BLUE DEMON VS EL PODER SATANICO (1966)
aka Blue Demon vs. the Satanical Power
Article 2822 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date: 1-28-2009
Posting Date: 5-5-2009
Directed by Chano Urueta
Featuring Alejandro Munoz Moreno, Marta Elena Cervantes, Jaime Fernandez
Country: Mexico

A man with Satanical powers avoids execution by putting himself into a cataleptic state. Fifty years later he is resurrected, and returns to his evil ways by using his mystical powers to seduce and murder women. However, he must deal with the powers of a heroic Mexican wrestler…

For a movie which I’ve seen only in an unsubtitled Spanish-language version, this one is fairly easy to follow. This isn’t necessarily a compliment; the reason it’s so easy to follow is because there’s so little to it. The opening scenes are the best, but once the villain begins his seductive reign of terror, the movie begins padding itself excessively. The movie runs about 75 minutes, but we have four (count ’em, four) wrestling sequences, one of which doesn’t even feature Blue Demon, but his friend (and already established movie star) Santo. We have three sequences where the villain seduces women. We have scenes of Blue Demon pursuing his career as a crimefighter; unfortunately, these mostly consist of him sitting around reading books. In fact, Blue Demon doesn’t lift a finger to battle the villain until the villain decides to use his Satanic powers to try to force Blue Demon to commit suicide. Only then does Blue Demon swing into action, but even this is a disappointment, because… well, I won’t give away the ending, but let me just say that if it weren’t for the wrestling sequences, there wouldn’t be any action scenes in the movie. This one is bad even by Mexican wrestler movie standards.