The film begins with a prologue on a nectarine farm in Egypt, where a man and his wife - known only as The Magician (Hayat Kamille) - discover a secret chamber beneath a hidden pyramid on their land. When they open a sarcophagus inside, a resurrected mummy instantly and gruesomely kills the husband, setting the tone for the level of gore ahead.
We then cut to a domestic setting and a family of four: Charlie (Jack Reynor), an American TV reporter living in Cairo with his pregnant wife Larissa (Laia Costa), their son Sebastian (Shylo Molina) and daughter Katie (Emily Mitchell, later played by Natalie Grace). Charlie becomes paranoid when he finds a hidden stash of sweet wrappers, realising someone has been secretly talking to his daughter, possibly grooming her.
In a deeply unsettling scene, a woman we only know as The Magician, whom we later discover to be terrifyingly manipulative, approaches Katie in the family's back garden. She has befriended Katie through her own daughter, Layla. The Magician hands Katie a nectarine and chants an incantation. A supernatural beetle emerges from the fruit, crawls into Katie, and she is possessed and abducted right there. Charlie panics, chasing her through the streets of Cairo, but he loses the scent and has to give up. The family is clearly devastated, particularly when the local policeman all but accuses them of having got rid of her themselves! His colleague, Dalia (May Calamawy), however, is much more sympathetic and returns to our story later on.
We then leap unceremoniously eight years into the future. The new child, Maud (Billie Roy), is almost eight years old, Seb is in his teens and the family is still trying to recover from their loss. Charlie and Larissa remain completely shattered but are still living in Egypt when the police suddenly phone to say they have found Katie. Larissa collapses in shock, but all is not well as they head to the reunion, only to be warned that she might not be quite the same Katie they remember - quite apart from being eight years older!
This is where the film completely changes pace and feel, turning into a dark, sinister, supernatural possession-style nightmare that harks back to that opening scene. It marks the end of nice domestic family life, pulling us into something altogether gripping and horrific. Katie’s behaviour is deeply wrong; she is physically a wreck, doesn't speak and becomes violent at the drop of a hat. Yet, for some bizarre reason, the authorities seem to think it's perfectly alright for her to go and live at home with the family!
We then get into the middle part of the film, which is filled with Larissa trying incredibly hard to make it work - so pleased is she to have Katie back, at any cost. Charlie thinks it's not such a good idea but is fended off by her, prompting the introduction of some seriously wacky body-horror stuff. It's scene after scene of eye-opening, stomach-churning violence and gore. Definitely not for the faint-hearted!
Charlie consults with a local archaeology expert, Professor Bixler (Mark Mitchinson), about some ancient hieroglyphics he finds (I won't tell you where)! As Katie's influence takes over the house, it leads to a brutal, gory and chaotic showdown where the whole cast has to try and deal with what's going on. Verónica Falcón plays Katie's grandmother, who is caught up in the heartbreaking aftermath when the girl is returned, ending up somewhat in strife amid the chaos, false teeth and all!
The film is filled with creepy sequences involving all sorts of insects and creatures (all black, of course), levitation, moving furniture and loads more - very much, as I say, in the style of The Exorcist overall. The standout performances are from the two girls, Billie Roy and Natalie Grace, who make it all terror-ific! The whole cast is very good, though, and the cinematography is superb throughout. The special effects are done really well too! My only real complaint is that at two hours and fifteen minutes, it felt about twenty minutes too long. This is especially true because Cronin decided to bolt on an epilogue after the finale, which the film could probably have done better without, making for a tighter runtime.
Having said all that, it was a rip-roaring, entertaining thrill-ride which - assuming you don't sit and look for plot holes but rather enjoy it for what it is - will give you a good time. Well, unless you're squeamish! It has now just arrived on streaming services in the UK, but for now, it is pay-to-view even if you have a subscription. Hopefully, you have some vouchers, tokens or cash handy! It's still cheaper than the cinema - but you can go there too if you like!
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