Both of these “thrillers” recently dropped on HBO and neither is especially thrilling.

Undertone Evy Babic plays a podcaster who receives disturbing recordings. As she and her partner listen, things become increasingly dumb (as opposed to scary). Smartly, writer/director Ian Tuason has placed the entire film in one home and only has 2 characters on camera (the other is her dying mother). This kept her budget low, but that’s all. Since the story is audio based, most of the “scares” are mysterious sounds with some shadows lurking the corner. It’s way more tedious than thriller with a lot of ominous  atmosphere. 1.0 out of 5.0 stars HBO link

Lee Cronin’s The Mummy I’m guessing they added writer/director Lee Cronin’s name to the title, since it’s the only thing that sets it apart. I don’t know why, because his last film “Evil Dead Rise” was pretty terrible (my review). This version has no relation to the traditional genre, because a young daughter disappears and turns up 8 years later in a shocking state. Eventually, there’s a bit of carnage, but after the opening scene, things go downhill in tension and brutality. 1.0 out of 5.0 stars HBO link