characters. 

Just like Send Help, this can be a good movie to watch on a boring Sunday evening, but you are not missing out on much by not seeing it.

Hokum

To end the list on a more positive note, let’s take a look at the latest project by director Damian McCarthy. He was also behind Oddity, a film released in 2024 that I really enjoyed. What I like about McCarthy’s movies is that he seems to understand something most of the industry has forgotten: sometimes less is more. Sometimes, a self-contained story, with few characters and a clear mystery, that reaches a satisfactory conclusion within two hours is all you need. 

This time around, we follow Ohm Bauman, a famous writer who is struggling to finish the last novel of his successful trilogy. Bauman travels to Ireland to lay his parents’ ashes to rest at The Bilberry Woods Hotel, where they honeymooned. During his stay, he attempts suicide by hanging himself in his room but survives thanks to the intervention of Fiona, the bartender.

When he returns to the hotel after a hospital stay, Bauman finds out Fiona has disappeared without a trace. In his conversations at the bar, Fiona had expressed curiosity about visiting the honeymoon suite of the hotel, which remains closed, as it is said to be haunted by a witch. So, of course, the writer has to go up there and take a look. 

There is a lot to praise here. Firstly, the characters are interesting. Fiona is likable; you care about her fate and want to find her. Ohm is an idiot; it cracked me up that at the beginning of the film he was rude to every person at the hotel but was really worried about the fate of the forest’s animals. That is such a liberal-activist move. However, he redeems himself by the end; his traumatic backstory is interesting, and Adam Scott is great in the role, so he is approved. The rest of the cast also give solid performances.

The haunted house atmosphere is great; McCarthy had a bigger budget this time, and he made the most of it. And he actually showed us the witch! Just like in Oddity, the real villain is not a supernatural entity but a terrible and sociopathic human being. 

Honestly, for me Oddity is still the superior movie, but I think Hokum comfortably makes the 2026 list of the best of the genre. 

Two good films and two pretty funny ones out of a list of six is quite impressive for current times. Let’s get into the latter half of the year with some hope for the future.