El Mascarado Massacre

A small crew of amateur pornographers head south-of-the-border in a van to find filming locations. In a drug-addled haze they lose direction, by-and-by ending up in a decrepit abandoned town. Finding this mysterious spot ideal for filming, they proceed to shoot their impromptu porn scenes and are having a great time...until they find themselves in a life-or-death face-off with a psychotic Mexican wrestling legend who inhabits the creepy ghost town in solitude.

This little movie surprised the hell out of me. This is not to say that I'm falling all over myself with praise for the high production qualities and flawless execution of WRESTLEMANIAC(which, truth be known, are merely average, or perhaps slightly better thanks to some interesting camera-work and a great atmospheric filming location). What I AM more enthusiastic about is the canny and eccentric handling of the material which, despite having a mildly intriguing slant in it's storyline, treads some mighty tired slasher ground. The characters(all complete losers, but likable regardless) are well written, and deliberately almost over-the-top. This makes sense, however, as the whole affair crackles with a mordant undercurrent and winks knowingly as it tosses out every exploitation film cliché in the book. Make no mistake, though...this isn't a genre parody. There is actually a decent buildup of suspense, and some brisk action(not to mention a few really gross gore moments)...it almost plays like a homage to grindhouse cinema without being a complete contrivance(unlike some films by a certain Hollywood Golden Boy who shall remain nameless). Performances are a tad spotty, but the largely unknown cast members handle their parts capably enough(and all obligatory female eye-candy bases are definitely covered).

Although it isn't by any means a stellar or important picture, it succeeds quite nicely as fodder entertainment...wisely, it never aspires to be anything more.

I enjoyed WRESTLEMANIAC as the base-level cheap thrill ride that it intended to be, and I'm not a bit sorry for it. 6/10

While driving a van through Mexico looking for a location for shooting a low-budget porn, Alphonse (Adam Huss), Steve (Jeremy Radin), Dallas (Leyla Milani), Debbie (Margaret Scarborough), the alcoholic Daisy (Catherine Wreford) and the pothead Jimbo (Zack Bennett) get lost and meet a stranger (Irwin Keyes) in a remote gas station run out of gas in the middle of nowhere. The man gives the directions for the nearest gas station, and advises the group to avoid the ghost town La Sangre de Dios. Steve recalls the Mexican legend about the best Mexican wrestler, El Mascarado, who became crazy and started killing his opponents, and was sent to this town later. The director Alphonse decides to trespass the gate of La Sangre de Dios and shoot the film in the local bar. Sooner the group discovers that Mexican legends sometimes are true.

"El Mascarado Massacre" is a great example of how to make a good B-movie of horror. The story is funny, there are lots of gore and beautify and sexy women partially naked. The director and writer Jesse Baget made a great debut in the cinema industry and I sincerely look forward to see his next work. The unknown actresses are really sexy; the actors are funny and the killer is really bad, and in the end I really liked this movie. My vote is six.

Title (Brazil): "O Homem Mascarado" ("The Masked Man")

The main conceit of this psycho-killer thriller is a good one. The Mexican government, circa 1960, desperately wants to win a gold medal at the Olympics, so they "disappear" the top four Mexican wrestlers and assemble from them the perfect wrestler...with superior wrestling skills, but unfortunately, warped by the process into a maniacal, murderous mat-man. He is stashed in a secret government facility, and forgotten. Enter our protagonists, Jimbo (Zack Bennett), Steve (Jeremy Radin), Dallas (Leyla Razzari) and a few others, in Mexico to film a cheap porno film. They stumble upon the town where the forgotten facility was, and Steve (a wrestling fan) recognizes it as the final repose of El Mascarado (Rey Misterio Sr.). Mayhem ensues. This is a good attempt to create a franchise character ala Freddie Kreuger or Jason Vorhees. The masked wrestler is inexorable and has superhuman strength. The victims struggle, with various success amid the great sets, outstanding in a low budget film. It's filmed with considerable flair, and the characters survive according to the skill of their portrayals. If you like slasher flicks, masked wrestler movies, or are just a fan of well made low-budget films, check this one out.

I saw this for the first time recently.

Been on my radar for a long time.

Check 1) Ther ain't any good display of sex or nudity in spite of the characters being porn stars.

Check 2) One of the character wants to puke n rather than puking in some corner, she aimlessly wanders n goes far off.

Check 3) The first two kills r offscreen n the face of the dead person doesn't look like peeled off. Jus blood smeared on the face. Very bad effects.

Check 4) While one of the victim is fighting with the maniac, v cud hear only the noise from outside the door n to top it all, another victim who has ample time to run during this commotion but she jus crawls n later gets caught by her legs.

Check 5) Our last character has nearly taken down the maniac, by thrusting a plank filled with nails n piercing a rod in the belly of the maniac. Now rather than making sure that the maniac is fully dead or killing him,...

Check 6) When the maniac is still alive after so much beatings, our last victim sits down sobbing rather than running away.

The only saving part is some good cinematography. The abandoned town n the desert looked truly creepy. Also the third kill is gruesome, straight from American History X.

I must admit, I'm a horror geek but also a wrestling fan. Being aware of the fact that there are some movies out with famous wrestlers in it (12 Rounds, The Marine) I guessed that there would be some horror movies out there with the famous WWE players in it. And indeed, it did, See No Evil (Kane) is one of the famous in the genre but we also have this one with Rey Mysterio Sr. As stated, don't take it seriously. It's a simple storyline. You know. Getting lost in the dessert. Stopping at a local gas station were the owner tells you NOT to stop at the ghost town. What happens next is the car breaking down...just before that town. Guess what, small talk tells about a wrestling legend still being around in that particular town. And it does of course. Up next is blood, a bit of gore, some gratuitous nudity, sexy girls loosing their clothes and a stupid ending, but hey, I told you, it's good to watch with your friends, you really gonna cheer for the girls...