BATWOMAN

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Original Title: La mujer murciélago
Year: 1968
Director: René Cardona
Writer: Alfredo Salazar
IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0235608/
Genre: Lucha

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synopsis:
A mad scientist is wanting to create a race of super gill men. He uses the glands of wrestlers because they are "perfect". Wrestlers are winding up dead all over Acapulco so the call goes out for that mysterious crime fighter BATWOMAN!

We're staying in the lucha genre a bit longer, but now we'll cover the fairer sex.

And this chick is most definitely fairer. RRAAWWWRRR!

Say hola to La Mujer Murcielago... The Batwoman!

Played by the lovely Maura Monti, Batwoman is essentially an El Santo here but with all kinds of hot thrown in there. This lady doesn't like to do much without her bombs hanging out... and as an adult with the mind of a 12-year-old... that's A-OK with me!

As I was watching, I knew she seemed familiar. Well, Ms. Monti also played one of the sexy Martians in Santo el enmascardo de plata vs la invasión de los marcianos! Well fancy that! Cirrrrrrcle of liiiiiiiiiiiiife!

You can check out my review of that film here, but I have to apologize as there is no Monti love in it.

Ahh that little cape. And that little top. And those little, little shorts. ¡Aye mamacita!

Now that I have caught my breath and zipped up my shorts, let's continue, shall we?

I love the Batwoman's introduction into the film. In Acapulco, wrestlers are being murdered and no one can figure out why. Well, they call in super-rich, super-talented, super-sexy Batwoman on the case. As she is being described, we find out that because of her abilities, she is great at every sport.

And what sports do they show her partaking in? Well, pistol shooting is one. She also likes riding horseback dressed as a cowgirl. ...Yep. She shoots a pistol when she does that also; bullseye every time!

Oh, and let's not forget scuba diving and harpooning fish! That's a sport I instantly think of someone being skilled at. Her highly awkward dive into the water let's me know she's a real pro.

She really may have hurt something with that dive. Yikes.

But the most important skill of all, and the reason she is highly sought after for this case of murdered wrestlers... she's a god-damn LUCHADORA! Well slap my ass and call me sally! Who better to investigate than someone who knows how the complex brain of a professional wrestler functions??

Unfortunately, Batwoman's wrestling attire is atrocious. The woman would wear a bikini to a church service, but in the ring she wears the same sweat suit your mom wore when she was sick with the flu. Well, except that it is a total ripoff of the 1960s Batman.

How the hell this crew ever got away with that blatant copy-catting is beyond me. I mean, they didn't even try! They forgot the bat on the chest and the silly little white line eyebrows on the mask, so I guess that was enough not to get sued.

Or maybe they took a look at the film, realized they had about a 582 peso budget, and decided it wasn't worth the effort.

This one is cheap. All the budget was spent on the sleestak-looking fish monster and the bat bikini and not much else. Including the acting. I love Maura, so leave her the fuck alone. But the rest are fair game. They all stink on ice! Jesus, even the characters they play stink.

There's the oddly named Dr. Eric Williams who has the even odder idea to create a race of fish men because that's what men were originally in the seas...or something... and he wants control of the seas and oceans. He mixes PINEAL JUICE with a goldfish to create this fish monster. Yeah, I know.

Before I go farther, I will point out that the pineal gland in the human brain produces melatonin... the lovely hormone that makes you sleepy when it gets dark outside. Read all about it here! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pineal_gland

Anyway, his plan is dumb, and we only ever get to see one fish guy. (you can see him peeking out behind Dr. Eric above! Hi cutie!) As with many lucha villains, his plan begins to take a back seat as he gets annoyed with the masked hero and begins to put most of his efforts into just fucking with her.

His goons are pretty awful too as they really can't do much right. They are always getting their asses kicked, which is pretty much the job of goons in these flicks. I really laughed in a chase scene when they all put on masks to hide their identities, and the masks are nothing more than the 50 cent Zorro masks you can get at Dollar Tree.

This movie is very simple and straight forward. It's really just a vehicle to show some tits and ass (covered... sorry fellas) and to get a cheap monster flick out the door. I have already seen some nicer work by Rene Cardona, so I really just have a sneaking suspicion that this film was made to cash in on the Adam West Batman show and lucha genre in general. They benefit from some fantastic scenery and sets in Acapulco, but that's really about all.

It's all really generic, but I really did enjoy this in ways beyond Maura's mammaries. I mean, this bootleg Batman/woman feel screams Mexico. Look no farther than the loads of plastic bootleg toys that come out of Mexico and you'll see what I mean. I love shit like this! the story is ridiculous and it's just entertainingly bad.

Santo would be ashamed, but you may just get some giggles.

Recommended for the camp enthusiast.

Score: 5.25 / 10

¡Viva la tetas!