Le sadique Baron Von Klaus

A true deity to some…not much more than a lame plagiarist to others. One statement everyone must agree with is that Jess Franco is one of the most creative and busiest men in the film industry. With a repertoire of over 180 movies as a director, writer, composer and often also editor, Jess Franco always was an important pivot figure for the European cult cinema. Especially his earliest films are sublime independent motion pictures, since he afterwards merely followed popular trends (like the slasher films with 'Bloody Moon') or started making moneymaking sleaze films (nunsploitation, babes-in-prison flicks…). The Sadistic Baron Von Klaus belongs among his finest achievements – according to me at least – and only was his second effort in the horror field, immediately after the terrific 'Awful Dr. Orloff'. The film is set in a quiet little German town, still haunted by ghosts from the past. There once lived a maniacal Baron who committed several despicable felonies like murder, rape etc… When a young girl is found murdered and another one goes missing, the police immediately suspect the Baron's descendant Max von Klaus. But…is he really the murderer, because all the women disappear from the nearby hotel-brother visited by adulterous men.

Talking about style, this film has quite a lot in common with The Awful Dr. Orloff. It's a slowly developing and atmospheric murder mystery. Even though there aren't that many suspects for the murders, Franco manages to keep up the suspense by giving away only a few clues. There's very few action (apart from a cool manhunt through the eerie old streets) but the dialogues are great and the black-and-white cinematography makes the entire film look ominous and paralyzing. Howard Vernon, star in many wicked Franco films, shines as the creepy looking Von Klaus. This early, story-driven Franco terror is recommended in case you're a Eurocult-hunter. Avoid if you're only into loud, computerized splatter.