Mil Mascaras vs. The Aztec Mummy (2008) Review

aka Mil Mascaras: Resurrection

What can I say? Any time an Aztec mummy is resurrected via human sacrifice, I'm game. And if the only thing that can stop the mummy is luchadores, I'm all in. But Mil Mascaras is no ordinary luchador. He was adopted by scientists as a boy and raised by them into a super human who has achieved both physical and psychological perfection. So then I figure, the mummy is screwed, right? But the mummy's got a sceptre that can control the minds of men.

The movie itself is really, really fun and has a cool, funky feel. It's the first lucha action movie starring one of the "Big 3" (Mil Mascaras, El Santo, Blue Demon) to be produced in English. That's a score for people who aren't keen on too much dubbing or subtitles. But that doesn't mean it breaks from tradition. It's just as good as or better than any of the lucha action films I've seen. You may remember our review of Santo y Blue Demon contra los Monstruos (1970), which was another great example of luchador vs. monster action. This is the same spirit, but produced almost 40 years later. To me, fighting monsters is what luchadores are born to do. Mil Mascaras: Ressurection knows that.  I don't want to spoil it too much, but I will say that there's hot vampire twins and a robot, also. In fact, the supporting cast was really pretty great in general, and there's even some cameos from El Hijo de Santo and Blue Demon Jr.

The film has also received some great press and response from film festivals all over, and I'm hoping that it might lead to a renewed interest in the lucha vs. monster action films. Because I'm really getting tired of some of the recent action movies to come out this century. They should take a cue from the luchadores and keep it simple, play it cool, and kick some monster ass.

- The official Mil Mascaras vs. The Aztec Mummy page

- Mil Mascaras vs. The Aztec Mummy on Wikipedia
- Mil Mascaras bio @ Wikipedia