''The Aztec Mummy'' () is a 1957 Mexican

adventure An adventure is an exciting experience or undertaking that is typically bold, sometimes risky. Adventures may be activities with danger such as traveling, exploring, skydiving, mountain climbing, scuba diving, river rafting, or other extreme spo ...

horror film Horror is a film genre that seeks to elicit physical or psychological fear in its viewers. Horror films often explore dark subject matter and may deal with Transgressive art, transgressive topics or themes. Broad elements of the genre include Mo ...

produced by Guillermo Calderon from his own story idea, scripted by

Alfredo Salazar Alfredo Salazar (March 10, 1942, in San Juan, Puerto Rico – November 11, 2023) was an economist by education and a banker by profession. He entered into public service and ran for an elected position affiliated with the Popular Democratic Party ...

, and directed by

Rafael Portillo Rafael Portillo (1916–1995) was a Mexican film director, screenwriter and film editor.Berg p.127 Selected filmography Director * ''The Ghost Falls In Love'' (1953) * ''A Life in the Balance'' (1955) * ''The Aztec Mummy'' (1957) * ''The Curse of ...

. The plot centers on a group of scientists who uncover a secret

Aztec The Aztecs ( ) were a Mesoamerican civilization that flourished in central Mexico in the Post-Classic stage, post-classic period from 1300 to 1521. The Aztec people included different Indigenous peoples of Mexico, ethnic groups of central ...

tomb through past-life regression, only to awaken an ancient warrior who has been cursed to guard the tomb and its hidden treasures. It is the first of a trilogy featuring the titular character, all filmed back-to-back in order to increase potential profit.

Plot

Dr. Eduardo Almada, a scientist with controversial views on

hypnosis Hypnosis is a human condition involving focused attention (the selective attention/selective inattention hypothesis, SASI), reduced peripheral awareness, and an enhanced capacity to respond to suggestion.In 2015, the American Psychological ...

and past lives, presents his theories before a group of neuropsychiatrists and is met with extreme skepticism. Realizing he needs proof in order to convince others of his theories, Almada decides to conduct an experiment on his fiance, Flor Sepúlveda which he does reluctantly after she volunteers. Unbeknownst to the couple, they are spied upon by a master criminal known as "The Bat", secretly Almada's academic rival Dr. Krupp. Under hypnosis, Flor reveals her past life as the ancient

woman Xochitl who was selected by her people to be sacrificed to the god

Tezcatlipoca Tezcatlipoca ( ) or Tezcatl Ipoca was a central deity in Aztec religion. He is associated with a variety of concepts, including the night sky, hurricanes, obsidian, and conflict. He was considered one of the four sons of Ometecuhtli and Omec ...

. Before she was to be sacrificed, Xochitl was discovered in the romantic embrace of warrior Popoca and severely punished for this offense. Popoca, for his "corruption" of the virginal Xochitl, is buried alive and cursed to spend eternity guarding two sacred relics entombed with him, a golden breastplate and armband which serve as keys to a vast hidden treasure. Xochitl herself is also sacrificed and buried in the same tomb alongside her lover. Realizing the validity of his theory, Almada resolves to find the tomb of Xochitl and recover the artifacts as proof for his theory. Once enlisting the help of several other scientists, the group set off to find the tomb using Flor's past-life memories. Eventually discovering the tomb's secret entrance, the group enters the burial chambers and uncovers the bones of Xochitl and the sacred artifacts. Retrieving the breastplate, the group leaves, not noticing Popoca has reanimated and is following them. Arriving back in

Mexico City Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...

, Almada presents his discovery to the group of scientists who further uncover a series of

hieroglyphics Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs ( ) were the formal writing system used in Ancient Egypt for writing the Egyptian language. Hieroglyphs combined ideographic, logographic, syllabic and alphabetic elements, with more than 1,000 distinct characters.I ...

etched into the breastplate telling of a vast treasure that can be unlocked using the armband which reveals its location. Before the group sets for to retrieve the armband, Popoca arrives and attacks the group who barely manages to escape. Meanwhile, The Bat, having been spying on the group the entire time, sends some of his henchmen to retrieve the breastplate which the group has taken to Flor's house in their escape from Popoca. The henchman's assault on the group is cut short by the arrival of Popoca, who slaughters the men before retrieving the breastplate and abducting Flor, whom he recognizes as the reincarnation of Xochitl. Popoca makes his way back to the tomb, intent on sacrificing Flor to Tezcatlipoca in order to appease the god and end his curse of immortality. The ritual is cut short by the arrival of Almada, who manages to hold the enraged mummy at bay with a

crucifix A crucifix (from the Latin meaning '(one) fixed to a cross') is a cross with an image of Jesus on it, as distinct from a bare cross. The representation of Jesus himself on the cross is referred to in English as the (Latin for 'body'). The cru ...

while Flor is rescued. Breaking from the hold the crucifix has over him, Popoca lunges towards them, but seemingly perishes as Almada's friend Dr. Sepúlveda sacrifices himself by igniting nearby

dynamite Dynamite is an explosive made of nitroglycerin, sorbents (such as powdered shells or clay), and Stabilizer (chemistry), stabilizers. It was invented by the Swedish people, Swedish chemist and engineer Alfred Nobel in Geesthacht, Northern German ...

, collapsing the entire tomb onto both of them. Free from her past self, Flor returns to civilization with Almada. The two then expose Dr. Krupp as The Bat who is then arrested by the police.

Cast

Ramón Gay Ramón Gay (born Ramón García Gay; November 28, 1917 – May 28, 1960) was a Mexican film actor. He was one of the stars of the Golden Age of Mexican cinema, known to horror film fans for his role in ''The Aztec Mummy'' trilogy of films in the ...

as Dr. Eduardo Almada * Rosita Arenas as Flor Sepúlveda/Xochitl *

Crox Alvarado Cruz Pío Socorro Alvarado Bolado (3 May 1910 – 30 January 1984), known professionally as Crox Alvarado, was a Costa Rican actor who appeared in over 90 films. He was considered a popular star of the Golden Age of Mexican cinema. Alvarado ha ...

as Pinacate *

Luis Aceves Castañeda Luis Aceves Castañeda (1913–1973) was a Mexican film actor.Paietta, p. 141. Selected filmography * '' Juan Charrasqueado'' (1948) * '' Philip of Jesus'' (1949) * '' Red Rain'' (1950) * '' Maria Islands'' (1951) * ''A Place Near Heaven'' (19 ...

as Dr. Krupp (a.k.a. El Murciélago/the Bat) * Jaime Gonzalez Quinones as Pepe Almada * Unidentified Child Actress as Anita Almada * Jorge Mondragón as Dr. Sepúlveda * Ángel di Stefani as Popoca the Aztec Mummy * Arturo Martínez as Henchman Tierno *

Stella Indo Stella or STELLA may refer to: Art, entertainment, and media Films * ''Stella'' (1921 film), directed by Edwin J. Collins * ''Stella'' (1943 film), with Zully Moreno * ''Stella'' (1950 film), with Ann Sheridan and Victor Mature * ''Stella'' (1955 ...

as the Aztecan Chanteuse * Emma Roldan as Maria, Dr. Almada's housekeeper

Production

Development for ''La Momia Azteca'' began in early 1957, at the end of a Golden Age in

Mexican cinema The cinema of Mexico dates to the late nineteenth century during the rule of President Porfirio Díaz. Seeing a demonstration of short films in 1896, Díaz immediately saw the importance of documenting his presidency in order to present an ...

when films put out had been celebrated internationally in the film industry, beginning in 1939. Mexican writer Alfredo Salazar, brother to actor and producer Abel Salazar Alfredo Salazar had spent most his career up to this point writing comedies. Wishing to distance himself from the genre, and viewing the financial success of Universal Pictures' monster movies, Salazar decided to make his next project a horror film. Borrowing heavily from Universal's ''

The Mummy A mummy is an unusually well preserved corpse. Mummy or The Mummy may also refer to: Places * Mummy Range, a mountain range in the Rocky Mountains of northern Colorado in the United States * Mummy Cave, a rock shelter and archeological site in P ...

'' (1932), Alfredo replaced the

ancient Egyptian Ancient Egypt () was a cradle of civilization concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in Northeast Africa. It emerged from prehistoric Egypt around 3150BC (according to conventional Egyptian chronology), when Upper and Lower E ...

s from Universal's 1932 film, with the more localized Aztec culture, so to avoid any potential copyright lawsuits. The film would mark the second collaboration between Salazar and director Guillermo Calderon, having previously collaborated on the 1953

comedy film The comedy film is a film genre that emphasizes humor. These films are designed to amuse audiences and make them laugh. Films in this genre typically have a happy ending, with dark comedy being an exception to this rule. Comedy is one of the o ...

'' The Ghost Falls In Love'', alongside actor

. Story elements from Universal's film, such as the ancient romance, reincarnation, and the image of a shambling mummy were developed into Salazar's script, with Salazar altering the reincarnation element into the

past life regression Past life regression (PLR), Past life therapy (PLT), regression or memory regression is a method that uses hypnosis to recover what practitioners believe are Past life memory, memories of past lives or reincarnation, incarnations.Bridey Murphy, who claimed to have lived a past life. Salazar further devised the idea of the film as the first of a trilogy featuring Popoca, shot back-to-back in order to cut costs and increase profits.

Principal photography Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production. Personnel Besides the main film personnel, such as the ...

commenced in March of 1957 for a period of two months, with the cast and crew members shooting all three films inside Mexico's newly built Estudios Cinematográfica Latino Americana S.A. (Clasa Studios) in Mexico City. Some commentators have noted the design of the title character Popoca closely resembles that of the

Mummies of Guanajuato The Mummies of Guanajuato are a number of naturally mummified bodies originally interred in Guanajuato, Mexico. The human bodies appear to have been disinterred between 1870 and 1958. During that time, a local tax was in place requiring a fee ...

, a number of naturally mummified bodies that had become a popular tourist attraction since the early 1900s.

Release

''La Momia Azteca'' was released theatrically in Mexico on November 13, 1957.

Home media

The film was not given a home media release for decades after its initial theatrical release, with exposure gained from occasional television screenings and bootleg copies. It was released for the first time on

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for digital video disc or digital versatile disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any ki ...

by BCI Eclipse as a three-disk box set of the entire "Aztec Mummy" trilogy on December 26, 2006. Special features included a still gallery of promotional artwork and still photographs of the entire series, in addition to an eight-page booklet with an essay on the trilogy by David Wilt. It was later released by Navarre Corporation, as a single-disk collection of the entire trilogy, released on February 24, 2009. This copy of the film has since gone out of print. The film was omitted from The Aztec Mummy Collection

Blu-ray Blu-ray (Blu-ray Disc or BD) is a digital optical disc data storage format designed to supersede the DVD format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released worldwide on June 20, 2006, capable of storing several hours of high-defin ...

, when it was released by VCI Entertainment on July 19, 2022. This release includes Curse of the Aztec Mummy, The Robot vs. the Aztec Mummy, and Wrestling Women vs. the Aztec Mummy, but does not include the original The Aztec Mummy.

Reception

''La Momia Azteca'' was not widely reviewed by mainstream critics, with existing international reviews noting the film's low budget and bizarre storyline. ''

TV Guide TV Guide is an American digital media In mass communication, digital media is any media (communication), communication media that operates in conjunction with various encoded machine-readable data formats. Digital content can be created, vi ...

'' highlighted the film's low production values and offbeat storyline, calling it "one of the strangest mummy movies ever made". David Maine of entertainment website ''Popmatters'' gave the film a mixed review, commending the cinematography of the temple sequences and "lively" soundtrack. However, Maine would criticize the erratic pacing and weak subplot involving The Bat character.

Legacy

The commercial success of ''La Momia Azteca'' would spawn a series of

exploitation film An exploitation film is a film that seeks commercial success by capitalizing on current trends, niche genres, or sensational content. Exploitation films often feature themes such as suggestive or explicit sex, sensational violence, drug use, nudi ...

s imitating Universal's monster movies, the first of which would be '' El Vampiro'' (1957), modeled after Universal Studios' ''Dracula'' series and released the same year as Alfredo's film. The film has since gained a small

cult following A cult following is a group of fans who are highly dedicated to a person, idea, object, movement, or work, often an artist, in particular a performing artist, or an artwork in some medium. The latter is often called a cult classic. A film, boo ...

over the years and is now considered a

cult classic A cult following is a group of Fan (person), fans who are highly dedicated to a person, idea, object, movement, or work, often an artist, in particular a performing artist, or an artwork in some List of art media, medium. The latter is often cal ...

Sequels

The film was the first in a trilogy starring the mummy Popoca, having been written and filmed back to back at the same time as ''La Momia Azteca''. Each sequel would incorporate different genres into its storylines, though these later entries would be given more negative reviews by critics, who highlighted the increasingly poor quality, and overuse of flashbacks. The first sequel, '' La maldición de la momia azteca'' (English: ''The Curse of the Aztec Mummy'') was released the same year. Unlike its predecessor, the sequel would incorporate the increasingly popular

Luchador film Luchador films (or ''Lucha Libre films'') are Mexican professional wrestling/action/science-fiction/ horror films starring some of the most popular masked luchadores in Lucha Libre. The luchadores are portrayed as superheroes engaging in battles ...

genre into its storyline, featuring the Mexican wrestler

as the masked

superhero A superhero or superheroine is a fictional character who typically possesses ''superpowers'' or abilities beyond those of ordinary people, is frequently costumed concealing their identity, and fits the role of the hero, typically using their ...

known as El Ángel. The final entry in the series was released in 1958, titled '' La Momia Azteca contra el Robot Humano'' (English:''The Robot vs. The Aztec Mummy''), it would incorporate elements of

science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...

, with Popoca battling a robot built by the series reoccurring antagonist Dr. Krupp.

Attack of the Mayan Mummy

In 1963, American producer

Jerry Warren Jerry Warren (March 10, 1925 – August 21, 1988) was an American film director, Film producer, producer, editor, screenwriter, cinematographer, and actor. Warren grew up wanting to get into the film business in Los Angeles, California. He ...

acquired international rights to the film. Cutting a significant amount of the original film, Warren shot new scenes featuring American actors, editing it into a new film titled ''Attack of the Mayan Mummy''. The plot of the Americanized version, though retaining some of the original's storyline, would significantly alter major sequences in the film. The resulting version, cut down to 77 minutes as opposed to the original's 80-minute runtime, was released as a double-feature alongside a similarly "Americanized" foreign film '' Creature of the Walking Dead''. Both were largely ignored by mainstream critics, with reviews that exist being largely negative. Warren would implement the same business practice some years later, splicing scenes from ''La Momia Azteca'' and the Mexican comedy horror film ''La Casa del Terror'' (1959) into newly filmed sequences featuring

Lon Chaney Jr. Creighton Tull Chaney (February10, 1906 – July12, 1973), known by his stage name Lon Chaney Jr., was an American actor known for playing Larry Talbot in the film '' The Wolf Man'' (1941) and its various crossovers, Count Alucard (Dracula ...

The resulting film, titled ''

Face of the Screaming Werewolf ''Face of the Screaming Werewolf'' is a 1965 horror film directed by a low budget film maker Jerry Warren. The film was created by combining parts of two unrelated Mexican horror films, '' La Casa del Terror'' (1960), and '' La Momia Azteca'' ( ...

'' (1965).

References

Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

External links

The Aztec Mummy links

* * *

Attack of the Mayan Mummy links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Aztec Mummy, The 1950s Mexican films 1950s monster movies 1950s Spanish-language films 1957 films 1957 horror films Adventure horror films Aztecs in fiction Fictional mummies Films set in Mexico Films shot in Mexico City Mexican black-and-white films Mexican horror films Mexican monster movies Mummy films Films about treasure hunting