Exploring the Dark Secrets of the Aztec Mummy Curse

The Curse of the Aztec Mummy is a 1957 Mexican horror film directed by Rafael Portillo. It is the third installment in a series of eight Aztec Mummy films produced between 1957 and 1965. The movie follows the story of Doctor Eduardo Almada, who becomes obsessed with immortality and the Aztec civilization. In the film, Doctor Almada discovers a hidden tomb containing the mummy of Popoca, an ancient Aztec warrior. Believing that the mummy possesses the secret to eternal life, Almada decides to perform an experiment on the mummy. However, he is warned by an old man about a curse placed upon those who disturb the tomb.

Epidemics are nothing new, of course. And some widespread infectious diseases have profoundly changed the course of human history.

The main thrust of the initial narrative is Professor Almada Ramon Gay putting his young fiancée Flor Rosina Arenas into a hypnotic state to learn about her past life as an Aztec princess, put to death for loving Popoca, wearing a breastplate and bracelet, items that reveal more hidden treasures within the Great Pyramid of Yucatan. He got it in the form of a smallpox epidemic that gradually spread inward from the coast of Mexico and decimated the densely populated city of Tenochtitlan in 1520, reducing its population by 40 percent in a single year.

However, he is warned by an old man about a curse placed upon those who disturb the tomb. Ignoring the warning, Doctor Almada proceeds with his experiment and accidentally wakes up Popoca from his eternal slumber. The mummy comes to life seeking revenge and begins killing those who crossed its path.

User Reviews

In 1957 3 Aztec Mummy movies were filmed almost back to back to back.They were The Aztec Mummy, Curse Of The Aztec Mummy and Robot Vs The Aztec Mummy.The 1st one was bought by Jerry Warren and butchered horribly for US release as Attack Of The Mayan Mummy.K Gordon Murray bought the last two for US release.

A few minutes of The Aztec Mummy shows up in Curse Of The Aztec Mummy.Dr Krupp aka The Bat has been arrested.Dr Almada,Flor and his assistant Pincate feel safe.However a masked crimefighter in droopy drawers and a cape calling himself The Angel shows up to warn Dr Alamada that nobody is safe from The Bat.Sure enough when The Bat is being transported to prison his gang attacks.The Angel shows up and promptly gets his arse kicked.The Bat escapes.

Dr Krupp plots to steal the Aztec breastplate & bracelet from the tomb of Popoca.He gives us a lengthy flashback from The Aztec Mummy.Flor (Dr Almada's fiance) was hypnotized to reveal a past life.She was a hand maiden to one of the Aztec Gods.But she & Popoca did the wild thing and they were sentenced to death.

So Krupp kidnaps Flora and the doctor.The Angel shows up and once again gets his arse kicked.He and the doctor are prisoners as Krupp, his men and Flora search for the Aztec loot.They find Popoca and his is awfully sore at being roused.The gang escapes with the booty.

When they get back to the Bat's hideout yet another fight ensues.Guess what?The Angel gets his arse kicked again.He is unmasked to reveal his true identity ending his crimefighting days.Good thing too unless he liked getting beaten up every twenty minutes.

Krupp forces Almada to translate the symbols on the breastplate that leads to the treasure.But Popoca shows up ready to kill everybody in sight.

This is good for a laugh as it tries to inject a Santo like crimefighter into the Mummy sub genre.The Mummy isn't on screen much at all which is a sore point with me.However it is a bit of brainless fun.

Maldicion de la Momia Azteca, La (1957)

Corny sequel has The Bat escaping police custody and kidnapping the scientist and his girlfriend (both from the first film). This time around there's also an overweight, masked wrestler named The Angel who tries to help matters and of course there's the aztec mummy who is nice enough to stop by for about five minutes. While the first film was a tad bit more serious in tone, this one here is pure camp from start to finish and manages to get quite a few unintentional laughs. I couldn't help but laugh my ass off at The Angel who has to be one of the dumbest "heroes" in film history. His goal is to protect the scientist and his family but he gets them in more trouble than anything else. The scene where The Angel gets beat up by The Bat's men is priceless. This film only runs 63-minutes but I still can't figure out why they only use the mummy for five minutes. Oh well.

Released in the U.S. as CURSE OF THE AZTEC MUMMY in 1957, this movie seems to be made cheap and in a hurry. Hurry for it to be over is not a good compliment for a movie that only runs 65 minutes. When horror is done badly it becomes comedy. The evil Dr. Krupp(Luis A. Castaneda) also known as the desperate criminal The Bat continues his search for the breast plate and bracelet of an Ancient Aztec mummy. Dr. Almada (Ramon Gay) must protect his fiance Flor(Rosa Arenas)for she is a reincarnate of an ancient handmaiden that knows the location of the coveted treasure. Flor is kidnapped by the Bat's gang of hoodlums and coming to the rescue is a hooded, capped and haphazard fighter of crime The Angel(Crox Alvardo), who gets more ass whippings than a red headed step-child. So much for a hero. So much for horror that turns into laughable mystery. Stick to ice cold Mexican beer, a bowl of salsa and a dozen beef taquitos!

Curse Of The Aztec Mummy is the second of a three-film series filmed back-to-back by cheapskate production company Calderon in 1957. Exploiting the Aztec Mummy angle is a cost-effective attempt at creating a homegrown monster, and it's certainly a unique re-imagining of the classic Egyptian model – tatty coat, Keith Richards hair, and the oddest dubbing job by K. Gordon Murray that makes it sound like a hungry wino. Or, for that matter, Keith Richards on a North American tour.

Curse begins where the first Aztec Mummy finishes: the eeeeevil Dr Krupp (also known as "The Bat") is busted out of police custody by his evil henchmen, and plans to kidnap the good Dr Almada and his fiancée Flora. In a lengthy flashback, Krupp relates the first film's integral plot point in which a hypnotized Flora, an Aztec princess in a previous life, relates the whereabouts of the Aztec treasure. She was put to death, while her treacherous lover, an Aztec warrior named Popoca, was cursed to eternal life while being buried alive. Almada wants Flora to prove his theories on reincarnation; Krupp, with his eeeeevil beer-gut and Van Dyke beard, just wants the cash.

Enter The Angel, a masked wresting champion of justice, who comes to Almada's aid, but ends up hanging by a light bulb over a pit of rattle snakes. Meanwhile "The Bat" and the bound Flora are chased around an Aztec pyramid by the resurrected Mummy of Popoca, who after countless centuries is still protective of his ex-girlfriend But of course it's not the final word from the eeeeevil Dr Krupp. Virtually the entire cast and crew return to do it all again in the third film Robot vs The Aztec Mummy, released in mid-1958. All three black and white movies clock in at just over an hour, and with their episodic, heavy padding, quasi-cliffhanger structure and stagy melodrama filled with cardboard cutout gangsters and mad scientists, are reminiscent of the old American serials of the 30s and 40s. What you didn't see north of the border is a masked wrestler driving up to a crime scene in a sports car. And therein lies their charm.

I'm wondering if the original Spanish version of this is as bad or did Jerry Warren take the original print, get a bunch of English speaking non-actors and put together a whole story unrelated that makes absolutely no sense. At any rate, I can tell by the visuals that the original was no winner either because it's cheap looking, with a laboratory that makes Bela Lugosi's lab in "Bride of the Monster" look like something out of a high-end hospital.

There's a silly looking crime fighter called "the bat" that looks like one of those hideous '70s host of horror movies on TV, and a heavyset villainous doctor who resembles Laird Cregar and whom nobody in their right mind would take someone in need of medical assistance to. A flashback to the past times of the actual Aztecs makes no sense and context with everything else on screen. Fortunately it's just an hour, but that hour is so dull that you might find yourself doing other errands while attempting to get through it.

Giving this film a 9 is an internal rating. We are talking Mexican mummy/ masked super hero/ science fiction/supernatural movies. And this one is nearly perfect. First of all, it's a fast 65 minutes. Second, you have that nasty ol' turkey, Dr. Krupp from THE AZTEC MUMMY coming back, and STILL after that doggone breastplate. Ramon Gay, Rosita Arenas and lots of stock footage from AZTEC MUMMY have also returned, with a great edit job of the 'Past Lives Dance Sequence' from the first film. But this film ALSO features the FIRST Mexican masked superhero, complete with mandatory Masked Superhero Mini-mobile/Shriner Car. Santo was three years away. Neutron four. Blue Demon eight. THE ANGEL was there first in 1957, jumping and leaping and getting beat up, complete with the standard equipment deep resonant voice and a wrist radio to get him out of trouble. THIS is history. Don't look for logic or even continuity with the first film. The thing is on such a headlong rush, some people thought it HAD to be edited down from a 12 part serial, like the NOSTRADAMUS films were. It wasn't, by the way, just filmed in the same year, back to back with the first. Now available in THE AZTEC MUMMY COLLECTION from BCI and cleaned up, with the original Spanish soundtrack on one side, the K Gordon Murray re dub on the other. HAVEN'T you always wondered what they were REALLY saying?? Answer: in most cases, it's just as surreal.

This is an inferior first sequel to THE AZTEC MUMMY (1957), eschewing much of the atmosphere and metaphysics of the original for comic-strip antics and cliffhanger situations involving a masked avenger (whose identity is even more incredible than the revelation of the villain at the end of THE AZTEC MUMMY) and a private snake pit! Despite the title, the appearance of the mummy itself is almost an afterthought – since it's relegated only to the climax. Though barely over an hour in length, the film features extensive flashback footage from its predecessor and, similar to it, the scenes involving the mummy are extremely dark – the lighting during the finale changes drastically from one shot to the other – perhaps so as to conceal the rather poor make-up job! The comedy relief isn't very pronounced this time around (as it turns out, for plot purposes) – while the villain (incidentally, the scene depicting his escape from the clutches of the police at the beginning of the film utilizes footage from a gun battle featured in the first entry in the series!) here completely forsakes his "Bat" persona on his way to becoming the mad scientist in the next instalment.

This movie has some terrible acting and dialogue.They say some completely ridiculous things but I won't waste time repeating them. This is the story of a rich scientist who has a small daughter,no wife and a young boy who we eventually learn is his brother.An evil scientist kidnaps his girlfriend and daughter while the young boy and some gay guy get all weird. Plus there's a wrestler named Angel.Halfway through it becomes "The" Angel. There's a ton of silly fights.A cop gets shot and gently sets his gun down before he dies.A bad guy bumps into some bottles that don't break and starts screaming like it's killing him.There's plenty of silliness. Did I mention there's some stuff about a mummy too? At barely over an hour,this movie is worth your time.

Second of the three Aztec mummy films picks up where the first film left off with The Bat, now exposed as Dr Krupp still going after the hidden Aztec treasure. Again using past life regression he tries to find the hiding spot and eventually runs up against the mummy. There is a great deal of flashback material in this film from the first movie with the result that even at an hour the film feels padded. (Actually had I not just seen the first film it wouldn't have been bad). This time out the evil doctor also has to contend with a masked wrestler named the Angel. Why he's involved never really makes sense other than the person who is really Angel wants his identity hidden. Its not a horrible movie, but it is a slow one. Its also the sort of thing that most people point to as the creakiness of Mexican horror films. Actually its the creakiness of the ones that got a great deal of play on American TV. As with the first film the mummy only really shows up in the final minutes (though there are some brief flashback footage) so the inclusion of the mummy is more a come on than a real statement. And despite the apparent demise of Dr Krupp he's back in the third film Robot VS The Aztec Mummy. Better than the first film, as to whether you see the film is up to you.

Wow, does this sequel to THE AZTEC MUMMY get strange! While the first film was a reasonably competent recreation of the American mummy films, by this second film, any attempts to make a sane and coherent film were out the window! No longer did the film make much sense--instead becoming very similar to the worst of the American movie serials of the 1940s. Sadly, although CURSE OF THE AZTEC MUMMY was really bad, by the third (and thankfully final) film, the plot became even more ridiculous and the villains became so silly that the film rightfully earned a place on IMDb's Bottom 100 films! Now this is NOT to say CURSE OF THE AZTEC MUMMY isn't absolutely wretched--it's just about as bad as the third film and also should have made the list. How it received an overall score of about 3 is a puzzler--it's not nearly that good!!

CURSE OF THE AZTEC MUMMY begins where the last film left off--the true identity of the villain "the Bat" is now known and he's in police custody. Unfortunately, the cops are idiots and when the Bat's gang attacks the bus with the bat and guards inside (it's on the way to prison), so the villain is easily rescued by the gang. Now the cops COULD have stayed in the bus or used it for protection, but instead they mostly just ran outside to be shot. And, although there were about an equal number of cops and crooks were about even the fight was quickly finished--since the cops were so stupid. Now here's where it gets really silly. First, the machine guns are clearly NOT being fired (not even blanks) and the actors shake them up and down unconvincingly as poor sound effects are supposed to convince us they are really shooting. Second, after the cops are beaten, a luchador appears. A luchador is a Mexican professional wrestler--complete with a lucha libre mask! Unfortunately, the wrestler is not el Santo (hero of countless films) but an idiot known as "el Ángel"--and he is soon beaten up by the gang as well! Why they did not simply shoot him is beyond me. They supposedly were going to run him over instead, but when he moved aside at the last minute, no one in the Bat's car noticed that there was no bump or even a squish--and hey just drove away without killing the lousy fighter!

Well, at this point, the villains are obviously pretty dumb but at least the Bat is out of prison, a bunch of cops are dead and the Angel needs to explain to his followers why he was so quickly beaten up by the baddies. So, you could say that the baddies are in the lead. However, they STILL need to steal with golden treasure from the Aztec mummy. So, like the last film, the Bat decides to once again hypnotize the lady who is the reincarnated priestess from the Pre-Columbian days in order to find out where the treasure is hidden. We are then treated to a very long and mostly unnecessary clip from the first film explaining all about this lady and the mummy. Apparently, even though the film is BARELY an hour long, the film makers thought this would be okay and no one would notice or care about the extensive use of old footage.

After the woman is kidnapped, the Angel soon reappears and, guess what?! He has the crap kicked out of him again!! And, after this, the gang turns its violent impulses on the lady's fiancé and pummel him. Thank you, Angel, for all your help!! But don't worry, as the Angel is being thrown into a holding cell, he springs into action. and is once again beaten up!! And, once the door is shut, the floor begins to move--revealing a pit of dangerous snakes. Oddly, however, the snakes are totally still--either indicating they are all dead, rubber or the room is so cold that the snakes are in a state of torpor. Either way, I can't see why the Angel is particularly worried about the snakes. I assume it's just some phobia, as he clings to a swinging lamp and calls out to a little boy to rescue him. Some man of steel!! At any point, I almost expected his mommy to come to his assistance! In the end, however, you do learn more about why the luchador is such a putz. but there's yet more! Once the baddies desecrated the Aztec mummy's grave, just as it happened in the last film, the freaking thing came to life and kicked butt. or at least growled a lot. Big surprise here. You would have thought they would have had a contingency plan. like a cannon or some angry chihuahuas to fight the beast.

Oddly, at this point the nice doctor (the lady's fiancé) is roped into helping the Bat because he doesn't want his snookums to die. About this same time, the Angel is once again captured and unmasked. and it turns out he fights like a wimp because he really is a wimp, I mean, Pinacate--the comic relief from the first and third films. Now, this isn't a HUGE surprise because IMDb actually lets this secret out on the main page listing, as it says the actor Crox Alvarado plays both Pinacate AND the Angel!!

In the final exciting scene, the Bat is tossed into the snake pit by the mummy. This time, the snakes are actually moving about, so it appears he's truly dead. So why does he come back for the next film?!

Overall, the original film idea is out the window and was replaced by a movie serial-like film for particularly stupid and undemanding people. Badly written and lousy throughout--though it is fun to watch if you want to laugh at incompetence from start to finish.

"The Curse of the Aztec Mummy" (the literal translation for "La Maldicion de la Momia Azteca") follows the story from "La Momia Azteca," second in a trilogy concluding with "The Robot vs the Aztec Mummy," all directed by Rafael Portillo and scripted by Alfredo Salazar. It's essentially a 1957 Mexican take on the then-current Bridey Murphy craze, which inspired Hollywood cheapies like Roger Corman's "The Undead," W. Lee Wilder's "Fright," Alex Gordon's "The She-Creature," Peggie Castle's "Back from the Dead," Michael Landon's "I Was a Teenage Werewolf," Ed Wood's "The Bride and the Beast," and Lon Chaney's "The Alligator People." Like the later incarnation of the Aztec Mummy in 1964's "The Wrestling Women vs the Aztec Mummy," the monster's origin is virtually identical to Boris Karloff's in the 1932 version, a high priest who dared to love virgin handmaiden to the gods Xochitl, his name in this series Popoca, played in all three by Italian actor Angel Di Stefani. The main thrust of the initial narrative is Professor Almada (Ramon Gay) putting his young fiancée Flor (Rosina Arenas) into a hypnotic state to learn about her past life as an Aztec princess, put to death for loving Popoca, wearing a breastplate and bracelet, items that reveal more hidden treasures within the Great Pyramid of Yucatan. Of equal importance is the masked villain The Bat, who covets the Aztec riches for himself and is caught by police at the film's conclusion, unmasked as mad doctor Krupp (Luis Aceves Castaneda), in search of the treasure for some great experiment. The mummy doesn't actually come to life until an hour into its 80 minute running time, spending the last 12 minutes venturing out to recapture the stolen artifacts plus the reincarnation of his beloved princess to sacrifice her to the gods a second time just as Karloff's Imhotep sought to do (this mummy resembles photos of the real thing, and despite the brevity of its appearances is rather effective). The girl is rescued before an explosion buries the mummy and her father inside the tomb, not seen in the US until Jerry Warren's patchwork "Attack of the Mayan Mummy," which jettisoned most of the 1957 footage for lengthy talking head scenes featuring the usual suspects like Bruno Ve Sota. This first sequel kicked off with Dr. Krupp's henchmen aiding his escape to kidnap Flor and use his own hypnotic powers to make her lead him to the tomb and the breastplate left behind. Also present for this lone entry is the caped crusader The Angel, a non wrestler in need to rescue from a teen accomplice, who gets himself unmasked as Almada's supposedly cowardly assistant, along for the ride once the villains invade the tomb with 15 minutes left in an hour long feature. Krupp takes what he needs among the rubble, the mummy rising for a couple minutes of menace, reappearing in the final 180 seconds to put The Bat in his place by tossing him into his own death trap filled with poison snakes. Only one five minute sequence depicting the sacrifice of the Aztec princess is recycled from "La Azteca Momia," while the series finale would wind up using more stock footage to pad out its hour long running time.

Meanwhile, a group of archaeologists led by Doctor Krupp is determined to capture the mummy and study its secrets. As the movie progresses, Doctor Almada realizes the grave mistake he has made and desperately tries to stop the mummy's rampage. He teams up with Doctor Krupp and their group fights against the Aztec mummy in an epic battle between science and ancient mysticism. The Curse of the Aztec Mummy is known for its low-budget production and B-movie style. The film features classic horror elements such as a resurrected mummy, eerie ancient temples, and suspenseful chase scenes. Despite its shortcomings, the movie gained a cult following for its campy charm and nostalgic appeal. Overall, The Curse of the Aztec Mummy is a fun and entertaining horror film that showcases the fascination with ancient civilizations and the consequences of tampering with forbidden knowledge. It is a classic example of Mexican horror cinema from the 1950s and 1960s, which continues to captivate audiences interested in cheesy horror movies and B-movie nostalgia..

Reviews for "The Curse of the Aztec Mummy Revealed: Unraveling the Past"

1. John - 1 out of 5 stars - I can't believe I wasted my time watching "Cuse of the Aztec Mummy." The plot was incredibly confusing and poorly executed. The acting was terrible, with wooden performances that made it difficult to connect with any of the characters. The use of outdated special effects was laughable, and the dialogue was cringeworthy. Overall, it felt like a low-budget B-movie that was not even worth the time it took to watch it.

2. Sarah - 2 out of 5 stars - "Cuse of the Aztec Mummy" had potential, but it fell short in many areas. The storyline had potential for an exciting and intriguing plot but ended up being convoluted and difficult to follow. The pacing was uneven, with long stretches of boredom followed by rushed action sequences that were hard to make sense of. The acting was average at best, with no standout performances. The special effects were outdated and sometimes laughable. Overall, it had the potential to be a decent B-movie, but the execution left much to be desired.

3. David - 1 out of 5 stars - "Cuse of the Aztec Mummy" was without a doubt one of the worst movies I have ever seen. The plot was nonsensical, filled with plot holes that made it difficult to stay engaged. The acting was atrocious, with over-the-top performances that made it hard to take any of the characters seriously. The special effects were outdated, and it was clear that no effort was put into making them believable. Save yourself the pain and skip this movie entirely.

4. Emily - 2 out of 5 stars - I had high hopes for "Cuse of the Aztec Mummy" as a fan of B-movies, but it ultimately disappointed me. The plot had potential with its mix of archaeology and horror, but it lacked coherence and failed to hold my interest. The performances were lackluster, with forgettable characters and uninspired acting. The special effects were clearly low-budget, which is expected for a film of this genre, but they were poorly executed. Overall, it had the potential to be a fun and entertaining B-movie, but it fell flat in its execution.

Curse of the Aztec Mummy: Scary Stories from the Crypt