Santo et Blue Demon contre Dracula et le loup-garou

After facing defeat at the hands of Cristaldi the magician, Dracula is back to seek revenge and rule the world in SANTO Y BLUE DEMON VS. DRACULA AND THE WOLFMAN. With the help of the Wolfman and his legion of followers, victory seems imminent. Professor Cristaldi, a descendant of the magician, is warned about Dracula's plans and calls upon El Santo and Blue Demon in the hopes that they can put the infamous count and the werewolf down for good.

Nice underground entertainment with two wrestlers as heroes. The protect their beautiful girlfriend against a shallow Dracula and a great wolfman. Very cheesy but kind of fun with lots of fights.

Sit back and relax. You are back in the seventies, and this is not a bad movie.I heard of Santo movies for a long time but never could get any until this one. It is very difficult, if not impossible to get it in zone 2 dubbed or subtitled, and I could only watch it in Spanish.

Well, the movie is a good one. Adventure movie, that is. It is surprisingly well filmed with bright colors,The characters are well defined, and the acting is good with a good plot : Santo y Dlue Demon save the world from the undead invasion. Of course don't wait great GFX, you are back in 73, but some recent movies are far worse than this one, even with a lot of CGI. See Van Helsing if you don't trust me. a lot of action, a lot of brawling and wrestling and some funny make up. I had exactly what I paid for : 1h40 of entertainment.

Well, folks, I just witnessed the ultimate showdown between luchadores and classic movie monsters, and let me tell you, it's as bizarre as it sounds. Santo and Blue Demon put on their tights and masks to take on Dracula and the Wolf Man in the squared circle. This film is like a fever dream concocted by someone with a passion for both wrestling and Universal horror. The result? It's... okay.

First off, let's talk about the positives. The wrestling scenes are strangely entertaining. Seeing Santo and Blue Demon grapple with the supernatural is a sight to behold. The film's commitment to its absurd premise is commendable, and there are moments where you can't help but chuckle at the sheer lunacy of it all. It's a unique crossover, to say the least.

However, "Santo and Blue Demon vs. Dracula and the Wolf Man" struggles in the storytelling department. The plot is thin, and the pacing is all over the place. It's like they threw a bunch of wacky ideas into a blender and hit the "mix" button. Also, the special effects are, well, charmingly low-budget, but they won't be winning any awards. So, if you're in the mood for a cinematic oddity that's just okay and have a soft spot for masked wrestlers taking on monsters, this one might be worth a watch. Otherwise, you might want to pass on this curious collision of genres.

The following review is an extract from the book "Santo, the Wrestler with the Silver Mask: A guide to all his films", which is now available on Amazon.

"Entertaining to the highest degree, and with relatively high production values, this is one of the best films in the Silver Mask saga. The story is very well elaborated, there are ingenious turns of script that bring intrigue, the gothic atmosphere of the crypt is optimal. Despite the similarity in theme, the film is on the whole very different from "Santo y Blue Demon contra los monstruos" (Gilberto Martínez Solares, 1970), a chaotic festival of delirium that would well serve as a paradigm for the B-movies.

The film we are dealing with, on the contrary, has a very well worked plot and mise en scène. There is no lack of the characteristic polarizing symbolism present in most of Santo´s films, where our hero embodies the absolute good and justice in its maximum expression while his opponents come directly from the Underworld: It is the eternal cosmic combat, the force of Light against the powers of Darkness (which this time are represented by a vampire and a lycanthrope). These monsters will give the Silver Mask more than one headache. Blue Demon to his comrade Santo: "When you say more than ten words in a row, I know you are worried".

(...)

Miguel M. Delgado, the usual director of the films of the comedian Cantinflas, directed other films of the Saint's saga such as "La venganza de la Llorona" (1974) and the highly recommended "Santo y Blue Demon contra el Dr. Frankenstein" (1974)."

I am no expert on the Mexican luchador films. I know they made more than 50 El Santo films as well as quite a few Blue Demon and Mil Máscaras pictures (many with El Santo). I've only seen about a half dozen so far and recently bought a few more (which I'll be reviewing soon)--so as I said, I have hardly an expert on the movies. But, at least I know that "Santo y Blue Demon vs Drácula y el Hombre Lobo" is better than the others I've seen so far. However, given that ALL of these films are bad, it's not saying much!!

In this installment, the two masked heroes are out to battle Dracula and the Wolfman in this hilariously silly movie. Why is it so funny? Well, because these two guys go EVERYWHERE and do EVERYTHING in character-- with their wrestling masks on when they go on dates, fight evil...whatever. However, it's still a lot better than in "Mystery in the Bermuda Triangel" where El Santo even showers in his mask!! Also, while it is a bad film, it did have a few rather slow portions-- something I haven't noticed in other films of the genre.

Among the many wonderful things you'll see in the film are some decent wrestling matches in front of fake crowds, a pit filled with stakes in Dracula's lair(????--this is like Superman keeping Kryptonite in his Fortress of Solitude!), a wrestler named Renato the Hippie and a wolfman whose hands are SOMETIMES hairy when he transforms and sometimes not (due to bad editing). It's all very funny in a kitschy way--and a lot of fun despite being awful. Also, while the films are mostly ridiculous and stupid, the wrestling scenes are still pretty incredible to watch considering that El Santo was in his 50s when he was performing!