Il castello delle mummie

I'd hate for anyone to have to say "I waited and waited for them to show Guanajuato and they never did." This was filmed entirely in Guatemala, and seems pretty poverty stricken compared to other titles in the genre. Masked wrestlers usually have pretty good taste in automobiles, but these three tour together in a VW bus, and go after the bad guys in an old clunker with no hubcaps and a taillight out. The shoddy torture lab is clearly the biggest expenditure in the movie, and the graveyard from which the mummies arise is something even I could build. That said, it is not without its highlights, most notably the nightclub chanteuse in her startling red wig and skin-colored bodysuit which hoists her upper deck and swings it out over the audience in a remarkable way. Unfortunately her musical number lasts just about one minute. For bondage fetishists there is quite a bit of it, with bound victims being bloodily tortured by mummies. Not the greatest wrestlers versus mummies movie ever made, but it won't kill you to watch it.

Masked Mexican wrestlers fight the living dead! Nah! Really? But, as odd and absurd as it seems, premises like this were quite the norm during Mexico's heyday of "luchador" (wrestler) films led by the likes of El Santo and Blue Demon. Whether solo or as a team, these in-cognito warriors would fight crime, monsters, aliens, and even the supernatural in their never-ending battle to protect the common men and the helpless victims of the world. As if by righteous code or obligation, these men of steel are there to save the day.

El Castillo de las Momias de Guanajuato (The Castle of the Guanajuato Mummies) is somewhat of a lesser known Mexican wrestler horror film. Three wrestlers, Superzan, Blue Angel, and Tinieblas, take a jaunt to Guanajuato to exhibit their talents in the ring. Meanwhile, a Satanic mad scientist and his band of evil dwarfs hatch a scheme to raise a horde of living dead for the purposes of kidnapping all the townspeople. The evil doctor is paralyzed from the waist down and finds that he needs to consume the life forces of many people in order to recuperate and, eventually, even become immortal. When the undead strike the town and begin their raid, the three masked heroes get word and jump into action. However, they soon find that fighting an army of re-animated corpses isn't as easy as it seems. Especially when they find the doctor's plan is already at work and he is increasing in strength and power.

This film works on a lot of levels. First off, the zombies are unique in comparison to others like Romero's or Fulci's. Being that it is Guanajuato, world famous for its soil conditions which are perfect for preserving bodies, the mummy-like quality makes for an extra ghastly look. Another great feature are the scenes of torture. Its scream-o-rama-on all sorts of weird medieval contraptions used to drain people of life. Plus, all the action isn't carried out without at least a smidgen of humor. There are some memorable moments of tongue-in-cheek laughter.

So, if you enjoy Mexican masked wrestler movies, this one is not to be missed. If you want an unconventional take on classic horror formulae, this one is not to be missed. If you just want a great horror film that surely won't disappoint, this one is not to be missed.