Mil Mascaras Vs. The Aztec Mummy

Mil Mascaras, the great wrestler/actor/superhero, lives the great life of respect and fame, but everything that he believes in is about to be put to the test when an ancient Aztec mummy returns to life thanks to a weird Mexican cult. With a staff that can brainwash people and turn them into slaves, the mummy goes on a rampage and not even the President of the United States (Richard Lynch of Battlestar Galactica) can stop it. The last straw comes when the Aztec mummy kidnaps Mil’s main squeeze, and it’s up to him and a pack of Mexican wrestlers (including Blue Demon Jr.) to stop the monster and his army of zombies before it’s too late.
This is one of the biggest surprises I have seen in a while. It was directed by Jeff Burr, the man who gave us crap like TCM 3 and Stepfather 2, but the excellent Straight Into Darkness. This one definitely falls under the excellent category. For starters, it’s the first American film to wrestler the ‘big three’ of Mexican wrestling, featuring the original Mil Mascaras, El Hijo Del Santo and Blue Demon Jr., although the last two are in small cameos. It’s still pretty cool to see them in action, especially El Hijo Del Santo who appears in tag-team action with Mil. The movie is full of action and humor, never taking itself too seriously while at the same time acknowledging the ridiculousness of these types of films. The movie benefits also from not having endless wrestling matches that stop the story cold. In this one, the matches are actually important to the story! Mil Mascaras voice is voiced-over on purpose and in an exaggerated English (with a Mexican accent), which adds to the weirdness, along with all the costumes worn by Mil Mascaras, which sometimes makes him look badass, and other times like a gay superhero.
The Aztec Mummy wasn’t as interesting as the wrestlers. He’s particularly hinged by a bad voice-over and a bad mask, and the final match was a disappointment. Also, sometimes it gets way too over-the-top, like the sequence where Mil gets drugged and starts trippin’ balls. They even bring in a giant fighting robot, for God’s sake! By the way, if you don’t get the robot/mummy connection, you’re not enough into film as you should be. But still, this is a very entertaining entry in the Mexican wrestler/superhero genre, while at the same time being an affectionate homage, and for that, it’s very recommended.