‘Some places are not meant to be discovered’
The Curse of the Mayans – aka Xibalba – is a 2017 Mexican science fiction horror film directed by Joaquin Rodriguez from a screenplay co-written with Alberto Haggar. The Lanczyner Films/Three Great Lights Films production stars Olga Fonda, Carla Ortiz and Steve Wilcox.
Plot:
Doctor Alan Green, an American archaeologist, leads Danielle Noble and her team of cave divers on an expedition searching the Mayan ancient records. Instead of finding glory, they will find hell hidden in the underwater caves of Xibalba…
Reviews:
” …the main plot of the movie, that being these people coming across ancient alien monsters deep inside this long lost temple, doesn’t even happen until the final 15 minutes of the movie! And when it does finally happen, everything is so dark, shot so poorly, and moves so quickly, that you can’t pick out anything that’s going on.” The B-Movie Shelf
“Curse of the Mayans is a needle-sharp, cinematic stalactite that penetrates the primal brain with the swift, heart-pounding accuracy of an expertly thrown arrow designed to activate the superstitious side of man; that portion of man that is hardwired to a nervous system ready to mass-produce adrenaline molecules for a turbo-charged exodus with feet moving so fast that the eye merely registers a blur.” Cryptic Rock
“Monster sightings are mostly limited to brief, shadowy flashes, which keeps us from seeing the seams and zippers, so to speak. I was reminded of The Descent during this sequence–I enjoyed the first half of that movie more than the rest as well […] Curse of the Mayans is a visual feast…” HK and Cult Film News
” …this was an entertaining enough affair; it had exotic locales, a solid story (and one that would really tickle the pickle of lovers of Von Daniken’s Chariots of the Gods), cool creatures…it’s worth a view as long as you can deal with an uneven (though not boring) pace and don’t fall too much in love with that ad art!” Horror Fuel
“An interesting premise (expedition looking for lost Mayan tomb in underwater caves) and decent cinematography is totally ruined by, well, incompetence. Slow as hell (they don’t really reach the cave until there is half an hour left) and the finale so poorly shot that you don’t really care about anything.” Joachim Andersson
“A surprisingly solid little Raiders of the Rip-Offs-type adventure with a creature feature twist, Curse of the Mayans is compelling for three-fourths of the way in, but when the creatures show up it becomes a by-the-numbers stalk-and-assimilate thriller, which we’ve seen so many times before.” The Movie Elite
“It’s a beautifully shot, slow burn, character-driven story that gives audiences some very real views into diverse and rich cultures. It is not a “political” movie, but it confronts some unavoidable issues gracefully. If you want to see a beautifully shot drama with a little horror and sci-fi, this is your movie, but as a sci-fi/horror, it doesn’t rise to the top.” Rue Morgue
“The enchanting but deadly filming location is a feast for the eyes that preys on your fears. The camera doesn’t always encompass the vast jungle surroundings but the cinematography is a success. A bilingual cast seamlessly transitions from English and Spanish fluently proving that the art of cinema transcends borders.” Without Your Head
Main cast:
Olga Fonda … Eli
Steve Wilcox … Doctor Alan Green
Juan Pablo Castañeda … Raul (as Juan Pablo Castaneda)
Mark Tacher … Many
Carla Ortiz … Danielle Noble
Luis Felipe Tovar … El Brujo
Bernardo Peña … Mark Parsons
Mauricio Martinez … Jorge
Héctor Ortega … Padre Grosjean
Mauricio Martinez … Jorge
Ricardo Lima Martinez … Hernan
Filming locations:
Mérida, Valladolid and Xcaret, Yucatán, Mexico
Technical details:
88 minutes
4K
