MILS MASCARAS: ACADEMY OF DOOM (2008)

 

PHENOMENALITY: *marvelous*

MYTHICITY: *poor*
FRYEAN MYTHOS: *adventure*

CAMPBELLIAN FUNCTION: *psychological*                                                                                                                                              One online review asserts that this item was shot on an American college campus by some of the same crew that worked on the more professional MIL MASCARAS VS. THE AZTEC MUMMY. This choice of locations affected the plot of this amateurish production and its seven-years-later sequel. The "academy" of the title is "Mil Mascaras Wrestling Women's Academy," which means a lot more females in the narrative than in the average luchador film. Said wrestling-school is menaced on two fronts: Luctor, a criminal mastermind (complete with luchador-mask) who wants to buy the school by hook or by crook, and a mysterious killer who attacks people and eats their brains.  (Contrary to the copy on the movie poster above, the monster has nothing to do with the 1960s "Brainiac" creature.)                                                                                                                                                                                 Some online reviews esteem the movie for trying to capture the cheesy appeal of the famous luchador-movies from the sixties and seventies, albeit on a very restricted budget and with a lot of amateur actors. I could get behind that, even given that all aspects of the script, including the revelation of the monster's ID, are exceedingly moldy. But it's not worth doing a luchador-homage if you can't set up even half-decent fights, particularly when one has the services of a famous cinematic wrestling-figure. About the only item of interest here is that the female wrestler La Torcha (Sabrina Braden) made a non-speaking appearance in MUMMY, but here she's upgraded into something like a quasi-partner to Mil. Oh, and as in MUMMY, there's an attempt to sell Mil as more than a wrestler, but a bon vivant with extensive knowledge of physics and philosophy-- a depiction that actually plays into the plot of the following installment.