Santo vs. the Martian Invasion (1967) User Reviews

Men from Mars or refugees from Central Casting?

[JohnHowardReid · 4/10 · 3 November 2006]

My introduction to the Santo cult proved to be a somewhat disappointing experience. Santo is not so much a Mexican Super-Hero as a Mexican Bruce Lee. Instead of kung fu, we are treated to wrestling. Mucho lucha. Demasiado lucha! It never stops. Santo cannot step into a room without stepping into the fray. I admit it was well staged, but the sound effects were overdone. I liked the girls best, especially Belinda Corell. On the other hand, the male Martians were totally unconvincing. Complete with ridiculously fake wigs, they looked about as much like men from Mars as refugees from Central Casting. Not that the rest of the players were much better. Only the always reliable Manuel Zozaya (who rarely received decent roles matching his abilities) as the professor and the impressively voiced "Picoro" (doing his customary stint as the ring announcer) stood out in a very mediocre cast.

Production values were also second-class with ho-hum special effects that wouldn't gladden the hearts of a group of seven-year-olds; plus competently routine photography by Jorge Stahl (who did such good work on Henry Hathaway's 1954 Garden of Evil); and all topped off by capable but blissfully unimaginative direction from that veteran workhorse in Mexican cinema, Alfredo B. Crevenna (who helmed no less than 150 features between 1945 and his retirement at the age of 81 in 1995).

Sci-fi fans will be hard pressed to find anything to cheer about in this effort. It's the sort of film that a quickie serial producer like Columbia's Sam Katzman would have been proud of, but it didn't strike many chords with me.

Ah aliens

[BandSAboutMovies · 5/10 · 17 May 2020]

Santo has battled everyone from his fellow wrestlers to zombies, vampires, vampire women, the King of Crime, evil wax figures, a Hotel of Death, the Strangler, the Ghost of the Strangler and Satanic Power at this point. So yes, it was time to put Martians into the camel clutch.

Santo battles Wolf Ruvinskis, who also played Neutron, and who was also a luchador. He also goes up against Maura Monti, who played The Batwoman. Yes, Martian women have come here and they're ready to take all our masked wrestlers.

The Martians have Astral Eyes on the top of their heads, which allow them to disintegrate human beings. Luckily, they can't last long in our atmosphere. And even their most comely interstellar lasses can't seduce El Enmascarado de Plata.

There's also a bad guy named Hercules who unmasks Santo, played by Spanish wrestler Benny Galant, who for some reason acted as a Frenchman while in Mexico. Santo pulls a Mil Mascaras years before that was a thing and has another mask underneath, screwing over that red planet rudo. Hurricane Ramirez - a wrestler who started as a movie character before becoming the real thing played by Eduardo Bonada - is in this, if you're interested in 1960's luchadors.

I mean, Mexican wrestlers fight aliens. Life can be perfect, if you allow it to be.

do you like mexican wrestling?

[agof · 6/10 · 26 May 2023]

I have watched it with subtitles by -Marfenarus-

It is an atomic age alien invasion movie, like they did them in usa in the 50s, but with El Santo and a lot of mexican wrestling.

So the aliens came and openly publicly declared that they are aliens from mars and they are invading, right on all television sets in the country. But a lot of the people in the film act surprised. Some of them even start to suspect that there might be an alien invasion happening, maybe even right now, probably even in mexico.

Most of the run-time is luchador-style fights, so if like them or not will influence your opinion. The film is not too ambitious and it's an alright watch.

Even a trash film is supposed to have at least a little internal consistency

[guisreis · 2/10 · 21 May 2014]

The ridiculousness of this film is very funny, what automatically makes it less bad than other awful movies.

Though, even when you make a film with bizarre costumes, a silly story, and bad acting, at least one expects it to have internal logical consistency.

This Mexican superhero film, though, contradicts itself too much seriously (for example, just a touch is enough to teletransport a human, but the Martians who wrestle against Santo cannot do it with him; besides that, the first alien to fight Santo has a disintegration ray but does not try to use it against him, although having the hero as a powerful opponent, and only uses it against people who do not offer any risk to them).

Even the (excessively long) fight scenes are very bad (asslock, headbutt on the sphincter and other ridiculous attacks, with no visually impressive jump) and boring.

The fate of the entire planet rests on El Santo!

[planktonrules · 3/10 · 10 June 2012]

Martians interrupt television to announce they are coming to Mexico and will soon enslave the Earth. However, everyone thinks this is a joke and people couldn't care less. But, when El Santo meets up with one of these Martians, he immediately does what he does best--he wrassles with them. In fact, time and time again, various Martians come to the planet--only to have their butts whipped by our masked super-hero. However, in each case, before El Santo can deliver a knockout blow, the cowardly Martians activate a device on their belts and they disappear. Can El Santo stop the Martian invasion and thereby save every single soul on this planet? Fortunately, the Martian ship DOES come equipped with a self-destruct lever and these aliens asphyxiate very easily--so my bet is on El Santo!!

Like all the other El Santo movies I have seen, it abounds with unnecessary fights throughout the film and for the most contrived reasons. But, more importantly, it also features this guy going about his everyday life while wearing this silly luchador mask. I love how in some films, you see him going on dates, scoring with women and showering--all while wearing his silver mask! This and the silliness of the plot in "Santo el Enmascarado de Plata vs. La Invasión de los Marcianos". While not the silliest of these Santo plots...it's among the silliest and make the film more of what we want--incredible and bizarre laughs from start to finish. Unfortunately, it also is a bit dull here and there and lacks the energy of some of his other bizarre films.

We come in peace, shoot to kill.

[BA_Harrison · 5/10 · 19 March 2022]

Claiming to be concerned about mankind's advancement into space and fearful of our destructive nature, a group of supposedly peace-loving Martians travel to Earth and insist on total disarmament and the formation of a global government. If the human race does not comply, the space visitors are prepared to disintegrate the planet using their advanced technology. However, when the Martians vaporise a bunch of kids to show that they mean business, luchador Santo smells a rat. Sure enough, the aliens aren't interested in peace -- they're planning an invasion of Earth -- and it is up to the masked Mexican wrestler to send them packing.

From the beefy, shirtless, male Martians in silly wigs and silver capes and the beautiful busty blonde female crewmembers in matching leotards, to the many badly staged wrestling scenes, to the ridiculous sci-fi special effects, which include a hilarious hubcap flying saucer, an 'astral eye' vaporiser, and a transformation chamber that changes the Martians hairstyles and clothing, Santo vs The Martians is pure '60s camp. The fantastical elements are entertaining for their sheer cheeziness (the budget was obviously very low), and a dance routine by the four sexy female aliens is hilarious, but the fighting, of which there is quite a lot, is fairly dull, unless you happen to particularly enjoy watching burly, sweaty, semi-naked men grappling with each other.

Santo and the Martian Invasion

[random_avenger · 6/10 · 11 August 2010]

Over the course of his long career, the masked Mexican wrestler hero Santo the Silver Mask (Rodolfo Guzmán Huerta) appeared in dozens of movies, including this one. A group of scantily clad human-looking Martians is planning to teach us Earthlings to live peacefully without nuclear weapons and if a verbal warning is not enough, they are prepared to disintegrate mankind completely. Besides their primary mission, they also intend to kidnap some elite individuals for research purposes, among them the righteous muscle hero Santo and a brilliant scientist named Ordorica (Manuel Zozaya). However, Santo is not easily fooled by the Martians' schemes: the strong alien men and their seductive women, who all go by names taken from Ancient Greek mythology, must work hard to achieve their goals.

The movie is clearly all about the heroism of Santo; the goofy plot is secondary to the numerous and endlessly long fight scenes where Santo gets to show off his wrestling moves while everyone else just stands still watching their friends getting beaten. Some of the wrestling is pretty fun though and the seductress-Martians' hypnotic dance number is worth seeing, so even if the acting couldn't possibly be any more wooden, there's plenty to like in the movie: the futuristic but crude spaceship set and the Martians' tight outfits and wigs look rather amusing indeed. I don't think it was ever supposed to be a serious sci-fi thriller in the first place, but seeing it now, it's pure comedy and recommended to any wrestling fan and cult movie aficionado.

Alien invasions and sweaty wrestlers

[Leofwine_draca · 6/10 · 9 December 2016]

A high-camp slice of black and white Mexican wrestling action, this forgotten Santo epic has been thankfully given a much-needed DVD release complete with English subtitles: maybe the new millennium is worth something after all! Helmed by veteran fantasy director Alfredo B. Crevenna and starring a whole cast-full of oddly monikered wrestling "legends", SANTO VS. THE MARTIAN INVASION is Saturday morning level entertainment that fondly recalls the action-packed serials of the 1930s and '40s in its naiveness and simple charm. Sure, the low budget is evident throughout the movie and the plot is less than impressive, basically consisting of lots of talking in between some well-staged wrestling bouts, both in and out of the ring. It's hardly the most imaginative Santo movie there is to see.

However, this movie becomes enjoyable through the sheer energy of it all. Santo is on top form as the efficient crime fighter-cum-wrestler and gives it his all as he tackles various Martians. The Martians themselves are more amusing than scary, deciding to disguise themselves as Greek gods at one point (why?) and using their "astral eyes" to vaporise people via a poor and unconvincing special effect. Dig the impressively shiny Martian costumes, polished silver with a high collar and designed to show off the well-proportioned bodies of the wearers. The voluptuous female stars are given a wacky dance routine, but otherwise their only job seems to be to hypnotise human beings and make them do their will. The rest of the time they just stand around and look alluring. Worth watching for is the steamy close encounter between an unmasked Santo (!) and one of the Martian girls that will set anyone's pulse racing.

As for the male Martian members, they're also a funny yet impressive lot, led by fellow wrestler Wolf Ruvinskis as the stern and commanding Argo. Just check out the names of the co-stars: El Nazi, Ham Lee (the oriental Martian!), Beny Galan, even Natanael Leon Frankenstein! Despite being wooden actors, the fighters acquit themselves well with all the wrestling bouts that take place and are as fun to watch as ever. Other fun elements include the extremely poor wobbly flying saucer that appears at the beginning of the film; Santo racing against time to destroy the Martian ship whilst the Martians asphyxiate inside; the two-mask twist in the wrestling arena; the silly dialogue; and the benevolent scientist who burns away the bad guys. The rest of the running time is mainly taken up with prolonged and strenuous sweaty bouts of wrestling with the participants really giving it their all as they simulate being kicked in the face, punched in the stomach, and hauling opponents over their backs. This is a crazy, entertaining slice of slapdash Mexican cinema.

El Santo kicks so much ass

[movieman_kev · 10/10 · 23 September 2005]

Three-eyed, fit bodied Martian socialists want to the world to disarm their nuclear weapons, stop war, have the Earthling start a universal language, and everyone to love one another...or DIE. They decide to teach the world a lesson by conquering Mexico. They capture universal TV airwaves to voice their intentions, but thinking it's a new TV show, everyone laugh. But ElSanto, the masked wrestling superhero is listening as well and plan to out wrestle these commies..um.. i mean space aliens. They choose to send one alien to a soccer game to show the power of their disintegrating third eye. But Santo happens to be there teaching prepubescent boys how to wrestle each other for the benefit of defending the weak. When El Santo sees the alien, it's wrestling time. To tell you anymore would be a great disservice. Suffice it to say you HAVE to experience this camp classic for yourself in ALL it's glory. You WILL be wanting to search out each and every one of El Santo's other 57 films after you finish seeing this one. TRUST ME!! It's just that awesome.

My Grade:A

DVD Extras: 33 and a half minute interview with El Hijo del Santo (Son of Santo); 6 & a half minute retrospective on Santo; Biographies on El Santo & Wolf Ruvinskis; Santo Filmography; Theatrical Trailer, and trailers for "In Raw Flesh", "One's as Good as the other", and "Coming of Age"

Viva El Santo!

[sirarthurstreebgreebling II · 10/10 · 3 May 2002]

This time round Santo has to battle with Peace loving Aliens, who descend onto the earth which a monstrous plan...world peace thru force(how sickening is that!).

Their objective is to make the planet speak under one tongue and destroy all national boarders and traditions, and if the earth does not succumb, then it will be destroyed. Charming. First thou they must chose a nation to make an example of, so they chose Mexico, which is a bad move on their part as they have never heard of Santo, the silver masked Hero of the Mexican Nation.

Santo has his first encounter with Argos (the lead alien) at a Baseball Park, where the evil Argos vaporizes stands of people and some children, he and Santo do battle , but he cheats our silver masked hero and vanishes into thin air.

The aliens are stunned by Santos strength and decide that the only way to kill him, is to cheat. After using some mind control techniques on two of Santos peers at the training gym they realise that getting rid of the masked Hero is not as cut and dried and they first believed.

Santo knows that these evil aliens must be stopped for the fabric of Mexico and indeed the world now sits on his shoulders to defend, but can he save the day?

The best Santo movie I have seen

[movieloving · 10/10 · 8 October 2005]

i would put this Santo film as among the best with SANTO VS. LAS LOBAS & SANTO Y BLUE DEMON VS Dracula Y EL HOMBRE LOBO. there is a lot of action here in SANTO VS LA INVASION DE LOS MARCIANOS and Santo looks as though he is really going at it with wrestlers in the ring and the villains who are aliens from another world vaporizing citizens of Mexico with a 'third eye' on their hoods. you can hear Santo's grunts in the fight scenes. i saw this on DVD and the black and white here is beautifully clear and great direction by alfredo d. crevenna. the DVD cover is misleading since santo doesn't brandish a gun nor head to another planet. he does enter the martians' spaceship to whack off the aliens. and santo does some brilliant planning here.

1)before a match with a masked wrestler (who is the head martian that knocked out the original masked opponent in his dressing room), santo suspects that an alien (real life wrestler ham lee) is hiding in his dressing room. the alien vanishes, santo soon knows trouble is coming. since the match is decided by the loser's mask ripped off, santo dons a mask within his mask. santo meets his match in the ring, and sees his opponent with a large silver transporter belt meaning it is the martian. santo's 1st mask is ripped and then he pummels the villain until he disappears using his belt.

2)santo stages a wonderful plot of staging a match in a ring but no spectators. this is to lure the martians in and santo goes at it with 3-4 aliens at once and it is a terrific sequence. and this whole actioner is santo's best work despite the silly plot and what the aliens, male and female are wearing. i had a good time. if you raise the TV volume, the sounds of the bodyslams, the grunts and the martians' pinging are pretty loud.

My favorite martians...

[poe426 · 10/10 · 17 October 2009]

Having witnessed the failure of peacemonger Klaatu (Michael Rennie, in the original version of THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL), the Martians decide to try a slightly different approach: teach Earthlings peace and brotherhood through pain and suffering. Not a bad strategy (let's not forget THE ARCHITECTS OF FEAR episode of the original OUTER LIMITS- nor the "shock and awe" approach to politics of the late Republican Reich). Unfortunately, the Martians make the mistake of starting with Mexico- the home of El Santo. SANTO VS. THE INVASION OF THE MARTIANS is superior Santo: he's on screen most of the time and, when he's not trying to outwit the invaders, he's stomping the crap out of them in some very well-choreographed fight scenes. In one of my favorite scenes, he is unmasked in the ring- but has a second mask on underneath the first. (In another scene, a dream sequence, he is unmasked by one of the femaliens- but it's clearly not Huerta himself; in fact, it looks like one of the guys playing one of the aliens.) Topnotch entertainment.