Aztec Mummy Coming Atcha from Mexico
America wasn't the only country making cheesy horror B-movies in the 1950's
Your header gif today features a scene from La maldición de la momia azteca, AKA “The Curse of the Aztec Mummy.” It is the second in a three-part series featuring your pal, the Aztec Mummy. The movies were produced and filmed in Mexico. In order to save on filming and production costs, all three movies, La Momia Aztecha, Le maldición…, and La Momia Azteca contra el Robot Humano (“The Robot vs. The Aztec Mummy”) were shot back-to-back at the same studio. The first two movies were released in 1957 and the last in 1958. There was a later movie, “Wrestling Woman vs. the Aztec Mummy” released in 1964 which doens’t have much to do with the first three films beyond having an Aztec mummy character.
Although he’s the titled star, Aztec Mummy appears only briefly in this movie. The story continues where the previous one left off. The villian known as “The Bat,” is scheming to find and loot the mummy’s ancient treasure. Attempting to thwart the Bat’s escape from a prison transport is a luchador-style masked superhero called “The Angel,” a new character introduced in this squel. The Angel is unsuccessful, and The Bat, supported by his gang of thugs, returns to his evil ways.
The Angel, by the way, is always bested at his ongoing attempts to stop the Bat and his minions. He might be the lamest superhero ever and he adds almost nothing in forwardance of the plot beyond reporting back to the good guys on what the Bat is up to. But if you like lucha libre movies this one is a must-see, since it was one of the first to take advantage of the growing Mexican popularity of these masked wrestlers by throwing one into the proverbial ring to liven things up.
In the first film, we learn that the lovely Flor Sepulveda, fiancée of Aztec history expert Dr. Eduardo Almada, is the reincarnated Aztec princess Xochitl. The Bat’s plan involves kidnapping and then hypnotizing Flor to trigger her past life regression in order to reveal where Xochitl’s golden brestplate is hidden. This brestplate holds the key to the Aztec treasure, and once recovered, the Bat forces Dr. Almada to translate the ancient text. This time, the Bat’s plan works and all seems lost when the Bat reveals that he plans on eliminating his hostages, but fortunately the Aztez mummy, cursed lover of Xochitl, bursts on the scene. He pummels the bad guys (plus, I dunno, curses some of them or something—it’s unclear) and then pursues The Bat, finally throwing him in a pit of poisonous snakes— total poetic justice.
To be honest, this is not a great movie. I try to find the positives in low-budget films, recognizing the creativity within the bounds that they must abide, but this one is just not that interesting. It is dull and cliche in so many places and could have used a firm hand in the post production editing. Even the monster is a disapointment, particularly because we hardly see him at all and when we do see him, the footage is really dark. Still the “Aztec Mummy” trillogy remains a cult classic. My recommendation, should you choose to embark on this journey, is to watch “The Aztec Mummy” first (streaming sources on the Gruesome Magazine page) and then go from there.
Internet Archive: La Maldicion De La Momia Azteca (Curse of the Aztec Mummy) English Subtitled
TCM: The Curse of the Aztec Mummy
Intriguing. This Angel wouldn't be the same silver-masked wrestler known as the Saint, would he?