Rating: 3/5
Cult Movie Challenge 2016 | 47/52 | Lucha Libre
Luchadora Lucy Osorio receives good luck from Lt. Martinez before her big match. He helps her put on her signature red mask. She wrestles with Elena Gómez. Lucy throws her out of the ring, hurting her. They call for an ambulance.
Meanwhile, Dr. Krallman leaves the hospital and goes to the zoo with his henchman, Goyo. They sneak past security to the gorilla exhibit. Dr. Krallman shoots one gorilla with a tranquilizer dart.
Dr. Krallman returns home to check on his son Julio, who is bedridden with leukemia, before returning to the hospital to perform surgery on Elena. He talks with the other doctors about Julio. The doctors concur Julio’s time is up.
When Dr. Krallman returns to Julio, however, he promises Julio a full recovery. Dr. Krallan’s solution? A heart transplant, replacing his son’s heart with that of the gorilla he kidnapped from the zoo.
The surgery is a success, but the side effects are unexpected. Julio transforms into a man-ape (a MANSTER if you will) and goes on a rampage.
And Lucy? Lucy wrestles literally with other wrestlers and metaphorically with her strength and the consequences of being a luchador. Oh, and she takes showers.
This movie is notorious for a few reasons, but mostly for inter-cutting actual open-heart surgery footage into the movie.
It’s also exploitative, full of blood splatter and naked women. Like, he scalps some guy in the park, breaks some teeth out of another guy’s mouth, and strips every woman he sees.
My favorite scene is probably when the Ape Monster exits a bedroom, wearing pajamas, and the music sting suggests imminent terror.