115) The Robot vs. The Aztec Mummy (1957)

"See the relentless machine battle the gruesome corpse."

Director

Rafael Portillo

Cast

Ramón Gay - Dr. Eduardo Almada

Luis Aceves Castañeda - Dr. Krupp

Crox Alvarado - Pinacate

Ángel di Stefani - Popoco, the Aztec Mummy

Rosa Arenas - Flora

Unbeknownst to me, but knownst to a coworker of mine, KPR (Kansas Public Radio), hosts  a "Virtual Cinema a Go-Go." The event is a live viewing of classic B-films.

While the event is normally held as a live venue, it has been done via streaming online lately. At least that's how it went down on Friday night. 

That was my first "a Go-Go" which I watched with that same coworker. It's definitely an event well suited to my schlocky and dark tastes... when it comes to movies. 

These events are a part of KPR's "Retro Cocktail Hour." Well, I didn't have a cocktail, but I did have a summer ale. 

The first of the double feature was "Frankenstein's Daughter" (1958) which I may or may not post about later. 

It's the second movie they showed that had me laughing the hardest - "The Robot vs. the Aztec Mummy."

Hard core fans of "Mystery Science Theater 3000" might recognize that title as it's featured on the second episode of the series which aired back in 1989. 

"The Robot vs. the Aztec Mummy" is the third installment of a Mexican horror movie series, all directed by Rafael Portillo. The series includes "The Aztec Mummy" (1957) and "The Curse of the Aztec Mummy" (1957). All three movies were filmed at the same time, and feature Popoco, the Mexican equivalent of the Mummy. 

In this movie, an evil scientist named Dr. Krupp (Luis Aceves Castañeda) has escaped the pit of vipers which Popoco (Ángel di Stefani) threw him into during the second movie. 

Now that he's back to his old dastardly shenanigans again, Krupp continues trying to steal valuable Aztec gold from the tomb of Popoco. You'd think the viper pit would have taught him a lesson. But then, if that were the case, there'd be no part three. 

This time, Krupp has built a robot, equipped with a human head and brains, to kill Popoco - for real this time as the mummy is technically dead to begin with. 

Krupp's old colleague, Dr. Eduardo Almada (Ramón Gay), who originally found Popoco, tries to put the kibosh on Krupp's plans with the help of his wife, Flora (Rosa Arenas), and a colleague named Picacate (Crox Alvarado).

The mummy awakens when Krupp manages to get into Popoco's tomb to steal the gold. He orders his robot to destroy Popoco, and the two battle to the death. 

The plot is as mainstream for this era of horror as it gets. 

The dialogue sounds painfully scripted as if the actors are putting on a community play at the last minute. Regardless of that and the general schlock sci-fi horror with all its sci-fi tropes, the story is the least of this movie's issues. Having never seen any of the preceding movies before this third installment, all the exposition in the approximately first 30 minutes allowed me to catch up, or so I assume. 

There's so much exposition, the title might as well be "The Recap of the Aztec Mummy, and a Robot." 

To be extremely generous, that's really what makes this movie terrible. I don't expect much from a B-sci-fi horror flick. It's easy to dunk of the poor dialogue, terrible acting, and generic plot. I knew it was a bad movie going in. But even such movies can get away with all that and still be a fun time, especially for fans of such low-budget films.

The climax of the film, namely the fight between the robot and the mummy, culminates to a round of gentle pushing that feels like a match between two geriatrics in oversized costumes. 

"The Robot vs. the Aztec Mummy" fails worse than other low-budget films of this era of horror cinema. And it's unintentionally laughable right down to the scripted lines, which is great because I needed something to do while waiting the 30-plus minutes for a story to actually begin.