The Aztec Mummy


The Aztec Mummy is a 1957 Mexican horror film produced by Guillermo Calderon from his own story idea, scripted by Alfredo Salazar, and directed by Rafael Portillo.
It was the first in a trilogy of Mexican mummy films, all featuring Popoca the Aztec Mummy. The other two films were The Curse of the Aztec Mummy and The Robot vs. The Aztec Mummy. The three films were all shot in 1957, one after another without a break in the production schedule.
The film was later re-edited and distributed in the U.S. in 1963 by producer Jerry Warren as Attack of the Mayan Mummy.

Plot

In ancient times, Aztec warrior Popoca is buried alive after being caught having an affair with the temple maiden Xochitl, who is put to death for her sin. Popoca must forever guard the tomb within the Great Pyramid of Yucatán where his lover's remains and the treasures of the Aztec are kept.
In the present day, Dr. Eduardo Almada decides to experiment with hypnotic regression on his fiancé, Flor Sepúlveda. Through hypnosis, Eduardo discovers that Flor is in fact a reincarnation of Xochitl, and uses her past memories to find the Aztec tomb of Popoca.
The explorers steal a gold breastplate from the tomb, awakening the sleeping mummy, who pursues them endlessly trying to reclaim the stolen artifacts. The group flees to Mexico City with Popoca in pursuit. Meanwhile, Dr. Krupp, one of Almada's colleagues who is also a master criminal known as the Bat, discovers the existence of the treasure and sends his thugs after Dr. Almada and Flor in order to retrieve the golden breastplate, which contains a key to the great Aztec treasure. Krupp's men converge on Flor's house in order to retrieve the treasure and run afoul of the mummy.
The mummy retrieves his stolen items and returns with them to his tomb, taking Flor with him as a prisoner. Dr. Krupp is captured by the police and taken to prison. In the end, the scientists return to the pyramid and battle the mummy, holding him at bay with a crucifix. The leader of the expedition, Dr. Sepulveda, sacrifices his life to destroy the mummy with dynamite, collapsing the tomb onto both of them. Flor is then released from the hold her past held on her.

Cast

Development for The Aztec Mummy began in early 1957.
At this point in Mexican cinema, there was a wide range of films being released that were similar in plots to the old Universal Pictures horror movies, but differed enough to avoid a lawsuit from Universal. Variations of Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein and other classic monsters were especially popular with Mexican audiences. So, it is not surprising that Guillermo Calderon and Alfredo Salazar chose a topic similar to Universal's films The Mummy and The Mummy's Hand and its sequels The Mummy's Tomb, The Mummy's Ghost and The Mummy's Curse.
The Aztec Mummy was filmed in Mexico City, Mexico in 1957 in Estudios CLASA studio and shot back-to-back with its two sequels.

Release

The first film in the trilogy was released theatrically in Mexico on November 13, 1957 by Peliculas Nacionales.
The film was released on DVD by BCI on December 26, 2006 as a part of the 3-disc box set The Aztec Mummy Collection.
It was later released by VCI Entertainment on December 9, 2014.

Reception

The Aztec Mummy was not widely reviewed by mainstream critics. Reviews that exist on the film have been mostly negative.
On his website Fantastic Movie Musings and Ramblings, Dave Sindelar called it the strongest in the series, while noting that those unfamiliar with the series might have a harder time with it.
TV Guide awarded the film no stars out of 4, calling the film "Completely bizarre and cheaply made," but further stated that the film was engaging and worth taking a look at.
David Maine from PopMatters gave the film a mixed 5/10 stars. Maine concluded his review by stating that the film was "Dull in spots, but quirky and moody enough to be worth a look."
Regardless, both the film and its sequels have gained a cult following over the years and it is now considered a cult classic.

Other films in the Aztec Mummy series

Attack of the Mayan Mummy is the Americanized version of an earlier Mexican movie, The Aztec Mummy. It was made by Jerry Warren, who removed a huge portion of the original Mexican film, replacing it with newly filmed footage featuring American actors. This solved the problem of re-dubbing the original Spanish dialogue into English. Warren released his film in 1963. He later re-released the film in 1965 on a double feature with the film Creature of the Walking Dead.
The plot of the Americanized version is similar to the original, except that the mummy kills one of the explorers, and is in turn captured by the scientists and taken back to civilization. The mummy later escapes, kidnaps the heroine and shambles off with her down a highway at night. The mummy is hit by a car and killed and a newspaper headline anticlimactically announces his destruction.

Cast of the Americanized version

Cavett Binion of AllMovie referred to the film as a "tedious effort" that was "padded out with deadly-dull exposition".
Mike Haberfelner of SearchMyTrash.com wrote: ".....nothing really happens in the newly shot footage, it just shows characters commenting on what has just happened in the Mexican footage or contemplating what will happen - and it all seems to serve primarily one purpose: To avoid having to dub and lip-synch too much dialogue of the original footage. The result is so bad in fact that the film has come to be known as a trash masterpiece."