The Batwoman

Director - Rene Cardona (Wrestling Women vs. the Aztec Mummy, Santo vs. the Strangler)

Starring - Maura Monti (The Vampires, Planet of the Female Invaders), Roberto Canedo (Doctor of Doom, Red Blossoms), and Hector Godoy (She-Wolves of the Ring, House of the Frights)

Release Date - 1968

Genre - Sci-Fi/Horror

Tagline - "Bold! Noble! Daring! Enchanting! Audacious! Invincible!"

Format - Bluray (Personal Collection) (Screener)

Rating (out of 5):

     When I was in college I was constantly on the message boards of Upcoming Horror Movies.  I'm sure I posted so much there that I pissed a few of the regulars off to some extent.  That message board was such a valuable resource for me.  I discovered so many amazing films, not just horror, but a vast amount of cult films that I had never heard of before growing up in my small mountain town in West Virginia.  It was here that I was introduced to El Santo and Rene Cardona.  While Cardona did not direct all of the El Santo films he did helm several other horror and sci-fi wrestling films in the same vein.  A few weeks ago I was browsing the MVD site when I saw that VCI Entertainment was releasing a Cardona double feature on blu.  I was curious about this one and reached out to get a review copy.  MVD was kind enough to send it over and I couldn't wait to dig into the first film which was 1968's The Batwoman.

      The film follows Batwoman (Monti) who is a well known wrestler and crime fighter in the area.  Know one knows her secret identity besides two police detectives but when powerful wrestlers turn up dead they turn to her for help.  Through her wrestling connections she soon uncovers a diabolical plan from a scientists who is using spinal fluid from the wrestling to creat a Gill Man.

       I was really excited to give this one a spin.  Seeing a Cardona film with a Batwoman character that wasn't authorized to use mixed with wrestling and a little sci-fi mayhem sounded like something I needed in my life.  Sadly, the movie was nowhere near as wild as I was hoping for.  In fact, I found myself very underwhelmed by it.  It was a fun idea that did not translate well from paper to film.  The acting in this one is uneven and not that entertaining.  Monti is gorgeous, even while wearing the Batwoman mask, but her performance was not that fun or entertaining.  Some of the other characters, like the scientist, was a little more fun to watch but there was times where the scene was extremely flat.  The story for this one pulls in a lot of different things but doesn't really explore each aspect to it's fullest.  The scientists working on the Gill Man from spinal fluid should have been a major part of the story.  Instead, we watch Batwoman wrestling most of the movie was which not as fun as it sounds.  It gets old rather quickly resulting in a very monotonous movie.  Finally, the film has some really cheesy practical effects that I enjoyed but the death scenes are very underwhelming.  I wasn't expecting a lot from the death scenes considering the film is a no budget flick from the 60s but I was hoping for something a little more fun.  Overall, The Batwoman was not as fun or as wild as I was expecting.  It had some cool moments but nothing that I will want to revisit.