Santo vs. The Riders of Terror

(René Cardona, 1970)
Release date: 26 March 2024
Limited Edition Blu-ray

El Santo, the Silver-Masked Man, rides into the Wild West in Santo vs. the Riders of Terror (Santo contra los jinetes del terror), a unique blend of gunplay and lucha libre action.

When a group of lepers escape from their asylum, they fall under the influence of a band of outlaws who are terrorising a small western town. The desperate sheriff calls for El Santo to defeat the bandits, defend the townsfolk, and help the exploited lepers.

Produced by Guillermo Calderón (The Bat Woman) and directed by René Cardona (The Panther Women), Santo vs. the Riders of Terror sees the cine de luchadores meet the ‘chili western’ and adds dashes of horror and romance along the way.

This striking 4K restoration is also coupled with Lepers and Sex (Los leprosos y el sexo), the recently rediscovered ‘sexy’ reworking of Santo vs. the Riders of Terror, which was created by the producers for the export market – all without the knowledge of the family friendly El Santo!

INDICATOR LIMITED EDITION BLU-RAY SPECIAL FEATURES

• 4K restoration from the original negative for Santo vs. the Riders of Terror and the alternative softcore version, Lepers and Sex
• Original Spanish mono audio
• Audio commentary with film historian and Mexican cinema specialist David Wilt (2024)
• Never-seen-before archival interview with co-star Armando Silvestre in which he discusses his involvement with the Calderón family (2024)
• Western a la mexicana (2024): lucha libre specialist and filmmaker the Killer Film, el critico enmascarado (the Masked Critic), assesses the film, its different versions, and its place within Santo’s acting and wrestling career
• Cardona Bonanza (2024): writer and Mexican genre film programmer of Trash-Mex Armando Hernandez discusses René Cardona’s career and the Cardona dynasty
• Alternative French opening credits
• Original theatrical trailer
• Image gallery: promotional and publicity material
• New and improved English translation subtitles
• Limited edition exclusive 80-page book with a new essay by Colin Gunkel, archival essays by Doyle Greene, Olivia Cosentino and Brian Price, archival interviews with El Santo and Viviana García-Besné, and full film credits
• UK premiere of Santo vs. the Riders of Terror on Blu-ray
• World premiere of Lepers and Sex on Blu-ray
• Limited edition of 8,000 individually numbered units Blu-rays for the UK and US