gorf The Diabolical Hatchet is a movie you should watch in the dark when you're home alone. While it's not as good as Santo in the Wax Museum, The Diabolical Hatchet is much scarier. The satanic villain in this movie has the ability to pop up anywhere. His lair, where he worships a bat-demon is straight out of a nightmare. The whole movie feels like a bad dream. And the fact that the main character Santo is a crime-fighting wrestler just makes it even more bizarre.It's interesting how Santo's origin (in this movie) is like that of The Phantom. The silver mask is handed down from father to son. It would have been fun to see more movies about Santo's ancestors!If you like scary old black and white horror movies, wrestling/fight scenes or heroes like Batman and The Phantom, watch this.

insomniac_rod Santo, the favorite Mexican action hero (besides Mario Almada) gets into a new and more dangerous quest. This time he should face a super evil villain who is not the diabolical ax as suggested but oh well, you hve to watch it to understand!. Santo's origin and purpose is explained although not in a satisfying manner but it should please some die hard fans. Think about "Batman Begins" but in a less fashion way. Santo looks badass and even when walking slowly while investigating inside the castle. He has now more magic tricks. As if his wrestling techniques weren't enough! Sure, you can say all you want about the cheese factor but this time it tried to be less obvious. I mean, the direction, cinematography, and f/x were intended to be stylish and that's always something good.Not the best Santo effort but it's a great addition to his great legacy.

jjjjjjjjjjjjj-4 The most straight forward & linear Santo film I've seen. Much like Italian horror films of that period. Enjoyable despite its lack of really quirky elements common to Santo films. The special effects are typically dreadful and funny.If Mario Bava directed a Santo film it might look like thisSlow at times & with an annoying near constant therimin squeal; at least the wrestling matches are connected to the plot.Another annoyance is the amount & quality of "day for night" filter filming. This was, of course, a common failure in many B&W films & TV shows of that period.Time travel technique copied from Roger Corman's THE UNDEAD.Love the beehive hair!Not enough beautiful women, unlike most Santo films

Brian Lindsey This B&W adventure isn't quite as enjoyably goofy as most of the other Santo titles recently brought to DVD, but true fans of El Enmascarado de Plata will definitely want to check it out. In EL HACHA DIABOLICA ("The Diabolical Axe"), the wrestling superhero not only faces a most unusual villain but has his origin explained as well. Finally, the question "Where did Santo come from?" (at least the luchadore's movie incarnation) is answered. Turns out he's the Mexican version of America's purple-suited crimefighter The Phantom, inheriting the superhero mantle down through the ages. And did you know that Santo's wrestling costume has magical properties? These revelations occur in the shoddiest-looking cave set in film history - it's just badly painted plywood and a little stucco. (Yes, even the caves in EEGAH! and DEATH CURSE OF TARTU were better.) The rubber bats used here make the critters in SCARS OF DRACULA look like CGI.