La Mansión de las 7 Momias

The review of Las Momias de Guanajuato perked my mummy interest, so I decided to move on to La Mansión de las 7 Momias (1977)!

 

Finding this obscure classic is actually a bit of a chore. I had to find it in a dvd collection of later-era lucha films. The dvd set is called: Los Luchadores Invencibles, it's generally available on iOffer, eBay, and Half.com.

None of the films in this dvd collection come with subtitles though, but after some fierce Googling, I found a subtitle file for you all. I also did some minor tweaking to the file, there were some misspellings and missing accents in names. I'm sure I didn't catch everything, but I caught a few things that bugged me.
Download here: http://www.jesseacosta.net/files/subtitles/LaMansionDeLas7Momias.srt

If you haven't used an SRT file file before, don't fret. It's pretty simple, with most media players you can drag and drop the SRT onto your media player while the DVD is playing. If Media Player isn't doing it for you, try VLC, it's a free media player.

I'm tempted to make my own subtitles for films that don't have subtitles yet on the internet. This could be valuable for the monoglot lucha fans. Let me know if any films in particular stand out that don't have subtitles available.

Now back to the film! This movie contains three people of note: Blue Demon, Superzan, and Manolín:

The heroes and heroine. Superzan in circus regalia.

Blue Demon is the real star of the film, a veteran to wrestling and battling the cohorts of evil. He's so laid back in these later films, he only wears the mask and street clothes. Gone are the days of capes and lucha tights. I actually like the look, Señor Blue even looks pretty cool with the blue ringer tees and jeans. He's very cool and collective through this picture, obviously ready for anything.

Blue Demon, veteran luchador and appraiser of antique water fountains.

Superzan is the next on the bill. This is my first encounter with the guy, I've been ignoring him for some time.
It's not hard to see why I've been avoiding the guy. I'm not big on flamboyant costumes, and Mil Máscaras is about as far as I go with bizarre outfits. Superzan is just late to the party, and didn't get the memo that this was casual Friday. He looks so out of place, like a Christmas Tree in July. Also, he's so gangly, definitely not lucha material in my book. Perhaps in the older films, Blue Demon and Santo held better screen presence, and that's why they didn't look so ridiculous in cape and tights? They looked classy, and heroic, yet Superzan is just a super-dork.  But to be fair, this film was pretty interesting, even with Superzan.

I'm worried that you're scaring children with that mask.

Lastly, we have Manolín, aka Manuel Palacios Sierra. He was a Mexican comedian, usually billed under the duo "Manolín Shilinsky with Shilinsky Estanislao." He played the idiot, while Shilinksy played the clever character, much like an Abbott and Costello or Laurel and Hardy act. Manolín usually says the line "fíjate qué suave," in his films. The Mansion of the 7 Mummies was the last film he starred in, and later that year he passed away.

Qué suave!

The story for this film is pretty confusing, but the basic gist is that Sofía de la Garza is the descendant of a long line of the reincarnated governor of Antigua, Guatemala, whom previously made a pact with the devil. Now Sofía is the recipient to her father's inheritance, which includes the cursed treasure of the conquistadores. Sofía must now endure three trials to gain the inheritance. But by sheer luck, she has Blue Demon, Superzan, and Manolín helping her along the way.

Conquistador or clown? Also, even if you are undead, you still need a wheelchair.

Grave digger, hunchback, and unsung hero

Why Satan, with all that power, you choose to wear that ugly mug?

I think we'll need more than a haircut to solve his problems

By far, the spookiest scene in the film.

Stats
Length: 90 minutes
Year: 1977

Favorite Quote
While the luchadores are driving into Antigua, Guatemala, they slow down so Blue Demon can admire an antique water fountain that appears to have a prostate problem:
Blue Demon: "Mira, que fuente!" - "Look, what a fountain!"
Really Blue? This is what you have to say? At times, the film feels like a travel brochure for Antigua, Guatemala.

The Ratings:
My rating system is out of five stars, and consists of six categories, then an overall score.

• Story: The story in La Mansion is actually pretty interesting, even though the budget  and effort may not have been the strongest. I really enjoy these lucha stories that involve the history of Latin America, and black magic. The blending of Catholicism, the influence of Spain, and Indigenous America makes for a great backdrop.
• Bizarre Factor:   This isn't the first time a lucha film stars a comic relief character. I really hate these types of characters, Orko from Masters of The Universe, Snarf from Thundercats, Perico from Tesoro de Dracula. Manolín is certainly an oddball to toss in this film. Superzan also looks more like the menzo than Manolín, in full regalia.
  

• Horror: First off, these look closer to a traditional zombie, than a mummy. They also look better than any other undead I've seen in a lucha film yet. They aren't the usual oatmeal + paste makeup job. They actually have rotten heads with nasty teeth, and missing eyes. By far, my favorite scene is the swampy locale where the zombies rise from the depths of the algae thick waters.

• Action: As per usual lucha film, lots of fighting. Some of the more interesting battles are between the two heroes and ex-buddy Rodrigo. One specific note about this film is that there is not a single filmed lucha match! At the moment where they cut to the arena, Blue has already won the belt! This is pretty odd for a lucha film, I wonder what business was going on behind the scenes that forced the filmmakers to go without?
• Camp: This film is full of camp. The red Spanish conquistador outfit is outright ridiculous. Satan looks less than sinister, just a graying gentleman with some glued on horns. BTW, did you know you can keep Satan at bay with a cross, much like a vampire? I really hate to harp on Superzan, but he just looks ridiculous in the outfit. Lastly, why are these ancient zombies (excuse me, I mean "mummies") wearing things like modern era button up shirts, slacks, and I believe one of the creatures is even wearing Mr. Roger's cardigan.
• Nudity: No nudity, or even suggestion of real sex. This film is pretty G rated when it comes to any sort of sexuality.
• Overall: I started out with low expectations. This film was collected in a dvd pack of poor quality lucha films, but honestly it wasn't too terrible. While the filmmaking and budget weren't exactly that of Titanic, the story was certainly interesting enough. I think this story would be better suited in a graphic novel. Fun Fact: Santo and Blue Demon used to appear in "fotonovelas," which were photographed comic books, with illustrations added for the special effects such as monsters, laser guns, and explosions.