THE AZTEC MUMMY (1957)
(a.k.a. LA MOMIA / LA MOMIA AZTECA)
Article #1535 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date: 5-28-2005
Posting Date: 10-25-2005
Directed by Rafael Portillo
Featuring Ramon Gay, Rosa Arenas, Luis Aceves Castaneda

An experiment in hypnosis and past lives leads a scientist to search for proof of his theories in an Aztec tomb. There he awakens the wrath of Popoca, the Aztec Mummy.

When I reached the point where my hunt list consisted of one thousand movies, none of which were immediately available to me for viewing, I was going to take up the slack of this series by engaging in coverage of those movies that had been on my list the longest but which I had never been able to find. I honestly thought that I would have reached that point by now, but such is not the case. Had I indeed reached that point, one of the first movies I would have covered would have been THE AZTEC MUMMY, which, if considered as a separate entity from Jerry Warren’s atrocity ATTACK OF THE MAYAN MUMMY, had seemingly vanished off the face of the earth. Fortunately, such is not the case.

The movie recently popped up for sale, and I was able to snag a copy. It’s undubbed and unsubtitled, but I have been fortunate enough to acquire a translation of the dialogue (special thanks to Rich Wannen for this). Yet I’m not sure even that was necessary. Anybody familiar with the other Aztec Mummy movies already have the necessary plot elements in hand, and the movie is pretty much a full-length recreation of the first twenty minutes of the ‘story-so-far’ section of THE ROBOT VS. THE AZTEC MUMMY. Still, it is nice to see it at its appropriate pace and original music, and it’s probably the strongest of the three movies. Those not familiar with the other entries in the series may have a tougher time with it, but I still think it can be generally understood.