Dr. Satan (1966)

Original title: Dr. Satán

By day, the delightfully named Dr Plutarco Arozamena (Joaquin Cordero) is a successful physician (though we never see him meet any actual patients). By night, he is Dr Satan, a criminal mastermind, mad scientist and black magician. Dr Satan has cooked up a way to kill people, steal their souls and let their bodies return as his mindless undead slaves – though only with the help of the non-doctorate original Satan, whom he conjures up for a minute (never longer, for Satan appears to be quite the busy man) of chatting quite regularly. For reasons only known to himself, the good doctor uses his awesome powers to help distribute forged dollars throughout Mexico.

It’s that part of his business rather then the black magic and turning men into mindless zombies arm that gets the mad medical man in trouble, for Interpol Inspector Mateos (José Gálvez) and his partner (the film calls her assistant, but doesn’t treat her that way) Nora (Alma Delia Fuentes) are hot on the trail of the money forging business and will eventually end up suspecting him. Which of course leads to a series of weird plans, zombie attacks, kidnappings, and so on. Our villainous semi-protagonist will also learn a valuable lesson about why it is a bad idea to keep on as secretary the daughter of a guy one has turned into a zombie.

Miguel Morayta’s Dr. Satan is exactly the kind of pulp adventure with a good dollop of horror elements the doctor (not Satan) orders for this time of the year, or, really, any other time. The print I’ve seen looks so swampy and fuzzy, the whole affair feels rather more like it was made in the 30s or 40s than the 60s, but given the serial-like energy of the movie, this sad state of affairs does for once work to a film’s advantage, putting it into a very fitting aesthetic frame. Particularly since Morayta doesn’t seem to want to go into the direction pop art-style supervillain centric films from Italy at about the same the time did, but really does breathe the not terribly realistic, but wonderfully excitable air of the weirder end of the serials instead.

In the film’s scenes most concerned with Dr Satan’s black magic and mad science plans, there’s also quite a bit of the more atmospheric moods of Poverty Row style horror and mystery on display, with a hint of expressionism as filtered through Universal and Mexican horror cinema of the decades before, of course. So, when he isn’t in his man of society guise, Dr Satan is nearly always presented with his very own spotlight shining creepily on his face as if Cordero were Bela Lugosi, while much of his surroundings are drenched in shadow and fog, suggesting – quite effectively - an air of otherworldliness. The appearances of Satan himself are really rather effective too, a winged figure shrouded in smoke and darkness that’s shot just far enough you don’t see the strings of the wings, and instead can buy into the suggestion of the otherworldly.

On the more mundane side of the equation, I found myself appreciating how much the female characters (yes, there are indeed several) in the film actually get to do. Particularly Nora is treated seriously as an investigator and woman of professional competence. Even when she and her temporary partner in crime busting Elsa (Judith Ruiz Azcarraga) are (as is traditional) kidnapped for the finale, they are at least also enabling their own rescue. Hell, to anyone’s surprise, the film might even get through the Bechdel test unscathed.

It’s all very fun indeed, sometimes spooky fun, sometimes fun in its pulpy weirdness and energy, sometimes fun in its ability to surprise the jaded viewer with little unexpected treats.