We open with what seems to be a Satanic ritual. This is actually the Panther Women cult. It’s left a little bit vague is to whether these are actual Satanists or whether it’s a pagan cult (I lean towards the latter explanation). Whatever they are they are clearly up to no good.
The leader of the cult is the glamorous but evil Satanasa (María Douglas). Centuries before this the founder of the cult, Eloim, had been killed by a member of the Pietrasanta family. Before dying Eloim vowed vengeance on Pietrasanta’s descendants. Satanasa intends to be the agent of that vengeance. The killing the last surviving members of the Pietrasanta family will bring Eloim back to life. The culmination of the ritual killings will be the sacrifice of the youngest Pietrasanta, a girl named Paquita.
The weapons Satanasa intends to use are two panther women. They’re lady wrestlers who can transform into panthers.
Famous lady wrestlers Loreta Venus (Ariadne Welter) and Golden Rubi (Elizabeth Campbell) are determined to foil this evil scheme.
Cop Capitán Arturo Díaz (Eric del Castillo) knows he’s going to need outside help so he calls on El Angel (played by pro wrestler and actor Gerardo Zepeda). El Angel is a pro wrestler who moonlights as a masked crimefighter. His identity is a secret. He is also a scientific genius and he has a secret laboratory. He has a secret radio link to police headquarters. Yes, he’s Santo in all but name.
The Pietrasantas get hunted down one by one.
The panther woman do their transformation thing in the wrestling ring.
Eloim is revived, but he’s a shambling zombie-like creature. Eventually there will be a showdown between Eloim and El Angel.
The big problem with this movie is El Angel. He’s fine, but he takes over the movie. As does Eloim. There’s just not enough focus on the Panther Women and the two wrestling women heroines. They’re the most interesting characters but they’re reduced to being minor supporting players.
The big drawcard here is Tongolele as one of the Panther Woman. Tongolele is a legend in Mexico as a dancer and burlesque star. She looks amazing, she was a sultry exotic dancer and she has charisma.
María Douglas makes a fine sinister villainess. Elizabeth Campbell is great as Golden Rubi but doesn’t get anywhere near enough to do.
There are some decent fight scenes, Tongolele does a great sexy dance and there are the obligatory wrestling scenes.
René Cardona was a very experienced director and he keeps things moving along. It’s a very competently made movie. Alfredo Salazar was also an experienced screenwriter but his script isn’t focused enough.
El Angel looks cool. The makeup effects for Eloim are very cool and very creepy. The Panther Woman makeup effects and costumes really needed a lot more thought.
Wrestling was and is a huge part of Mexican popular culture so wrestling hero movies had a guaranteed audience.
This was the fourth of the 60s luchadora (lady wrestler) movies. Despite its problems it’s good fun. Panther Women is worth a look but there are much better Mexican cult movies from that era, such as the magnificent The Bat Woman.
The Powerhouse Indicator Blu-Ray offers a nice transfer wth an informative audio commentary. There’s also a booklet of essays, and a lot of pretentious nonsense they are too.
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