The realm of Lucha Libre is a world unto itself, completely separate from American and Japanese wrestling. In Mexico, the wrestlers really ARE superheroes and super-villains. And none are more heroic or revered than Santo and Blue Demon, the greatest of the masked luchadores who ventured into film. Here, they confront their sternest challenge yet, as Count Dracula and the Wolfman rise from their graves to torment the living! Cheesy or not, these films are fascinating with their surreal ignorance of reality and logic. Santo and Blue Demon have no secret identities...they are masked 24-7 and when they are not rumbling in the ring, they are fighting crooks, robots, spies and monsters.
The film begins with straight up lucha action as Santo faces El Angel Blanco in a weird empty arena filled with blues and reds. We hear the sounds of a crowd we never see! Santo gets a hard fought victory over Angel and then is called to the home of Professor Cristaldi, uncle of his current love interest, Lina. Cristaldi has just received a threatening note saying every member of his family is doomed. Centuries ago, an ancestor of Cristaldi vanquished Count Dracula and his servant the Wolfman with the help of a magic dagger. Before perishing, Dracula said he would return when the time is right to destroy all the Cristaldis! The time is now. A bearded, sinister hunchback named Eric kidnaps Cristaldi, hangs him upside down over Dracula's skeleton and slashes his throat. The drops of blood bring the suave Count back to life (his bare skeleton suddenly develops elegant clothing and even a cane) and also revive the Wolfman, who has the unlikely name of Rufus Rex. The werewolf makeup is not half bad and Rufus is quite handsome in his human form. This diabolical trio unleash a plot to eliminate the Cristaldis. Handsome Rufus will woo Laura Cristaldi (Lina's sister) and then sacrifice her during a full moon to the powers of darkness. Laura's young daughter will then be the next to fall, along with Lina.
Santo secures the services of his wrestling friend Blue Demon (who has just won a match against Renato the Hippie) and the two embark on a wild adventure where they fight not only a gang of thugs recruited by Eric, but a legion of vampire and werewolf slaves of Dracula and Rufus.
It's non-stop hilarity and also non-stop excitement. I'd take this over big budget Hollywood snoozefests like "Constantine" and "The Hulk" any day! All continuity with the past of Dracula is ignored. There's no mention of Transylvania, Dr. van Helsing, Renfield or anything else. Rufus can speak and reason while in his wolfman form, though his servants are growling beasts.
The movie subtly makes Santo the superior of Blue Demon. Word has it that the two luchadores did not get along all that well in real life, and Blue Demon eventually split off to appear in the "Campeones Justicieros". I would say Demon is the more muscular of the pair and also the better wrestler. There is something amazing about Santo, though...even through the silver mask, he has a heroic, easy-going and trustworthy quality that makes you believe he's a real champion.
As goofy as the movie is, it does have some atmosphere and there's one scene when the little girl is wandering around the spooky house of the monsters that actually jolted me pretty well. There is also death and mayhem here...some of the characters meet deadly fates! I dug the organ music throughout. Bottom line: this is one of the more entertaining lucha movies ever made and a great place for novices to start examining this unique form of cinema!!!
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