LET’S GET PHYSICAL: SANTO AND BLUE DEMON VS. DRACULA AND THE WOLF MAN (1973) ****

FORMAT:  BLU-RAY

El Santo’s girlfriend’s family is marked for death by Dracula and the Wolf Man.  When the police refuse to help, he turns to his wrestling pal, Blue Demon to lend a hand.  Little do they realize the fiendish monsters are amassing an army to finish off the luchadores once and for all. 

I thought it was cool that they rehired the same actor, Aldo Monti from Santo in the Treasure of Dracula to play Dracula yet again, which at least gives the film a little bit of continuity.  (Dracula’s hunchbacked henchman even wants his “gold”, which I assume is the treasure from the other movie.)  Dracula also gets a cool resurrection scene where a guy is tied up and hung upside down over the Count’s bones.  He’s then cut, and when his blood dribbles onto Dracula’s skeleton, it brings the bloodsucker back to life. 

The Wolf Man (Agustin Martinez Solares), who also goes by the hilarious name, Rufus Rex, has a great look.  He’s often seen wearing a flashy yellow disco shirt and his facial hair looks perfectly blow-dried and set.  It’s almost as if Vidal Sassoon styled Lon Chaney, Jr. 

As for the wrestling bouts, El Santo’s first match takes place in front of a blue backdrop, which was obviously cheaper than filming in a real venue with a paying crowd.  Blue Demon’s fight against “Renato the Hippie” (!) occurs in front of a blood red screen.  After the plot wraps up, Blue Demon and El Santo join forces for a tag team match.  The canned sounds of the audience cheering, and the weirdly hued surroundings give the wrestling sequences an oddly surreal and dreamlike feel. 

In fact, director Miguel M. Delgado (who directed many of El Santo’s best films) favors bright, poppy colors throughout the film which gives it a unique flavor.  Many directors would opt to go overboard with the shadows and fog to make the horror elements come alive.  This one has mostly a primary color palette (love those Dracula babes in their sheer red nighties!) and as a result, it’s one of the best looking El Santo adventures.  There are even moments here that look like something out of a Mario Bava movie, which is about the highest praise I can bestow on a Mexican wrestling horror flick. 

Also of note:  Santo’s spunky girlfriend, Lina (Nubia Marti) is a more than just a pretty face and proves to be capable ally.  In one scene, she saves El Santo’s bacon by driving a forklift into the action!  When do you get to see that?

Santo and Blue Demon vs. Dracula and the Wolf Man maybe isn’t as out and out nutty as say, Santo and Blue Demon vs. the Monsters, but it’s a consistently amusing addition to the franchise.  The little stylistic flourishes and overall general silliness (like the Wolf Man’s army of werewolf henchmen) make it a must see for horror and wrestling fans alike. 

AKA:  Santo and Blue.