Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.5
Audio		5.0
Extras		4.0
Overall		3.5

The Bat Woman Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov April 17, 2024

Rene Cardona's "The Bat Woman" (1968) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Indicator/Powerhouse Films. The supplemental features on the release include new program with actress Maura Monti; new program with critic Maucio Matamoros; new audio commentary by critic David Wilt; gallery of vintage promotional materials; and more. In Spanish, with optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.

An Italian director easily would have transformed The Bat Woman into a cult film. How? By flooding two-thirds of it with spicy erotic content. The type of content that Mario Gariazzo’s Play Motel offers would have been ideal, but even the content from Lucio Fulci’s The Eroticist could have been most appropriate. I think that the star of The Bat Woman, Maura Monti, tries her best to spice up most of the action in it, but director Rene Cardona remains indifferent to her enthusiasm, which is the biggest flaw of his film.

However, because The Bat Woman was made in Mexico, it is just as easy to speculate that Cardona’s instincts were probably right. Directing a film featuring a very naughty bat woman almost certainly would have done serious, perhaps even irreversible damage to Cardona’s business, which was built to meet the expectations of a mainstream audience. Cardona did produce and direct a good number of sexy comedies and melodramas, but they were suggestive films, not the type of spicy erotic films Italian directors were shooting.

In its current form, The Bat Woman is a classic low-budget, occasionally attractive but easily forgettable film that should appeal to two groups of viewers: those who are interested in exploring vintage Mexican cinema from the 1960s and 1970s, and those who wish to see as much cinematic content featuring the famous superhero from its title. There could be a few exceptions among viewers who frequently experiment with foreign films, but The Bat Woman does not have a newly acquired reputation of a film that has been unjustifiably ignored and desperately needs a critical evaluation, so more than likely it will not be at the top of their lists of films to seek and see.

Cardona and his crew follow Monti in stunning Acapulco, where she plays a wealthy local celebrity who uses her fortune to serve justice. But Monti also regularly puts on a revealing bat woman suit and directly confronts the local criminal elements, so her life is full of exciting adventures that ordinary people buy tickets to see in the movies. High-ranking detectives are not only aware of her existence, but actively seek her help whenever they are working on a difficult case.

In the latest difficult case, Monti is set to clash with a deranged scientist (Roberto Canedo) who has been abducting local wrestlers and using their bone marrow to create a perfect Gill Man that will spawn a brand new race. Since Monti is also a practicing wrestler, she discovers a pattern in the deranged scientist’s preferences, and together with a few detectives begins working on his profile and a plan to nab him. As they close on their target, he dispatches one of his creations to eliminate them.

The bulk of the material is either rough or quite ridiculous, and not in a special way. For example, it is pretty easy to tell that Cardona and his crew were shooting as quickly as possible in some of the more prominent areas of Acapulco, and the rest is just filler material that was done at a later time. Unsurprisingly, the best material is the one with Monti looking gorgeous wearing various summer outfits. (The blue bat woman costume is a summer outfit with a mask, too).

While the male actors are not terrible, not a single one has Monti’s charisma, which is why all relationships look strikingly artificial as well. This is most unfortunate because Acapulco offers seemingly endless opportunities for quality romance and drama, if The Bat Woman were to be a proper mainstream film, and perhaps just as many opportunities for a memorable genre film.

Cardona’s director of photography was Agustin Jimenez, who a little over a decade earlier lensed Luis Bunuel’sThe Criminal Life of Archibaldo de la Cruz .

The Bat Woman Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.67:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, The Bat Woman arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Indicator/Powerhouse Films.

The release introduces a recent, very beautiful 4K restoration of The Bat Woman. Even though I do not have previous experience with this film, there is zero doubt in my mind that it has never looked this good on a home video release before. The only minor imperfections that I noticed are a few skips, which could be introduced by missing frames, and a couple of blemishes. The rest looks excellent. Delineation, clarity, and depth, for instance, are always very pleasing. Fluidity is great, too. Color balance is convincing, though I feel like in a few areas the visuals could be slightly warmer. All in all, the release offers a fabulous presentation of The Bat Woman that should delight its fans. (Note: This is a Region-Free Blu-ray release. Therefore, you will be able to play it on your player regardless of your geographical location).

The Bat Woman Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: Spanish LPCM 1.0. Optional English subtitles are provided for the main feature.

The Bat Woman has a surprisingly good jazzy soundtrack that adds quite a bit to its period atmosphere. Even though some of the limitations of the production are pretty obvious, the music and action sounded very good in my system. I did not detect any age-related anomalies. Also, the dialog was clear and stable. The English translation was excellent.

The Bat Woman Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Maura Monti: Bat of Nine Lives - in this recent program, Maura Monti discusses her life after relocating from the United Kingdom to Mexico and career as a model and actress. In Spanish, with English subtitles. (19 min).

• Mauricio Matamoros Duran: Adventures in Mexicolor - in this recent program, critic Maucio Matamoros discusses the exact moment The Bat Woman was released and the image of Acapulco that is preserved in it, as well the film's tone and visual style. In Spanish, with English subtitles. (21 min).

• Jose Luis Ortega Torres: Fantastique Creatures - in this recent program, critic Jose Luis Ortega Torres discusses The Bat Woman and the unique monster/creatures that populate Mexican genre films. In Spanish, with English subtitles. (14 min).

• Trailer - presented here is a remastered vintage trailer for The Bat Woman. In Spanish, with English subtitles. (4 min).

• Image Gallery - a collection of original promotional materials for The Bat Woman.

• Commentary - this audio commentary was recorded by critic David Wilt.

• Book -a limited edition exclusive 80-page book with a new essay by Dolores Tierney, archival essays by Doyle Greene and Andrew Coe, archival interviews with Maura Monti, and full film credits.

The Bat Woman Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

At the moment, I cannot recall another film that I have seen in which Acapulco looks as incredible as it does in The Bat Woman. It could easily be mistaken for St. Tropez or Cannes from the late 1960s. To be honest, even though Maura Monti looks pretty incredible too, the visuals from Acapulco, which is now a drastically different place, are the only reason I had a good time with The Bat Woman. As a genre film, especially with such a famous character, it is pretty average and easy to forget. Indicator/Powerhouse Films' release introduces a very nice recent 4K restoration of it with a good selection of bonus features. RECOMMENDED to the fans.