Atacan las brujas “Attack of the Witches” aka Santo en Atacan las brujas – is a 1968 Mexican supernatural horror film directed by José Díaz Morales from a story and screenplay by Rafael García Travesi and Fernando Osés. It stars Santo, Lorena Velázquez and María Eugenia San Martín.
A young woman has a strange dream featuring stuffed animals, lizards, sexy witches and their brawny henchmen, and a masked superman who is able to ward off evil by raising his arms in the sign of the cross.
The masked man turns out to be Santo and she asks for his help when her boyfriend is abducted by a witches’ coven…
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Reviews:
“This dreamlike, atmospheric Santo effort is very different from the conventional Rene Cardona entries, and if you think it reminds you of Horror Hotel (aka City of the Dead), watch out for a clip borrowed from that very film!” George R. Reis, DVD Drive-In
“The problem is that it really doesn’t have any story; it has some exposition to set up the situation, and then a series of repetitive events […] lots of low cut gowns and cleavage, miniskirted nighties on the big-legged minions of Satan, and somewhat sluggish fight scenes with Santo.” Dave Sindelar, Fantastic Movie Musings and Ramblings
“This is a strange entry when compared to the more straightforward ‘monster mash’ Santo titles that seem to be more popular amongst fans. Not only does it have a moodier and darker atmosphere about it, and a few surreal moments…” Ian Jane, Rock! Shock! Pop!
Basically, this is a cheaper remake of Santo vs. los mujeres vampiros, borrowing many plot and stylistic (the female vampires’ costumes, for instance) points from the earlier picture […] It isn’t as good as it’s predecessor, but it is, overall, mildly entertaining at best.” D. Witt
Offline reading:
The Mexican Masked Wrestler and Monster Filmography by Robert Michael Cotter
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Mexploitation Cinema: A Critical History of Mexican Vampire, Wrestler, Ape-Man and Similar Films, 1957 – 1977 by Doyle Greene
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Trivia:
The poster artwork re-uses imagery from American movie The Night Walker (1964)
IMDb | Plot synopsis courtesy of DVD Drive-In
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