The Curse of the Aztec Mummy (1957)

Sequel to 'The Aztec Mummy'. The mummy is resting in peace, because the treasure items were returned to him. The evil Dr Krupp, who is known as 'The Bat' ('El Murcielago' sounds a lot more impressive in the Spanish original), is interrogated by the police, but doesn't answer any of their questions. During the transport to prison, gangsters free him and shoot the police guards, although a masked superman called 'The Angel' tried to stop that ('My mission is to do all I can to eliminate crime, but there is so much of it around', he sighs). Naturally, Dr Krupp makes a second attempt to obtain the treasure – but is he prepared for the reawakening of the mummy? Good fun, especially with 'The Angel' who loses almost all of his fights ('We've got to use our head this time', he says when he makes an attempt to improve his tactics) and probably wears the mask only because it's better if nobody recognizes him later.

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.

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.

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!