When I was a kid, an elementary school classmate smuggled a pro wrestling magazine into the classroom. Among the pictures of bloody barbed wire matches was an article about the homelife of a masked wrestler. The photo featured the wrestler, his wife, their kid and a dachshund sitting in the living room. They all wore matching wrestling masks – even the dog. I imagined that once you accepted the mask in pro wrestling, it was a 24/7 commitment. And everyone in your family had to hide their faces. Even though I lived in an area of North Carolina where they taped Mid-Atlantic Champions Wrestling, I never saw masked wrestlers roaming around the grocery store with their masked wives. I did see Tony Atlas and Number One Paul Jones buying food at the Pop A Top Beverage store next to the WRAL studios. Neither of them wore masks. Little did I know that in Mexico, a masked wrestler solved crimes. El Santo was a real Mexican luchador enmascarado (masked wrestler) who got his start in the ’30s. By the late ’50s, he decided to get into making movies. Except he didn’t want to take off his wrestling mask and show his true face. In over 50 movies until the early ’80s, he played a masked wrestler out to save the day. He became a massive star outside of the ring as he fought gangsters, vampires, zombies and even Martians. Santo Contra Hombres Infernales (aka Santo Vs Infernal Men) has him battling drug smugglers in Cuba.
Joaquín (Dr. Satan‘s Joaquín Cordero) is an undercover agent doing his best to infiltrate a gang of drug smugglers that are operating in Havana, Cuba. The movie opens up with a bang with a gang shoot out in the ruins of a city. El Santo pulls up in his car and charges into the melee. Later it is revealed that Santo is his back up muscle as he goes deep with the gangster. Can these two crack the drug ring? It’s a rough and tumble action for them with bullets flying around the beach.
There’s something hilarious about Santo creeping around Havana wearing his silver wrestling mask, tights and boots. That’s not exactly the most undercover outfit. But he gets away with it. No one seems shocked at a guy in his wrestling gear is driving around town or lurking in the shadows. He even fights the bad guys using his wrestling moves.
The big reason to watch the film is the location work. The movie was filmed in Havana, Cuba shortly before Fidel Castro and the Communists took over the island nation. This film is a time capsule of how things were the months before the takeover. There’s a lot of driving around the city. Probably over half of the American cars you see on the streets of Havana are still driving around the city today. Santo Contra Hombres Infernales (aka Santo Vs Infernal Men) has all wild fun you want from a movie starring a wrestler who refuses to take off his mask in public.
The Video is 1.33:1 full frame. The 4K Restoration makes the black and white images pop. You’ll see the details in Santo’s wrestling mask. The Audio is LPCM 2.0 mono in Spanish. You’ll hear a lot of odd sounds such as the airplane taxing at the Havana airport. The movie is subtitled in English.
Silver Mask, Silver Screen (2:47) gives a quick history of El Santo. We even see his real face. El Santo walked around in public wearing his mask so people in Mexico were used to seeing a man in a mask. His films were hits around the world. He showed his face to the public a week before his death at age 66.
Mascara de Plata, Pantalla de Plata (2:47) is the same short in Spanish.
VCI Entertainment presents Santo Contra Hombres Infernales (aka Santo Vs Infernal Men). Directed by Joselito Rodríguez & Enrique Zambrano. Screenplay by Enrique Zambrano & Fernando Osés. Starring Joaquín Cordero, Gina Romand, Enrique Zambrano, Jorge Marx, Fernando Osés and El Santo. Running Time: 75 minutes. Rating: Unrated. Release Date: September 16, 2025.
