original production:

SANTO VS.
LAS MUJERES VAMPIRO

Cast: Santo, el Enmascacarado de Plata (Samson, the Silver Maskman), Lorena Velazquez (Zorina/Thorina, Queen of the vampires), Jaime Fernandez (Inspector Carlos), Maria Duval (Diana Orlof), Augusto Benedico (Professor Orlof), Ofelia Montesco (Tandra/Tundra, vampire priestess), Xavier Loya (Jorge, Diana's fiance), Fernando Oses (Vampire), Guillermo Hernandez (Vampire), Nathanel Leon (Vampire), Carlos Robles Gil (Orlof's Butler), Victor Velazquez (Coroner), Rene Barrera (Detective at Main Gate), Alfredo Wally Barron (Santo's "Second"), Antonio Padilla "Picoro" (Ring Announcer), Cavernario Galindo (Caveman Wellington, a wrestler), Ray Mendoza (Rod Mendoza, a wrestler), Black Shadow (Black Shadow, a wrestler), Ricardo Adalid (Detective at Party), Fabian Grey (Nightclub Singer), Armando Acosta (Waiter), Eduardo Bonada, Boby Bonales (as "Baby Bonales"), Laura Marquetti, 'Lobo Negro', 'Frankenstein'

PLOT OUTLINE:
(from IMDb): The vampire women in Mexico have awakened from their sleep, commanded by their master, The Evil One, to find him a bride. They choose as their target the beautiful daughter of a local professor. To rescue his daughter, the professor calls El Santo (Samson in some US versions), a silver-masked wrestler for justice.

GUEST SYNOPSIS/REVIEW:
By Eddie Poe

This 1962 black and white epic comes to us from Mexico, by way of K. Gordon Murray.

We open with a shot of dark clouds passing across the face of the moon, and the star's solo credit: Samson (The Silvermask Man). In keeping with the tradition of changing the dialogue from Spanish to English, El Santo ("The Saint") himself is dubbed "Samson." Played by the late Rodolfo Guzman Huerta, Santo is a masked professional wrestler who moonlights as a crime fighter. Much like The Phantom (and The Green Hornet, who was descended from The Lone Ranger), Santo comes from a long line of masked heroes. Though he's not onscreen as often as he should be in this movie, his appearances are electrifying and it's easy to see why he became a living legend south of the border.

The movie proper begins with an establishing shot of a castle on a mountaintop. Mist swirls past us. (Well, kind of... While this castle looks like what it actually is [i.e.; a miniature], it was, for that period- the early '60's-, a solid example of the kind of cinematic sleight-of-hand for which Hollywoodland was famous. Today's cgi-sophisticated audiences might find it somewhat less than convincing, but, if so, so be it.) It's appropriately creepy, as are the titles that are superimposed over it (in classic, ragged "horror movie" lettering): Samson Vs. The Vampire Women. [For the sake of this review, "Santo" will be referred to as "Samson" throughout.] Over this title, we hear some moody horror movie music, of the "Night of the Living Dead" variety.

Cut to the interior of the castle, and the stage is truly set: we find ourselves in a large, dark room draped with cobwebs and ancient furnishings. A thick layer of dust covers everything. The camera begins to track slowly across this room in one fluid motion. This is a beautifully executed move, albeit a subtle one. A bat suddenly flits from hiding, and we catch our breath in surprise. The bat doesn't linger, but disappears through a doorway. The camera continues to move toward... a portrait of a beautiful young woman (Rebeca, the nameplate beneath the face informs us), hanging on the wall.

There is a sudden scream.

Cut to a chamber beneath the room with the portrait. We see a coffin, standing upright. Move in as the lid begins to creak slowly open. Inside, we find Tundra (Ofelia Montesco). She's obviously been here for quite some time, her skin looking like a grape left too long in the sun and her hair thick and shaggy (the hair and nails continue to grow after death)... She wears a dark robe. Around her are other coffins, many of them also upright, but one particular coffin stands out from the rest: it lies flat and atop the lid is the image of a bat; above the bat is a crown. This is the resting place of Zorina (Lorena Velazquez), queen of the vampires.

So far, so good. Some solid filmmaking, and an eerie mood has been established. I've read reviews of this movie, but none of them manage to impart the overall feel of these opening moments. It's little wonder that, as a kid, I watched much of this movie from between the fingers I'd spread over my face. We're talking about some genuinely creepy moments here- and the movie's just getting started! Don't be misled: This is a very well made film, and not some piece of schlock. (Would that all fright films were this well done...) Both the director, Alfonso Corona Blake, and co-writer Rafael Garcia Travesi, knew what they were about, and both deserve kudos for a job well done...

Tundra steps from her coffin and her lack of allure is quickly rectified as she is magically endowed with youth and vitality (to put it mildly). Even her ragged robe has been transformed into a strategically draped white dress that accentuates her new gifts... She basks in her own glow but a moment: The time has come to find a successor to Zorina, for only then may Zorina "return to the depths of the Earth and take her place at His side." ("He" happens to be The Devil, who appears only as a horned shadow cast on the wall whenever he feels the need to drop by the castle.)

"All men are addicted to corruption and obligated to self-destruction," Tundra says.

A trio of heavily-muscled henchmen are also "brought back" to aid the vampiress. They are all dressed conveniently in caped black costumes that allow for grappling (and are no doubt corrupt and prone to self-destruction, as well).

At this point, we meet Diana (Maria Duval), seated at the piano playing some Beethoven for her father, Professor Rolof (Augusto Benedico) and her fiancé, George (Xavier Loya). She looks not unlike the portrait of Rebeca we saw earlier in the movie. Tundra and Company arrive and try to lure Diana outside, but George scares them off. Rolof is greatly concerned, and wants Diana to stay home rather than go out with George. She reluctantly gives in and George leaves as Inspector Charles Andrews (Jaime Fernandez) arrives. Rolof wants Diana protected. He apparently knows something he's not telling anyone...

When Charles leaves, Rolof goes to his office and unrolls an ancient scroll. He has deciphered the hieroglyphics that reveal that, at the age of twenty-one, a descendant of Rebeca's (who will have on her left shoulder "the figure of a vampire") will be chosen to be queen of the undead...

Diana, in her bedroom, looks at the odd "birthmark" on her left shoulder (which looks suspiciously like a bat) before seeing Tundra's reflection in a mirror. Tundra's reflected image is not the voluptuous vixen we've come to know and love but is, instead, the same withered face she sported at the very beginning of the movie. Diana screams and Rolof rushes to her room and tries to calm her. He reassures her that all is right with the world before retiring to his office. (He leaves the door ajar, just in case.) He turns on a tv screen and leaves a recorded message for "Samson." "Samson" isn't in, but we do manage to get a tantalizing glimpse of his lab at this point.

Where is "Samson," you ask? In the ring, of course. He's teamed with The Black Shadow against Roz Mendoza and Caveman Wellington. Samson and Co. make short work of the opposition in a thoroughly exciting wrestling match. (Note: The crowd here is shown clearly chanting, "Santo! Santo!") The bone-crushing sound effects are effective (one can almost feel these blows land), and the faster-paced Mexican style of wrestling is far more fun to watch than was the American wrestling of this same period. At one point, The Black Shadow whips an opponent into the ropes and catches him as he bounces off with a reverse head-butt that actually lands! The opponent is badly shaken and ends up leaning back through the ropes to keep The Shadow off of him until he can recover. Samson and The Black Shadow go on to win the match.

Meanwhile, the vampire henchmen, led by Tundra, attack a couple outside a night club. They overpower a doorman who tries to help. Tundra bites the woman, and they kidnap the man. A cop sees Tundra turn into a bat (in a neat dissolve), but Charles later discounts the man's story after examining the woman's body. "Take him along, boys," the Inspector orders: "And put him under a week's detention." "But I'm not crazy," the cop insists as he's dragged away: "It's true! It's true! Those were vampires I saw!"

The missing man is chained to a slab in the castle dungeon as Zorina rises from her coffin in the torch-lit chamber below. Tundra walks to a niche in the wall and, casually casting aside one nasty looking snake caught napping in a goblet, takes the goblet. She goes up to the dungeon and lifts the goblet toward a window set high in the wall. Moonlight bathes the goblet, and it seems to glow. Tundra then bites the man and drains his blood into the goblet. The now useless body is tossed unceremoniously onto a fire by the henchmen.

Zorina drinks the blood and gets a magical makeover. (Does she ever! The women in this movie are nothing less than stunning.)

Several other faithful followers are reawakened and stand around twitching impatiently like strung-out junkies until they are likewise transformed into voluptuous vampiresses. They are charged with finding "the Chosen One"- she who will take Zorina's place. The Devil appears again, just to remind everybody who's in charge and to let them know they're on the clock...

Prof. Rolof is in his office when he sees Tundra standing outside his window. She tries to hypnotize him, but he runs her off by invoking God's name. Samson enters as Tundra flees (missing her by mere moments). Samson is wearing a cape, which serves to heighten our impression of him as a super hero. (The voice used to dub Huerta's lines is deep and powerful, exactly the kind of voice a hero like this would have if heroes like this existed.) The Professor shows Samson the scroll and tells him of the curse. "I fear there's no hope for her," Rolof says: "We're living in a time when things are perfect for the resurrection of Monsters here on Earth." He goes on to tell Samson that he- Samson himself- is the prophesied protector of the girl, but that even he might fail...

"Nevertheless," says Samson: "I have to continue, the way my ancestors did, to eliminate evil of all kinds..." He reasons that the vampires need a "refuge" during the day and that there they might be able to put the matter to rest... Rolof suggests that the scroll might provide some clue, but he can't decipher all of the symbols yet. He wants Samson to attend Diana's birthday party the following evening, but Samson declines (he's not a party animal), although he does vow to protect her.

The next night, the party- a costume party- is in full swing when Tundra arrives. There are numerous conspicuous bodyguards stationed throughout the house. Tundra and one of her henchmen procure invitations from an unsuspecting couple. Never one to pass up a free meal, Tundra bites the woman. Then she and her vampire escort go in and join the party. Again, classical music is used, which tends to lend an air of respectability to the film; indeed, the music throughout is well-chosen and never slows the story. Tundra hypnotizes and dances with George while her henchman cuts the rug with Diana. Rolof spots Tundra and sounds the alarm. Tundra hits the light switch and in the ensuing confusion, Diana is carried away by one of the vampires. Two vampires stay behind to slow pursuit and take out four armed men (including the Inspector) after absorbing a volley of gunfire at close range. Rolof follows the vampire carrying Diana. Samson arrives at the front gate at this point, vaults out of his convertible sportscar, and charges after the vampires. Tundra takes flight, and Diana is left behind. Samson overtakes the vampires. Rolof sees to his daughter while Samson tackles the vampire henchmen. The action here is very well choreographed. Samson hammers at the vampires until they turn into bats and take off. He follows in his car.

Charles decides at this point to free the cop who first reported seeing the vampires. He also convinces the Professor to allow Diana to go to the nightclub where the couple was attacked. His intention is to stake out the place (no pun intended), with Diana as his bait. Tundra overhears this, and flies off. "Don't worry," Charles says. He's nothing if not confident that his plan will work. Diana says to try it "as a last resort..."

Back at the castle, the vampire henchmen give the body of the murdered man the old heave-ho into the flaming pit while Tundra gets chewed out by Zorina. Zorina warns Tundra to set things right, or else... Zorina zaps two of her faithful minions, who go up in smoke. She then orders Tundra to take her to see her successor. A musical interlude at the night club threatens to follow, but it's mercifully cut short by the storyline, which proceeds apace.

At a nearby wrestling arena, a masked grappler known as The Black Mask is trying to relax in his dressing room before his upcoming bout with Samson. He sends his corner man out of the room and stretches out on a rubbing table. A bat appears and transforms into one of the henchmen, who strangles the startled grappler and takes his place. It's a "three falls, no time limit" main event. "The Black Mask" stands in his corner with his back to Samson, and peeks back over his shoulder at him. They are introduced. (Again, the crowd is shown chanting "Santo! Santo!") The bout starts, and it's clear that this isn't going to be a cake walk: Samson takes a fearful beating. The crowd boos; they're all obviously in Samson's corner (so to speak). The sound effects (including the loud exhortations of each man as blows are struck) are doubly effective here because of the henchman's "full speed ahead" attack: the blows are nonstop. This battle is definitely not for the squeamish. The vampire proves too strong for the unprepared Samson and chokes him out to win the first fall. Samson is left lying in the middle of the ring until his corner man drags him back to his corner and revives him.

Samson comes back strong, and knocks the vampire through the ropes in classic Jack Dempsey fashion. The vampire climbs back into the ring and a toe-to-toe slugfest ensues. The vampire manages to get Samson down and tries to unmask him, but Samson turns the tables and, sitting astride the vampire's back in his famous "caballo" hold, skins off his mask. Beneath the mask, the henchman's face is covered with fur (like a bat?) and he has sprouted fangs. Samson rises in surprise. The crowd panics, and everyone flees. Cops rush into the ring to try to help subdue the vampire, but his ferocity forces them to back off. They opt for the better part of valor and open fire. The vampire is driven into a corner by the gunfire, but quickly recovers and charges. With Samson's help, he is brought down- but abruptly turns into a bat and escapes. Without a doubt, this is the highlight of the film. Superb staging helps.

Meantime, Tundra and Zorina arrive at the night club. Diana sees Zorina's real face reflected in her compact- which Zorina causes to shatter with just a look before the vampiresses vanish in a puff of smoke. Zorina flies off as her henchmen attack George and the cops. They manage to abduct Diana: Tundra puts her in a waiting cab (this kidnapping was obviously well planned) and they take off.

Samson, fresh from his close call with one vampire, pulls up and has a go at several more. He gets the best of them and they beat a hasty retreat. He gives chase in his sportscar. One vampire gives him the slip, waits until Samson drives past his hiding place, and then runs out into the street, cape spread like wings. He is about to transform when he is brought up short by the sight of a huge stone crucifix. His face twists into a mask of fear and pain and he bursts into flame in an excellent fx shot.

Professor Rolof has finally found the key to deciphering the scroll, which reveals the location of the vampire hideout. He calls Samson (who's in his car) and tells him that the crypt is "in the forest of white pines."

The moon is full when Samson arrives. He works his way through the forest to the castle and we are treated to some more (appropriately) spooky music. Samson enters the castle and moves stealthily through the ruins. He sees the painting of Rebeca and pauses a moment to note its likeness to Diana. An owl perched nearby looks on indifferently. (This may be the owl that screamed at the beginning of the movie, just before we first see Tundra.)

Samson hears a scream and rushes to find its source. He enters the dungeon, but is trapped at the top of the stairs when two heavy steel gates drop down to sandwich him in. He can only stare helplessly through the bars at Diana, who is bound screaming to a slab below. Cut to a shot of the stubborn Samson, now strapped to the slab next to Diana, being beaten by a pair of henchmen. Samson is nothing if not resilient: These guys hammer him mercilessly, but he remains conscious. Tundra orders his mask removed: "At least we'll know who our stubborn enemy is..." But her timing is a little off: the sun comes up, and light floods the dungeon. Tundra bursts into flames (another excellent fx shot) as Samson breaks free. The henchmen recoil from the sun, but regroup to attack Samson, who lays them low. They go up in flames. Samson snatches up a torch and takes it down into the chamber below, where he sets fire to the vampiresses in their coffins, one by one. They scream as they are torched (which is kind of understandable). Professor Rolof, George, and the Inspector arrive as Samson emerges from the castle with Diana. He hands her over to them, hops into his car, and drives off into the sunrise. And so ends one of the most entertaining movies you're ever likely to see.

To sum up, in the time-honored tradition of Joe Bob Briggs: we have one miniature castle; fourteen coffins (twelve upright); fourteen butt-ugly vampiresses; fourteen to-die-for vampiresses; one Devil shadow (on wall); three muscle-bound vampire henchmen ("addicted to corruption and obligated to self-destruction"); one cursed twenty-one year old; one Professor; one ineffectual boyfriend; one police Inspector; one briefly-glimpsed lab; two wrestling matches; two masked wrestlers (three, counting the masked vampire); one costume party; one cop given detention for hallucinating on the job; one reverse head-butt that actually lands!; one snake curled up in one goblet; one gratuitous doorman; two women and two men drained of blood; four rubber bats; two pieces of classical music; one mercifully short solo; one furry-faced werewolf vampire; twelve patented wrestling holds; men with guns; one exploding compact; one unbelievably handy cab; one inadvertent self-immolation; eighteen other immolations (fourteen vampiresses, two of whom are zapped by Zorina, two henchmen, and two blood-drained bodies); one giant crucifix; one owl; spooky music; three slabs; one happy ending.

Check it out.

Note: A special thanks to David Wilt, whose article in the 3rd issue of Bobb Cotter's excellent publication, The Santo Companion, proved invaluable when it came to naming names.

REVIEW:
This incredibly creepy and atmospheric thriller really gets under your skin, and can rightly be called a "haunter", one of those genre classics which stays with you a long time.

This is one of those films which has, rightly or not, been shoved into the "camp" or "cult" category, for understandable reasons: musclebound superhero, bizarre gothic horror elements, crazy dubbing, unusual mixture of sports and sci-fi, etc. Yet upon careful viewing, one discovers that it actually isn't a "bad" film at all, eccentric and fantastic, yes, but neither ludicrous nor incompetent.

It has all the elements of a "Silver Age" horror comic book in its successful, dizzying juxtaposition of ultra-modern scientific superheroes and time-honored gothic-horror villains, with a curious fixation on physical prowess as virtue.

From the moment we see the creepy/silly model castle under the credits, punctuated by Raul Lavista's evocative music, we hope at least for some high camp.

Then we enter the interior of the foreboding structure, which is virtually dripping with morbid atmosphere. We have reached the level of "goth".

Below, in the dungeon, a row of upright coffins open up (shades of Lupita's Dream in SANTA CLAUS!), and decayed women pop out. We now know this film will, at least, touch upon REAL horror.

(In another odd similarity to SANTA CLAUS, the prince of all evil, Lucifer, makes a personal appearance, this time as a corny shadow on the wall.)

When the repulsive, undead hags morph into buxom, sexy vampire chicks, and summon their flunkies, which are musclebound hunks, we realize we're in for something akin to sex horror!

Professor Rolof turns on a super television screen gizmo which connects to an ultra-modern lab, and the film becomes science fiction.

Then we go to a wrestling match, featuring our hero "Samson" (or "Santo" according to the undubbed crowd, and the film takes on a primeval, gutsy primal aspect which skews its premise even further.

We think: Where are we? What genre is this? All we know is, good and evil, in their most overt forms, will figure prominently in this fanciful melodrama.

The title villains are fetching, if malignant, creations, alluring one minute and loathsome the next. We marvel at their dark power, and long to uncover their cryptic intent.

Even our beloved hero is a mystical character, a bulging enigma if you will, hiding behind his luminous veil, exposing only his bare chest and codpiece, confessing only his generic, genderic self, not revealing his spiritual position (except through thrilling actions and daring deeds). Keeping his true identity, his soul as it were, hidden, Samson/Santo is truly an "occult" figure himself, deserving of much speculation, as well as admiration...

Indeed, the notion of "mask as psychic firewall" is brought home quite clearly at a later costume party, where EVERYONE's identity, thus agenda, is hidden, and the forces of good have NO idea which of the masks hide evil! This is powerful, if simplistic (virtually Bunuel- like) subtext, a good example of that peculiar overlapping between "art" films and "mass" films which proves that "bad" films ain't as bad, nor "good" films as good, as we've been led to believe historically. The line between "art" and "entertainment", in a form as psychological and subjective as film, is excruciatingly thin.

And the vampire women, essentially fallen virgins, come across not so much as evil, though they are that technically, but pathetic, pitiable creatures, slaves to a most immutable destiny, and thus motivated as much by dolor as malice.

There are many straight-forward scenes which also make this a genre classic: the Vampire Queen fades into a bat, in a lap dissolve that is primitive but highly effective; powerful torture scenes in the gloomy dungeon; great ritual scenes; Fabian Grey singing "Love's Sonata" in a night club; a later wrestling match between Samson and a ferocious vampire-man; two Vampire chicks sitting at a table at a night club, looking like two lesbian actresses on break from the matinee of CATS, busting a cop's mirror with their super-telepathy.

Here again, as in much Mexican gothic cinema of the period, an unholy villain meets "the Cross" in a reaffirmation of the Catholic culture from whence the film came.

Professor Rolof speaks to Samson through his super-TV screen, while Samson drives in his sports car! This fabulous impossibility brings home the most fanciful sci-fi aspects of this wild film.

The climax features wrestlers and sports cars and cops and the undead all converging in a wonderful, unearthly ballet of pop culture machismo, circa 1962.

The final fight, taking place in the spacious dungeon, is choreographed virtually like a dance, and plays very much like theatre.

Samson lights all of the vampire women on fire as they scream pitifully in their coffin/tombs, making his role darker than ever: apparently, he is not merely a defender of justice, but a religious zealot as well.

As Samson drives off, Rolof gives him a loving eulogy, even though he isn't dead, and we know that Samson/Santo is a hero for the ages. Good stuff.

COMMENTS:
* (updated 02-14-06) Thanks to a terrific new book we just received, "Ghouls, Gimmicks and Gold" by Kevin Heffernan, (2004, Duke University Press), we have been able to update the U.S. television release date for this Murray horror title to 1965. The appendices to this study of the horror film in America, circa 1955-1968, include complete listings of syndication feature film packages from many distributors, including American International Television, who subleased the K. Gordon Murray film catalog under the title THRILLERS FROM ANOTHER WORLD. It seems that 1965 was the watershed year for genre film sold to television, with a veritable flood of titles released by both domestic and foreign distribs.

* (10-31-04) A special thanks to Kevin Demant for locating and forwarding the four above images from SAMSON VS THE VAMPIRE WOMEN!

* (effective 05-01-03) After a very brief window of availability, this long-sought K. Gordon Murray title is once again out of print, due to international copyright issues. Used video tapes of this title may be found on online video dealers and auction sites. Stay tuned for further developments!

* According to the Azteca Films Database, SANTO CONTRA LAS MUJERES VAMPIRO was finished on January 03, 1962, and premiered on October 11, 1962.

* Santo, aka the "Silver Mask Man", was of course a beloved and prolific Mexican wrestler, who also became a bonafide movie star, thanks to a dizzying array of fantastic genre movies he starred in for many years. For the real skinny on Santo, (and some super-rare Santo comic books!), visit Brian Moran's Santo Street.

* Tagline: "Solo un hombre de acero, de agilidad de pantera, es capaz de luchar contra las MUJERES AMPIRO, y ese hombre es SANTO!"

* For an excellent and informative online review of SAMSON VS THE VAMPIRE WOMEN, visit David Wilt's Mexican Film Pages.

NOTABLE DIALOGUE: