THE WITCHES ATTACK (1968)

 

PHENOMENALITY: *marvelous*
MYTHICITY: *poor*
FRYEAN MYTHOS: *adventure*
CAMPBELLIAN FUNCTION: *metaphysical*

This was the last luchador film directed by Jose Diaz Morales, and whereas THE DIABOLICAL AXE and BARON BRAKOLA were adequate entries in the low-stakes Santo series, ATTACK loses points for being an aimless remake of SANTO VS. THE VAMPIRE WOMEN, with witches substituted for vampires. But it gains points for once more spotlighting the charms of the recently deceased glamour-girl Lorena Velasquez.

After a confusing dream sequence, where dreamer Ofelia (Maria San Martin) envisions Santo fighting with witch-spawn, the movie reveals the plot of evil witch-queen Mayra (Velasquez): to capture Ofelia and sacrifice her to Satan. (His infernal majesty makes an appearance here, even as he did in VAMPIRE). I wasn't clear as to why Mayra thinks Ofelia is the ideal sacrifice. But in a small way this idea makes more sense than the plot in VAMPIRE, which as I noted involved the head vampire wanting to join Satan in hell and needing some innocent to take her place.

Ofelia's dream is taken seriously by her boyfriend, who calls upon the Silver Mask to investigate. In ATTACK's best scene, Mayra utilizes a fairly original gambit: sending her right-hand woman Medusa (Edaena Ruiz) to seduce Santo. But the luchador nobly refuses such base temptations. He doesn't manage to keep the witches from abducting Ofelia and spiriting her to their lair, but from somewhere the hero produces a giant cross and sets the witches on fire whenever it gets near them. This is very likely a borrowing from 1960's HORROR HOTEL, and one reviewer claimed to have seen (as I did not) a clip from that film worked into the ATTACK continuity-- which I think quite possible. 

In contrast to VAMPIRE, where Velasquez barely moved out of her vampire lair, the leading monster-lady at least ventures forth to use some hypnotic mojo on Ofelia, to make her remove a protective cross. The only other notable item about ATTACK is that the lobby card I reproduced above looks like either a borrowing from Henry Fuseli's painting THE NIGHTMARE, or from some other movie poster that uses the painter's imagery.