About the film
Mil Mascaras is a renaissance man of international repute. He is a connoisseur of the arts, a scholar of science and humanity, and a masked wrestler. Like his fellow luchadores, El Santo and Blue Demon, Mil Mascaras is often called upon to assist the authorities in combating threats to mankind, whether they are seductive vampire women, lycanthropic madmen, or invaders from other worlds. However, no threat has ever been greater than that posed by the Aztec Mummy. In this story, the Aztec Mummy is resurrected by the power of the gem of Tonauac. Using its power, the Aztec Mummy is able to control the minds of men, even those of strong pedigree and erudition. Determined to lead the ascendancy of the Aztec nation over the descendants of its past conquerors, the Aztec Mummy conspires to manipulate men of power for his own ends. Whether Mil Mascaras can be corrupted by the influence of his undead adversary is not clear, but the answer hinges upon the secret of his mask -- a mask which has been passed down to him from his ancestors since time in memoriam.
About the genre
Two of the most famous series from the classic age of Mexican horror cinema (1950-1975) converge in this film. The Lucha series focused originally on masked heroes, such as Huracan Ramirez and Neutron, who are masked wrestlers and crimefighters. Lucha films evolved over the years and produced such legendary figures as El Santo and Mil Mascaras, who were portrayed as intellectuals, artists, and wrestlers. Part of the novelty of the films is that the characters were played by, and based on, the real-life masked wrestlers themselves. For example, Mil Mascaras is a real wrestler who actually does wear his mask at all times in real life. El Santo, whose funeral was attended by tens of thousands of people in Mexico City in 1984, was buried in his mask. These films are cult favorites worldwide, having been dubbed into many different languages, especially in the US, Japan, France, Germany, and of course most Spanish-speaking countries, especially Mexico. Mil Mascaras was one of the three biggest names in the genre, and he is the only surviving one (the masks of the others have been adopted by their sons). His film with Santo and Blue Demon, "The Mummies of Guanajuato," was the one of the biggest grossing domestic film of all time in Mexico and throughout Latin and South America. Mil Mascaras is an internationally renowned star throughout the Spanish-speaking world, Japan, and, of course, in the US.
The other classic Mexican film series is based on an Aztec mummy. These popular films, which provide an interesting alternative to Egyptian mummy films starring Boris Karloff, revolve around the resurrection and vengeful actions of an ancient Aztec warrior. Although the series consisted of only a half dozen films produced between 1957-1965, they became popular internationally due to English-language dubbings by K. Gordon Murray in the late 1960s. Many fans expected to see a film in which one of the great Lucha stars would face an Aztec mummy, but none was ever produced. This film will be the first ever to include all of the great living lucha stars: Son of Santo, Blue Demon Jr, Neutron, Huracan Ramirez Jr, and of course Mil Mascaras. It will also be their first English-language film, and the first with Hollywood production values.