With his dying breath, the leader of a panther cult curses the bloodline of the man who killed him. Centuries later, in present-day Mexico, the all-woman panther-worshipping cult returns to kill off the last of his descendants. It’s then up to the sexy wrestling women Loreta Venus (Ariadne Welter) and her tag-team partner Golden Rubi (Elizabeth Campbell) to put a stop to the evil panther women once and for all.
The Panther Women is the fourth in a series of five Wrestling Women movies that began with Doctor of Doom and concluded with Wrestling Women vs. the Killer Robot. It was directed by the ever-reliable Rene Cardona, who brings a lot of atmosphere to the scenes of the panther cult rituals. He also gives the three wrestling matches (two of which are ladies’ tag-team bouts) and one dance routine a sense of fun. The fight scenes that occur outside the ring are well done too. (The rapid-fire editing during the warehouse brawl is quite effective.)
I only wish the script had enough confidence in the wrestling women to make them the main heroines. Instead, they needlessly shoehorn in a El Santo wannabe by the name of El Angel into the plot. Like everyone’s favorite silver-masked man, he has his own Batcave-inspired secret laboratory. I’m not saying El Angel isn’t cool. I especially liked his James Bond-style gadgets (he has a bulletproof and flameproof cape). It’s just that the wrestling women should’ve been given more of the spotlight.
The voluptuous Campbell (who was in all but the final installment of the series) in particular seems wasted as she spends much of her screen time standing around listening to exposition or (even worse) having to put up with an annoying comic relief detective. I mean during the big climax, just as she is about to do something heroic, she FAINTS, and El Angel has to step in and save the day. Weak.
It would’ve also been nice to see the panther women in their full werewolf-inspired make-up a little more often. On the plus side, the resurrected cult leader is appropriately grotesque looking. The terrible dubbing is good for a laugh too, and the dialogue is often hilarious. (“That cursed sword of the Druids stands in our way again!”)
Overall, The Panther Women isn’t a bad mix of Luche Libre and horror, but the next installment, Wrestling Women vs. the Killer Robot, was a lot more fun.
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