Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.5
Audio		5.0
Extras		3.5
Overall		3.5

The Panther Women Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov June 15, 2024

Rene Cardona's "The Panther Women" (1967) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Indicator/Powerhouse Films. The supplemental features on the release include new program with critic The Killer Film; new audio commentary by critic Keith J. Rainville; vintage promotional materials for the film; and more. In Spanish, with optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.

Eloim

Rene Cardona’s The Panther Women is the type of genre project the legendary British production company Hammer Films would have loved to have in its catalog. It has gorgeous witches, an ancient evil creature, feisty female wrestlers, and an exotic masked hero with an impressive body structure. It tells a decent story, too.

But The Panther Women is the type of genre project that Hammer Films would have handled very differently. For example, Hammer Films would have hired writers to triple the material that infuses it with Gothic atmosphere and move at least two of its acts into a fantastical place where anything is possible. The wrestling action would have been trimmed significantly in favor of rituals like the one where the main witch (Maria Douglas) vows to bring back her master. More money would have been spent to get better lighting and special effects. The Panther Women would not have evolved into a lavish film, but it would have been a better polished and far more exciting film.

If someone had hired Jess Franco to direct The Panther Women he would have delivered a much different film, too. The late 1960s was when Franco began experimenting with provocative psycho-sexual material that very quickly made many of his films impossible to categorize properly, and the farther he went, the more effective they became. The Panther Women overflows with material that Franco could have embellished in some pretty spectacular ways. It has a female cast that Franco would have loved to work with, too.

In its current form The Panther Women is a very safe genre film, which is arguably its biggest flaw. It moves through a series of situations which are scripted nicely but executed with a mechanical precision that gives it a disappointingly bland appearance. Indeed, a development initiates another development that initiates another development, and various characters move through them while delivering their lines. In a few of these developments, there is a decent atmosphere, but its management is very inconsistent, leaving the impression that it is random rather than intentional. Unsurprisingly, the buildup toward the main event in it is pretty underwhelming.

What is the main event? It is the resurrection of Eloim, the slain leader of an ancient cult of witches, who has been buried in a secret tomb. However, for Eloim to return to the world of the living the witches must murder every member of the Pietra Santa family, which centuries ago produced his greatest nemesis. So, soon after the resurrection ritual is initiated, the witches go on a murder spree, but a couple of female wrestlers and the masked hero El Angel step up to foil their plan.

Despite some decent wrestling footage and urban action, The Panther Women can never be mistaken for anything else but a cheaply made genre film that was always comfortable being one. If it were to be revealed that it was part of a package deal, its existence would make perfect sense. At the same time, dismissing it as a poor film would be extremely unfair because it has a certain low-budget charm that successfully negates many of its flaws. For example, the arrival of El Angel pushes it into a hilariously kitschy territory, and Eloim proves to be a legitimately cool evil creature that pushes it into a similarly hilarious but different territory. So, The Panther Women could be entertaining, though probably only when seen in the wee hours of the night when the mind is too tired but not yet ready to shut down.

*Indicator/Powerhouse Films' release introduces a 2K restoration of The Panther Women from the original camera negative and optical tracks. The 2K restoration was completed in 2021.

The Panther Women Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.66:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, The Panther Women arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Indicator/Powerhouse Films.

The release introduces a wonderful recent 2K restoration of The Panther Women. On my system, the entire film looked gorgeous, frequently boasting very rich and wonderfully balanced black-and-white visuals. Delineation, clarity, and depth were always outstanding, too. I did not notice any stability issues. There are a few areas where small blemishes and nicks pop up, but I would say that the surface of the visuals looked remarkably healthy as well. So, I think that the work that was done to resurrect the film and give it an attractive organic appearance is most impressive. My score is 4.75/5.00. (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 Panther Women Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

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

The lossless track sounded great on my system. Of course, it reproduces the limitations of the original soundtrack, so dynamic intensity for instance is quite underwhelming. However, despite some small fluctuations, I thought that clarity and sharpness were excellent. The upper register was very healthy, too. The English translation is excellent.

The Panther Women Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

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

• The Killer Film: Let Them Fight! - in this new program, critic The Killer Film discusses the conception and production of The Panther Women and comments on some of its unique qualities. In Spanish, with English subtitles. (15 min).

• Commentary - in this exclusive new audio commentary, critic Keith J. Rainville discusses the stylistic identity of The Panther Women, some of the religious overtones that can be detected in it, the casting choices and the cinematic legacies of some of the leads, the popularity of the female wrestling/wrestling films in Mexico, the longevity of the Santo phenomenon, etc.

• Valeria Villegas Lindvall: Cat Fight - in this new program, critic Valeria Villegas Lindvall comments on how the two sexes are represented in The Panther Women. In English. (15 min).

• Image Gallery - presented here is a collection of original promotional materials for The Panther Women.

• Book - a limited edition 80-page book with a new essay by Iain Robert Smith, archival essays by Janina Möbius and Ricardo Cárdenas Pérez, an archival interview with Guillermo Calderón, and technical credits.

The Panther Women Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The Panther Women is a typical Rene Cardona film. It produces a few decent genre thrills, but it can be effective only if seen in the wee hours of the night, when the mind is too tired and getting ready to shut down. This release from Indicator/Powerhouse Films introduces a very good recent 2K restoration of the film. An identical release is available in the United Kingdom as well. RECOMMENDED only to the fans.