Santo vs. Doctor Death (1973) Review

Explosive
4

Summary

Santo vs. Doctor Death has a surprisingly good plot, memorable characters, and some unique and inventive action scenes.

Plot: Someone is producing copies of masterpiece paintings as the real deal, so Interpol sends in Santo to investigate.

Review: I have never watched the Santo movies. I’m aware that he was a big star in Mexico, both as a wrestler and movie star, and he made a boatload of movies, but otherwise? Not to be cheeky, but nada. However, I was always open to watching one of his movies, and my good buddy, J-Man, came to my house this week on my birthday and showed me one of his more “grounded” flicks – Santo vs. Doctor Death.

Let’s be clear right off the bat – Santo vs. Doctor Death could have easily been a James Bond movie or maybe a Matt Helm flick. While Bond’s modus operandi is gadgets, and there were none in this movie, the other trappings are there – unique locations, a dastardly villain, an investigation that leads to action and excitement – if Bond movies were interrupted with wrestling matches, this would be almost a carbon copy.

Speaking of dastardly villains, the eponymous Doctor Death has to be one of the most creative and immoral monsters ever to grace the screen. I won’t give away what his plot was, but it was so weird, crazy, and diabolical that I think he should be considered one of the best movie villains ever. The intricacies that the story goes into to support his plot go above and beyond what I would expect from a fun action flick.

Santo himself is terrific. He exudes presence, and his partner, in the film, played by Carlos Romero Marchent, is a pleasant surprise. There’s a scene in the beginning where you think he will betray Santo, but it’s flipped on his head – like most of the film is.

The wrestling scenes are well choreographed and there’s some moves shown that the WWE wrestlers of today wouldn’t even perform. Some folks may find it jarring to have these wrestling matches in the middle of the film and may think it’s filler – perhaps, but Santo was an extremely popular wrestler, so his fans would want to see this stuff in the movie. The action scenes are cool as well, and the final chase has to be seen to be believed.

As for the cinematography and art direction, the movie is well shot – you can see all the moves, and it doesn’t strive for anything fancy. The locale of Doctor Death is amazing: a castle that seems to go on forever and has plenty of strange rooms and subterranean grottos for both the heroes to explore and for the villains to have fun in. The score is relentlessly upbeat and perfect for the story unfolding before your eyes.

I don’t have too many negatives for this movie—it was a bloody good time and gave me plenty of terrific vibes. They don’t make movies like this anymore. Instead, we would get a 2.5-hour film that delved into Santos’ terrible upbringing and struggles to make it as a wrestler instead of the stylistic action thriller we got. So, do yourself a favour and check this one out—I don’t think it will disappoint.