The Witches Attack (1968) Poster

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4/10
Santo and witches
BandSAboutMovies26 July 2021
Warning: Spoilers
Also known as Santo Attacks the Witches, this film finds the Mexican superhero wrestler El Santo trying to save a woman named Ofelia, who keeps having visions of Satan and his witch followers using her as a human sacrifice. Santo saves her by literally making the shadow of the cross with his body, stopping not only the witches but sending Satan away and waking up Ofelia. She's had this dream ever since she's been forced to live in the home of her dead parents in order to get their fortune in the will. Luckily, her boyfriend Arturo knows that Santo exists and sets out to contact him.

It turns out that the family secretary died fifteen years ago and has been a witch named Mayra* since then. She commands an army of witches who go out of their way to "infernally seduce" our hero who sends them on their way back to Hell. Santo uses all manner of weaponry to make that happen, from flaming torches to giant crosses.

Satan wants Ofelia and Santo out of the way, but our hero is just too much for those who trod the left hand path. By the end, the man in the silver mask has set dozens of occult dabblers ablaze, leaving the young lovers in an embrace as he jumps in his sportscar and drives away, presumably to wrestle a match or perhaps battle female werewolves.

There are better Santo movies, but honestly, a Santo movie is like a taco. They're all good. Some are better than others. But even a bad taco is better than anything else.

*She's played by Lorena Velázquez, who was also Thorina the Queen of the Vampires in Santo contra Las Mujeres Vampiros and Gloria Venus in the Wrestling Women series.
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7/10
"Witch" with a B...
poe42617 October 2009
Warning: Spoilers
B-movie is about right: THE WITCHES ATTACK has a lot going for it: some pretty good action scenes, some of the gratuitous but oh-so-voluptuous vixens we've come to expect from Santo movies, and El Santo himself. While the movie borrows liberally from SANTO VS. THE VAMPIRE WOMEN (it's almost a remake, actually), it has an unevenness about it that's hard to overlook. The opening sequence, for instance, is a tad confusing in that it gives the impression that one has stumbled into the middle of a movie already in progress. It turns out to be a dream sequence, but, until that much is made clear, the viewer can't help but wonder what's going on. My biggest problem with this one are the fight scenes: the action is great, but it's all covered by two cameras- one of which either has a filter of some kind over the lens (to make a daytime shot look like a nighttime shot) or was set at a totally different F stop from the other. This wouldn't matter except for the fact that the fight scenes are edited so that footage from both cameras is intercut; the difference is jarring to see. Still, one of the more entertaining Santo movies, and worth a look.
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8/10
an enjoyable black&white entry in the cult classic Santo series
arispull6 November 2020
In this adventure the masked wrestler/hero takes action to protect his friend and his fiancee from the clutches of a coven of witches, who want to make a human sacrifice and gather the forces of darkness, in order to enslave humanity. The movie is indeed similar to 1962's SANTO VS.THE VAMPIRE WOMEN and has the usual blend of universal horror with 'lucha libre' wrestling and pulp comic aesthetic, but it's quite enjoyable and never gets boring. A lot of wrestling scenes, gothic horror sequences and cheap but effective use of photography and on-camera tricks make this a really fun ride.
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