"This Mexican production has it all, bodacious vampire babes, creepy crypts, cheesy futur-o-rama technology, and a masked wrestler who drives a MGA sports car..."

Some folks would say that horror films and wrestling don't mix.  Well, some folks also said that peanut butter and chocolate don't mix and look what Reese's has done with that combo.  The fact is, mat-wrasslin' and monster-mashin' can be a tasty twosome and never more tasty than when...

By ROBERT ANDREWS

(Editor's note: Once again, we're pleased to welcome a new writer to the HORROR-WOOD crypt.  Robert Andrews describes himself as a true Monster-Wrestling Fan.  "Having grown up in Chicago watching Creature Features on late night Saturdays, then Sunday morning wrestling with Dick the Bruiser and Baron Von Raschke, it is no small wonder El Santo is a favorite of mine.  My long-suffering wife just shakes her head while seeing the love of her life chortling over such cinematic fare as Robot Vs. The Aztec Mummy and Attack Of The 50-Foot Woman. There is no cure for this type of illness."  We certainly hope that there isn't, Robert!)

Put the Coronas on ice, break out the nachos and salsa, invite the right kind of friends over, and get ready for a Talk-Back-to-the-Screen night!  It's time for Samson Vs. The Vampire Women.

(That is, the 1961 K. Gordon Murray-dubbed version of Santo Vs. Las Mujeres Vampiro.  For more information on Mr. Murray and his part in bringing Mexican monsters to American, click here.)

This Mexican production has it all, bodacious vampire babes, creepy crypts, cheesy futur-o-rama technology, and a masked wrestler who drives a MGA sports car.  (The masked wrestler is El Santo, the Mexican grappling superstar and national hero, but re-dubbed as Samson for the American version.)

See: Santo the famous Mexican wrestler and movie star body slam the vampire wrestlers! See: Santo use his off-the-top-rope move to destroy the vampires! See: How bullets are harmless to the vampires, but a well executed drop kick does them in! See: Santo drive off after saving the helpless heroine without saying a word!

The police are helpless, scientists are baffled, but El Santo, the man of few words, (about 10 if you’re counting) knows the efficacy of a forearm smash on evildoers.

El Santo (The Saint) made 58 movies portraying himself, the silver masked wrestler and defender of good, in a career spanning the Fifties to the Eighties. He was also featured in a comic book that ran into the hundreds of issues, wrestled professionally in thousands of matches, and never revealed his face, on screen or off, until the end of his career in 1983.

His real name was Rodolfo Guzman Huerta and his son now wrestles professionally as Hijo de Santo (Son of Santo). Only a few of El Santo's cinema features appeared in English-dubbed versions distributed in the U.S., so few fans of horror movies knew of him until the coming of home video and, later, DVD.

Over the years Santo has battled mummies, zombies, Frankenstein, Dracula, the Wolf Man, mad scientists, and other various and sundry evildoers. Sometimes Santo teamed up with fellow wrestler Blue Demon when the odds got too heavy as in Santo And Blue Demon Vs. Dracula And The Wolf Man.

As strange as it may seem having a masked wrestler battling distaff vampires, the first five minutes of Samson Vs. The Vampire Women are as good as any vampire flick produced in the Sixties, and occasional scenes are rather daring for the time. The vampire muchachas are sharply fanged and actually bite the necks of their victims, some of whom are female. When have you seen that in an early Sixties vampire film?

The plot (what there is of it) revolves around the need to sacrifice a certain young lady with the misfortune of having been born with a birth mark in the shape of a bat on her shoulder, in order to replace the leader of the vampires. Ofelia Montesco is the Mexican answer to Barbara Steele as Tundra (dumb name, I know) the vamp priestess who raises a half dozen female vamps including Thorina, Queen of the vampires.

Thorina is played by Lorena Velazquez, a regular in the El Santo films, having portrayed a female wrestler in the immortal classics, Wrestling Women Vs. The Aztec Mummy, Wrestling Women Vs. The Aztec Ape, and El Santo Vs. The Mummy. Lorena looks like a Latino version of Ingrid Pitt, so all the elements required to keep this viewer’s attention were well met.

Ofelia appeared in El Santo Vs. The Strangler, but sadly had a short uneventful career. She really shines here however, so one wonders why she wasn’t a much bigger star down South.

Popping up in the resurrection ritual are three beefy vampire wrestler types who karate chop and body slam their hapless victims before they bite them. These bad hombres give Santo most of his trouble, and one of them takes the place of another (human) masked wrestler in a official match against Santo.

The said impostor actually pins Santo, and appears to be getting the best of Santo in the second fall with his karate chops, when Santo manages to rip off the villain’s mask, revealing his Wolf Man-like face! Cops storm the ring, plug him full of bullets, but to no avail. The unmasked lycanthrope turns into a bat and flies away.

Whenever the movie gets slow and talky, the director throws in a wrestling match with El Santo and his tag team partner. Back when wrestling was wrestling, there was little prancing around and trash talking, and a lot more knock ‘em, sock ‘em action, with Santo and his bud taking on all comers. Watch the crowd reactions to the action, and you'll be convinced the enthusiasm is real and not scripted. Also, everyone is dressed up in suit and tie and long dresses to view the ring mayhem. Definitely a far cry from the trailer trash, black tee-shirted crowds of the WWF.

Santo is best compared to Superman in his presence and attitude, but unlike the Man of Steel, he is far from invincible, which endears him all the more to his fans. Santo does not rely on his wits like Batman to defeat his foes, preferring a monkey flip and a knuckle sandwich to get the job done. Against the lady vamps this will not due, so he torches them, being the most expedient thing to rid the world of their vileness.

If Van Helsing would have had Santo with him, the Mexican juggernaut would have broken Dracula’s nose, gave him a piledriver, and thrown him over the top rope.

Some might quibble at how heroic could El Santo be, when on his way to free the about-to-be sacrificed maiden, he is summarily captured, karate chopped and chained to a slab by two vamp wrestlers, only to luck out and get free because the sun comes up at the critical time.

I, however give him plenty of credit for always running around with a mask and spangled cape and no shirt, regardless of the social situation. Would The Rock do as much ?

El Santo is a phenomenon which probably cannot be fully understood by gringos, but this only adds to the enjoyment of this flick. The print I saw on DVD was muddy and full of scratches, so I am breathlessly awaiting a Criterion restoration of this groundbreaking masterpiece. Also the DVD had no extras, so a behind the scenes and director’s cut is most in order.

As I mentioned, only a few of Santo’s catalog are dubbed, so the aficionado must be content with subtitles for the most obscure titles. One may have to look long and hard for these fine examples of cinematographic art, but as in all collecting, the pursuit of the difficult is part of the reward. Buy, beg, borrow, steal or rent a copy of this film today!

N.B. As in the Three Stooges, many members of the gentler sex seems to be immune to the comedic nuances of movies of this nature, so do not be dismayed at the puzzled looks of your spousal unit, while you wipe tears from your eyes.

Thanks, Robert!  Definitely any Mexican food goes down better with a Mexican monster flick on the tube, and they don't come any more Nacho cheesier than this refried  bloodsucking 'n' wresting opus.  Call him Samson, call him El Santo, but don't call him late for your fright film fiesta!

Article copyright © Robert Andrews

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