Zombi Mexicano by Keith J. Rainville

There is not enough literature on Lucha Libre movies and comics. Fortunately for us, we have amazing people like Keith Rainville who gushes with enthusiasm over the subject matter. Just in time for El Día de los Muertos, Mr Rainville has released his newest book, Zombi Mexicano. This book talks about how the "momias" of Mexican decent aren't as equivalent to their Egyptian counterparts, and are a closer kin to the American zombie. From there, he dives in to history, and into the great movies featuring these hideous undead. I just received my copy today, and I'm pretty thrilled, it was well worth the money!

Such a slick cover. Love the warm tones, and the creeps whom I think were in La Mansion de 7 Momias.  

Some snippets of color and black and white pictures from the book.
You have to do yourself a favor and pick up this book. Any lucha libre nut, or foreign horror fan should have this in their library! Buy your copy here at Keith Rainville's site: http://frompartsunknown.net/

The Collection

Here's my dvd collection, with only a couple not stacked here, or even loaned out:

I've been collecting dvds since I received my first dvd player in 1999. I'm not even sure number of movies here, but it's a ton. Some friends call it "Mini Blockbuster." It's a huge collection, but it's also a part of my lifestyle. I enjoy drawing or painting while a movie is playing. Plus I don't have cable, so I watch films instead.

Let's get down to what I own in the lucha libre category:

Lionsgate Nuestro Cine Clásico-

Santo vs Las Lobas / Santo vs El Espectro del Estrangulador
Santo en El Museo de Cera / Santo y Blue Demon en El Mundo de Los Muertos
Santo contra Blue Demon en la Atlántida / Santo y Blue Demon contra Los Monstruos
Blue Demon Destructor De Espías / Pasaporte a la Muerte

Collección México en Pantalla-

Arañas Infernales

Rise Above Entertainment Santo Collection -

Santo en Atacan Las Brujas

Santo en Tesoro de Drácula
Santo y Blue Demon contra Drácula y Hombre Lobo
Santo y Blue Demon contra el Doctor Frankestein
Santo en La Venganza de la Momia
Santo y Mantequilla Nápoles en la Venganza de la Llorona

El Santo Collección (This series looks like a copy of Rise Above's series)-

El Tesoro de Moctezuma

Various-

Santo contra la Magia Negra
Santo: Infraterrestre
Mil Máscaras vs the Aztec Mummy

Santo Contra Los Zombies

Santo en Las Momias de Guanajuato

El Super Seis Los Luchadores Invencibles (six pack):

• Los Vampiros de Coyocan
• La Mansion de las 7 Momias
• Los Campeones Justicieros
• El Castillo de las Momias de Guanajuato
• Misterio en las Bermudas
• Vuelven Los Campeones Justicieros

Documentaries -

Lucha Libre: Life Behind the Mask

Cartoons-

Mucha Lucha: Heart of Lucha

Mucha Lucha: The Return of El Maléfico

El Tigre: The Adventures of Manny Rivera (This is actually on my iPad through iTunes.

Currently in the mail, heading my way-
Santo contra Las Mujeres Vampiro
Santo en La Venganza de las Mujeres Vampiro
Santo contra La Hija del Frankenstein


I've been wrangling my way into getting these at the best deals. I'm continually checking Half.com, eBay, Amazon, iOffer (watch the authenticity of dvds on iOffer, it's rampant with burned dvds), and now I'm using Santo & Friends for the harder to find films. Also, Super Strange Video has been recommended to me as well, but I haven't tried them yet. If you have a great recommendation for places to find these treasures, hit me up! jesse.acosta at gmail dot com !

I'm still on the hunt too. At first I really liked the Rise Above Entertainment series because they had a nice menu, subtitles, and overall were easier to find at first. But I started favoring the Lionsgate Double Feature discs more, simply because they had two films on one disc for fairly cheap. The dvds through the other various companies seem to cost quite a bit more. I've heard from some people that they find the Lionsgate discs at their Walmart, but I haven't found any myself.

Lucha films I'm looking for:

• Mucha Lucha dvd with the episode starring Blue Demon Jr.
• Poder Satanico
• Santo y Blue Demon contra Los Monstruos (a color version)
• Chanoc y Hijo del Santo contra Los Vampiros
• La Furia de Los Karatecas
• Mil Máscaras vs Las Vampiras
• Blue Demon en La Mafia Amarilla  
• La Mujer Murcielago
• Blue Demon y Zovek en La Invasión De Los Muertos
• Blue Demon En La Sombra Del Murcielago

If you see one available, especially at a decent price point, please send me a link!

Mondo Macabro: Mexican Horror

This is a really great, but short, documentary on Mexican horror movies. They start with the early movies, especially those redubbed for American markets by K Gordon Murray. They start with cues from Universal Picture's Horror, then they move to the Santo and other luchadores versus monsters movies, then lastly the darker movies of the '70s to the near present.
As a side note, I still don't know why they called it "Mondo" Macabro... Maybe Macabro Mundo, or even El mundo del Macabro.

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