Baron Blood

Mario Bava is one of the greats of horror cinema, but I wouldn't judge his importance by 'Baron Blood'. It isn't close to his best work. While stylishly directed (to be expected being Bava) and with plenty of atmosphere, it is low on both suspense and gore, and sets up a potentially dynamite premise (the resurrection of an evil Vlad The Impaler-like maniac hell bent on revenge), then goes nowhere much with it. One or two sequences are outstanding, but overall it's a major disappointment, and the usually excellent Joseph Cotton (who did some strong genre work in movies like 'The Abominable Dr Phibes' and 'Soylent Green') is a bit of a let down in the title role. Even so, no Mario Bava movie can be dismissed entirely, and for all its flaws it's still worth watching more than almost all of Hollywood's recent puerile and uninspired horror output.

After the completion of his master's degree, Peter Kleist (Antonio Cantafora) travels to Austria to spend a leisure period doing nothing. He is welcomed in the airport by his uncle Dr. Karl Hummel (Massimo Girotti) and he asks if he could visit the castle of his ancestor, the evil Baron Otto von Kleist a.k.a. Baron Blood. In the Sixteenth Century, the sadistic baron was cursed by a witch Elisabeth Holle that he had burned at the stake and then he was killed by the locals in his Castle of Death. Peter meets the gorgeous Eva Arnold (Elke Sommer) that works restoring the castle and invites her to go with him to the castle after dinner to read an incantation written in an ancient parchment that would evoke the family course and bring the Baron back to life. After reading the magic words, the wind blows the parchment to the fireplace and it burns. When villagers mysterious disappear and Eva is chased by a weird man, they realize that they have released the Baron and they do not have the parchment anymore to call the incantation off. Their hope is that the clairvoyant and medium Christina Hoffmann (Rada Rassimov), who is a descendant of Elisabeth, might help them.

"Baron Blood" is another eerie and spooky movie by Mario Bava. The uncanny story of curse, witchcraft and resurrection is very well supported by the predictable screenplay that works well, but the stylish cinematography, the lighting and shadows and the camera work with unusual angle are impressive and give a creepy and nightmarish atmosphere to the feature. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Os Horrores do Castelo de Nuremberg" ("The Horrors of the Nuremberg Castle")

A young man travels to Europe and visits the ancient castle of a rather notorious ancestor called Baron Blood, a man whose name is still not very popular in the surrounding villages. Seems the Baron was a bit of a sadist, just in case the "Baron Blood" title didn't give it away already. Our young hero, Peter, meets Elke Sommer, and instead of breaking into the castles dungeon in the middle of the night and having sex like any normal hot young couple in the early 70s,

these two brilliantly decide instead to perform a centuries old ritual designed to raise the dead. When will these people learn? The Baron rises, seen first as a Phantom-of-the-Opera type guy with a face like a spoiled casserole, and later as a wheelchair bound and Maybelline dependent Joseph Cotton.

This really isn't a bad little film. There's some great spooky lighting techniques, some even better funky music and some gorgeous shots of the European

countryside. The ancient, crumbling castle is a wonderful set and the death

scenes are quite gruesome, especially the one featuring an Iron Maiden-ish

casket and a guy who looks a LOT like the late great Peter Lorre. In a nice twist, there's even a centuries-dead witch who turns out to be the GOOD guy! (Or girl, as the case may be) The acting isn't that great, but it doesn't make this an unwatchable film by any means. The story seems loosely based on the life of

Vlad the Impaler, but still manages to be original and interesting. A nice feeling of dread permeates the entire film. One of Bava's best efforts.

Compared to Mario Bava's previous horror work, which, if not perfect, had at least some atmosphere and style, "Baron Blood" is painfully slow and boring movie with characters who act like characters in a children story (at one point they tell police while being dead serious that 300 years old baron has returned) and are not a least bit interesting. I usually try to watch movies in one piece, yet I constantly had to pause this one because I was so bored. Horror elements are sparse, baron is just a guy in black clothes with disfigured face and there is just one creepy scene where he is chasing our heroine through the streets (by the way, if you don't like short haired and slim women, you will be disappointed). The rest of the movie is boring and I fail to see what other reviewers seen as good here. For me, this is miles away from horror cinema of old to which it's supposedly trying to pay tribute to. 5/10! I recommend it only to the most hardcore Mario Bava fans!

Taking a break from his college studies, Peter Kleist (Antonio Cantafora) flies to Austria to get in touch with his heritage. He learns that his notorious ancestor was nicknamed "Baron Blood," a sadist cursed by a witch he burned to death. After meeting Eva (Elke Sommer) they playfully read an incantation at his family's castle and inadvertently bring the infamous Baron back to life, which is when people start dying. Joseph Cotton is on hand as a mysterious wheelchair-bound man who purchases the chateau at auction.

The original Italian title of Mario Bava's "Baron Blood" (1972) is "The horrors of Castle Nuremberg" (translated), which describes the film in a nutshell. In style & content it places just between Hammer gothic horror and the soon-to-come slashers.

The best thing about the flick is its spooky castle ambiance, which brings to mind hallowed horror like "The Terror" (1963), "Bloody Pit of Horror" (1965) and "The Devil's Nightmare" (1971). It's superior to the hammy "Bloody Pit," but pretty much on par with the other two, although I prefer them for various reasons. This one's marred by nonsensical script elements concerning the witch's curious curse & the Baron's unexplained abilities. Nevertheless, it's a top contender for gothic horror atmosphere.

Antonio Cantafora looks like the Euro version of Peter Fonda, albeit less formidable (physically). Meanwhile feminine charms are limited to Elke Sommer, unless you favor witchy women like Christina/Elizabeth (both played by Rada Rassimov, who resembles Celine Dion). Little redhead Nicoletta Elmi (Gretchen) would grow up to be a striking minor actress.

The film runs about 1 hour, 37 minutes, and was shot at Burg Kreuzenstein (castle) and Klosterneuburg (street scenes) & Korneuburg in Lower Austria, as well as Vienna. Writer Vincent G. Fotre was a professional tennis player who dabbled in scriptwriting.

GRADE: B-/B