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| The Curse of the Aztec Mummy | |
|---|---|
Mexican theatrical release poster
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| Directed by | Rafael Portillo |
| Written by | Guillermo Calderón Alfredo Salazar |
| Produced by | Guillermo Calderón (producer) |
| Starring | See below |
| Cinematography | Enrique Wallace |
| Edited by | Jorge Bustos José Li-ho |
| Music by | Antonio Díaz Conde |
Production | Cinematográfica Calderón S.A. |
| Distributed by | Clasa-Mohme (1957 United States theatrical release) |
Release date |
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Running time | 65 minutes |
| Country | Mexico |
| Language | Spanish |
The Curse of the Aztec Mummy (Spanish: La Maldición de la Momia Azteca) is a 1957 Mexican horror film directed by Rafael Portillo. It is the second film in the Aztec Mummy series which began with The Aztec Mummy (Spanish title:La Momia Azteca) which was released earlier that year.
The plot is continued from the first film in the series, The Aztec Mummy. The evil Dr. Krupp (Luis Aceves Castañeda) known as The Bat escapes from the police with the aid of his gang. He once again tries to get possession of the Aztec princess Xochitl's gold breastplate and bracelet by hypnotizing her current reincarnation, Flor Sepulveda, to get her to reveal the location of Xochitl's tomb.
Confusion reigns as Krupp and his thugs are opposed by Flor's fiancé Dr. Almada, his mild-mannered assistant Pinacate, and a mysterious masked superhero called the Angel. Dr. Krupp kidnaps Flor, Dr. Almada, and the Angel and tries to force Almada to translate the hieroglyphics on the breastplate, which will reveal the secret location of the Aztec treasure. It turns out their bookish friend Pinacate has been the man behind the Angel's mask.
However, he finally meets his match when Popoca, the warrior mummy who guards Xochitl's tomb, bursts into the mad doctor's lab, kills his thugs and throws the screaming Dr. Krupp into a pit filled with live snakes. Popoca takes his stolen artifacts and stumbles off back to his tomb. This film's plot leads into the third film in the trilogy, The Robot vs. The Aztec Mummy.
The Curse of the Aztec Mummy was released theatrically in 1957.[1] It was later dubbed in English and released in the U.S. by K. Gordon Murray.[2]
Author and film critic Leonard Maltin awarded the film one and a half out of four stars, calling it "Cheap" and "droning".[3] On his website Fantastic Movie Musings and Ramblings, Dave Sindelar noted that the film was slightly better than its sequel, having more plot than the other films in the series. Sindelar's only criticism was slow pacing during the last half of the film.[4] TV Guide awarded the film three out of four stars, calling it "wholly enjoyable".[5]
Horror DVDs.com on their review for the complete series gave the film a negative review calling it "the least satisfying entry in the series". The reviewer also criticized the introduction of the superhero El Ángel as "random".[6]
