"The Robot vs. the Aztec Mummy", adventure sci-fi film, Rafael Portillo, 1958, Mexico


The Robot vs. the Aztec Mummy (1958)

Published on Jun 23, 2013

"The Robot vs the Aztec Mummy" (originally "La momia azteca contra el robot humano") is an Mexican film directed by Rafael Portillo, starring Ramon Gay and Rosa Arenas. It blends elements of science fiction and horror. The film is the sequel to The Aztec Mummy and The Curse of the Aztec Mummy, both released earlier that year, and a large portion of the film consists of an extended recap of the first two entries in the series. The film is also known as "The Aztec Mummy Against the Humanoid Robot" or "Aztec Mummy vs. the Human Robot".

The evil Dr. Krupp (Luis Aceves Castaneda), also known as "The Bat", plots to steal a valuable Aztec treasure from the tomb of a centuries-old living mummy, Popoca (Angel di Stefani). Krupp builds a robot to defeat the mummy. Krupp's former colleague Dr. Eduardo Almada (Ramon Gay) and associates work to stop the mad scientist from creating his robot.

The movie shows a notable lack of awareness of Mesoamerican civilizations, as it suggests the Aztecs practiced mummification and used hieroglyphics. In reality, they had no system of writing and practiced cremation and (more often) simple burial. It was the Inca civilization that practiced mummification, and the Maya who had a system of hieroglyphics. Also, the mummy is depicted in the Egyptian style (upright or lying on its back) rather than in the Inca style (hunched into a ball with its feet pulled to the body and its knees close to the face).
 
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