Baron vampire

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.

Mario Bava's BARON BLOOD is a fine a tribute to the monster movies of Hollywood's golden age. So evocative of that period is this film that it takes not even a moment's thought to mentally recast Boris Karloff as the Baron, Nan Grey as his intended victim and to tune away the vivid Technicolor into haunting black and white.

As in FRANKENSTIEN or THE MUMMY, the evil in the film is unwittingly unleashed upon the world by the film's hero. In this case it is American Peter Kleist, who returns to the German castle of his ancestor Baron Otto Von Kleist. Even though he is aware that his ancestor, nicknamed "Baron Blood" was a sadistic monster who butchered and tortured the people of the countryside, Peter foolishly recites an ancient spell capable of resurrecting the Baron. The restored Von Kleist immediately resumes his homicidal ways, and now Peter, assisted by the beautiful Elke Sommer as a local historian, must find a way to undo what he has thoughtlessly wrought.

In the classic horror films of the 1930's the monsters were iconic and unforgettable, while the heroes were bland and almost entirely irrelevant. After all, who remembers who played the "hero" opposite Lugosi in Dracula or Karloff in THE MUMMY? (For trivia's sake it was David Manners in both films.) No, the villain/monster may have spent much of the picture lurking about off screen, or skulking in the shadows, but nevertheless he was always indisputably the star of the show.

BARON BLOOD maintains this link to its cinematic forbearers. Antonio Cantafora's Peter Kleist is satisfactory, but eminently forgettable, while Joseph Cotton, obviously having a ball, is terrific in his villainous role. Cotton's performance as the resurrected Von Kleist is spot on perfect, filled with evil charm and malevolent glee. He dominates the screen in the best tradition of the movie monsters of old.

In fact, there is only one significant departure from the classic monster films. Even in the days before the Hayes Commission, blood and gore were rarely seen and usually only suggested in Hollywood motion pictures. BARON BLOOD was produced without such restrictions and, though mild when compared to more recent horror films, it does contain some explicit moments that would have been completely unacceptable in the 1930's. Even as a tribute to the grand old days, it must remembered that BARON BLOOD was produced to appeal to a contemporary 1970's audience. Bava however realized that things modern will inevitably intrude upon the classic, and made light of this by placing soda pop machines in the halls of the Gothic Von Kleist castle and having prerecorded screams available in the Baron's torture chamber at the flip of a switch.

Not as arty as LISA AND THE DEVIL, not as graphic as BAY OF BLOOD, BARON BLOOD is often unjustly overlooked, or simply dismissed as a minor effort of Mario Bava's later period. Such hasty judgments do the film a great disservice. If BARON BLOOD has less of the striking cinematography of Bava's best films, it must be argued that such innovation would be out of place in a film striving to recapture the look and atmosphere of the original Hollywood horror movies. If one accepts the movie for what it is, a fine tribute to the genre's past, then BARON BLOOD is a great success, both as a homage and as work unto itself.

BARON BLOOD has been released in numerous VHS and laserdisc editions. The DVD release from Image Entertainment is probably the best example of the film currently available, featuring an uncut 1.85:1 widescreen presentation of the film, complete with the original European musical score, which was replaced when the film was released theatrically in North America.

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.

The one thing this film has going for it is a nice atmosphere for horror fans... fog/smoke, old castles, incantation for raising the dead, scary torture chamber, weird but well filmed scenes, a witch and, above all, a mad sadist ghost or demon! The story is alright enough, not to bad.

Joseph Cotten as Baron Otto von Kleist aka Baron Blood / Alfred Becker was good - he was better in this horror film than I anticipated (I really don't think of Cotten as a horror actor that's why I mentioned it).

One thing about these types of films - the living dead or undead always seems to have plenty of money - filthy rich they are! How does a long time dead man get such riches without selling off his gold? The money has changed over the years (I think in every country) so how can he spend it - sell it I suppose to those interested in old money I guess. Whatever, I still by into it for a movie. LOL.

Not a bad film to watch for fans of the older horror - in particular the Italian horror films.

6/10

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