Santo and Blue Demon vs. Dr. Frankenstein (1974) by Miguel M. Delgado

Director: Miguel M. Delgado
Year: 1974
Country: Mexico
Alternate Titles: Santo y Blue Demon contra el doctor Frankenstein
Genre: Luchadore; Creature Feature

Plot:
After a series of disappearances, Santo and Blue Demon are called in to investigate and find that a deranged scientist has been kidnapping victims and using them in his anti-aging experiments, and after seeing their skills decides to upgrade the brains of his henchmen with those of the fighters.

Review:

Overall, this one was quite fun with a lot to like about it. The main aspect to like here is the way in which this one manages to work the story together to feature a connection between everything. The idea between the scientist looking for the perfect female specimens and the need for bringing the luchadores into the storyline is a rather enjoyable one with the strange murders being committed by the girls and tying that back into the scientists’ studies. His looking for the right ingredients to complete the super-soldiers for his world domination plans which leads him to the girlfriend might be seen as a lame coincidence due to her also being a scientist like him but that this causes the introduction of the two into a more personal stake in the storyline.

With this storyline setup, the film’s inclusion of luchador action and more traditional horror aspects comes off rather nicely. The opening attacks by the failed brain transplant victims is a great shocking scene, while the switchover into the first of two stellar tag-team wrestling matches immediately after is a fine switch into the more traditional elements of the genre. The hard-hitting brawls with the henchmen spread throughout the film or the police encounter with the indestructible henchman give this some more action scenes, setting up the outright fun to be had in the finale. With the attempted brain transplant and their escape requiring a mad dash through the stylish underground lair leading into the fixed wrestling match that ends this one, there’s quite a lot to like with this entry.

There are some big problems with this one. The main issue here is the rather bland storyline that keeps this one feeling dull more than anything. Most of this is due to the preference of focusing on the exploits of the mad doctor in his laboratory who’s bellowing orders to his henchmen and explaining what his plans are. This is all handled very slowly and really holds the tempo of this one back at the beginning with the lack of interest in what’s going on, and that stands out even more with the absolutely laughable main plan that is expected to be carried out here. The prospect of asking the audience to buy the idea of what’s happening with the anti-aging blood serum and brain transplants is really underwhelming and holds this one back significantly. The lower budget is apparent here at times as well, making for the film’s few flaws.

Overview: ***/5

A generally fun and cheesy entry in the series, this is a quite enjoyable entry in the series which is only undone by a few minor flaws that end up holding this back. Give it a look if you're intrigued by the concept, a fan of their other works or the genre in general while most others who aren't interested in any of those factors should heed caution.