Ann Taylor (Rosita Arenas) is a psychic who is, under hypnosis, being regressed to a former life as an Aztec priestess. Dr. Edmond Redding (Ramon Gay) from the Cowan Research Foundation monitors Ann’s vital signs while she relates her past life. As part of his research Dr. Redding takes Ann to the Yucatan and the pyramid where they held sacred ceremonies. Inside they find two mummies. One is a regular Aztec warrior mummy but the other is newer. It appears to be a mummified modern man (Lon Chaney Jr.).
The newer mummy is exhibited in a special meeting for paleontologists by the Cowan Research Foundation. Suddenly the lights go out and shots are heard. When the lights come back on Dr. Redding is dead and the mummy is gone. The mummy of the modern man was stolen by Professor Janning (Yerye Beirute). Janning and his henchmen try to bring the mummy back to life.
Believing that they failed, Janning hires a thief (Steve Conte) to steal the other mummy. When the thief gets to the museum the Aztec mummy knocks the thief out and escapes. It kidnaps Ann and walks away with her. The thief comes to and goes after the mummy. He ends up crashing into it, killing Ann and destroying the mummy.
In the meantime a thunderstorm comes up. Lightning hits the newer mummy bringing it back to life. Since it is also a full moon, the mummy turns into a werewolf. Janning and his henchmen return to his lab and are attacked by the werewolf. It kills a henchman. Before it can kill Janning the werewolf has some kind of seizure and passes out. Janning puts him on a gurney. While no one is looking the werewolf wakes up and kills another henchman. Janning gets the werewolf under control but using some kind of light device that werewolves seem to not like. He then locks the werewolf up in a cell. Once again the werewolf passes out.
When the werewolf wakes up again he breaks out of the cell and goes on a rampage and kidnaps a woman. Next door is a wax museum. A guy sleeping in the museum (German Valdes AKA Tin Tan) chases the werewolf and tries to rescue the woman. The werewolf kidnaps another woman and takes her back to the lab and kills Janning. The museum guy arrives sets the werewolf on fire and rescues the girl.
If you found my synopsis of the film a little confusing then you have gotten the gist of the movie. I don’t worry about spoilers for a movie that has already turned bad.
“Face of the Screaming Werewolf” was released in 1965 and was directed by Gilberto Martínez, Solares Rafael Portillo and Jerry Warren. The film is comprised of two Mexican horror movies that Jerry Warren got his hands on and made into one Mexican horrible movie. Warren took parts of two unrelated Mexican horror films, “La Casa del Terror” 1960 and “La Momia Azteca” 1957, chopped them up and added new footage. In addition he used some dubbed snippets from his already cut and paste film “Attack of the Mayan Mummy”. The patchwork film was released theatrically in 1965 on a double-bill with Warren's similarly constructed “Curse of the Stone Hand”, which starred John Carradine. Yes, he actually had the balls to release both bad movies together in theaters. If you’ve ever seen either “La Momia Azteca” or “La Casa del Terror” or even Warren’s “Attack of the Mayan Mummy” you will recognize them here.
I remember recently saying that “Curse of the Stone Hand” 1965 was the worst movie I’d ever seen. I stand corrected. But to be fair, both “Curse” and “Face” were both the handiwork of Jerry Warren. At least the man was consistent.
Lon Chaney Jr. spends most of his time as the werewolf in the film so he has no lines.