Mexi-madness from 1975. The Mexican marquee idol Jorge Rivero played the iconic gunslinger El Payo in EL PAYO—UN HOMBRE CONTRA EL MUNDO! (1972), THE DEVIL’S MOUNTAIN (LA MONTANA DEL DIABLO) and LOS CAIQUES (1975). These films, adapted from the long-running EL PAYO comic, are interesting for combining traditional western movie visuals with modern décor (cars, motorcycles, etc.), and the increasing turn toward the fantastic taken by Juan Andres Bueno, who wrote and directed the latter two entries.
Juan Jose Panadero, a.k.a. El Payo, is the unofficial mayor of the desert village Vilmayo. Everyone, it seems, wants a piece of this guy, including Damiana Ferrara (Gina Moret), who runs Mina Prieta, a silver mine that belongs to El Payo. Damiana has made the trip to Vilmayo together with her burly slave Tizon (Billy Moton) to ask El Payo to kill an epileptic slob named Bonificio Vizarron (Ernesto Yáñez), who was hired as an administrator but, together with his evil aunt (Tamara Garina) and sadistic dwarf assistant (Santanon), took over the mine.
El Payo agrees to help and heads off to the mine. In his absence Bonificio’s goons kidnap El Payo’s wife Lupita (Carmen Vicarte) and young son, as well as Damiana and Tizon. The latter two are locked in a Mina Prieta dungeon, just as Lupita is injured in an accident, with her unconscious body snatched up by a sorcerer (Roberto Brondo) who travels with a pet cougar. Another woman’s prone body is taken by El Payo, on the advice of none other than the angel of death (Irlanda Mora), to Mina Prieta for medical attention. This lands El Payo in the dungeon together with Damiana and Tizon.
Further complicating matters is a travelling magician on his way to Mina Prieta to entertain Bonificio. Among other things, this magician can make animals and even people appear in the palm of his hand and set off mini-explosions, talents that come in handy when he runs into El Payo, who’s escaped his confines and is seeking to permanently take down Bonificio. However, there’s also the evil sorcerer, who’s using the powers of darkness to brainwash Lupita into becoming his love slave, to contend with.
If that synopsis sounds confusing, keep in mind that it’s only a portion of the whole, which is overstuffed with extraneous characters (played by actors who tend to look alike) and subplots. In this tapestry Jorge Rivero’s El Payo becomes a supporting player, with a magnificently oily Ernesto Yáñez assuming a far more dominant role as the most prominent of a handful of villains.
The visuals are undistinguished and the audio sounds as if it was recorded in an echo chamber. Those things are par the course for 1970s Mexican action cinema, with the film’s saving grace being its air of surreality, which grows increasingly prominent. It’s been compared to EL TOPO, which I say is inaccurate, but THE DEVIL’S MOUNTAIN, with its retinue of psychopaths, dwarfs, angelic visitations, ultra-sadism and black magic, is weird and wild enough to warrant a muted recommendation.
Vital Statistics
THE DEVIL’S MOUNTAIN (LA MONTANA DEL DIABLO)
Cinematografica Filmex S.A.
Director/Screenplay: Juan Andres Bueno
Producers: “Juan Bueno C.” (Juan Adnres Bueno), Emilio Gomez Muriel, Carlos Vigil
Cinematography: Javier Cruz
Editing: Raul Casso
Cast: Jorge Rivero, Ernesto Yáñez, Carmen Vicarte, Miguerl Gurza, Ricardo Garza, Gina Moret, Enrique Novi, Tamara Garini, Alejandra Ramirez, Manolo Corcuera, Roberto Brondo, Santanon, Billy Moton, Salvador Gonzalez, Jorge Pasqual, Irlanda Mora, Rodrigo Puebla, Lance Hool