BARON BLOOD was the only Mario Bava film that I saw in a movie theater during its initial run. That was in 1972. All of his other movies were either seen at a drive-in or on TV. It marked Bava’s return to his Italian Gothic roots which had begun with BLACK SUNDAY back in 1960 and had ended with KILL, BABY, KILL! in 1966. It also was his farewell to the genre even though he continued to work on movies for another 8 years. Those films were primarily in the Giallo genre which Bava helped to create with THE GIRL WHO KNEW TOO MUCH in 1963. I had been a big fan of his Gothic movies but lost track of Bava in the late 1960s as I am not a fan of Giallo. In fact the reason I went to see BARON BLOOD was not due to Bava but because of actor Joseph Cotten.
The movie opens in the present day (1972) which at first was a little jarring but it didn’t take long for it to settle into Bava’s cinematic world once the film reached the Baron’s castle (an actual structure located NW of Vienna). Here begins the fluid camerawork and the remarkable use of color that Bava was famous for. The return to life of the Baron is remarkably creepy and recalls the resurrection of Barbara Steele’s cohort in BLACK SUNDAY except this time it is in color. In fact, if you’re familiar with Bava’s earlier movies, it becomes quite apparent that he is borrowing or reworking several scenes from them. However there is one movie in particular that he is paying obvious homage to and that is the 1953 Vincent Price 3-D horror film HOUSE OF WAX.
Those scenes include the death of one character which is made to look like suicide by hanging him in a stairwell, Then there’s Joseph Cotten’s use of a wheelchair until the climax of the movie, and an extended chase through fog laden streets as the Baron, wearing a long black cloak and a floppy black hat, pursues a terrified Elke Sommer. There is also a reference to one of Bava’s favorite movies, Val Lewton’s THE LEOPARD MAN (1943) with a shot of blood seeping in from under a door. As a longtime horror movie buff, I was aware of these references and self quotations but you can find out more about them and many other things by listening to the supplemental commentary provided by Mario Bava specialist Tim Lucas which is one of this disc’s highlights.
Baron Otto von Kleist was a sadistic 17th century Austrian nobleman who loved torturing the local peasantry until they rose up against him. 300 years later a young American descendant comes to visit the Baron’s castle which is being restored. He brings a parchment with him that can supposedly bring the Baron to life. When he and a young college student invoke the parchment, the Baron DOES come back but in mutilated form. After mysterious deaths at the castle, it is purchased by an unknown buyer who is confined to a wheelchair. In the meantime the student is pursued by the Baron. The couple seek the help of a local medium who summons the spirit of an executed witch who tells them how to destroy the Baron. After a harrowing scene in his torture chamber, they do.
Elke Sommer, appearing in her first horror film, proves to be an adept screamer in the Fay Wray mold. Joseph Cotten is the Baron’s alter ego, the man in the wheelchair who steps out of it at the end. Although Cotten is an old pro, he wasn’t the first choice for the role and he seems to be marking time but the script gives him little to do until the last 10 minutes. I remember being disappointed when I first saw the movie at how underutilized he was since that is why I went in the first place. Most of the rest of the cast is Italian and they are all dubbed into English. Among them, Luciano Pogazzi (the Italian Peter Lorre) and child actress Nicoletta Elmi come off best. However Serbian actress Rada Rassimov is outstanding in the dual roles of the medium and the witch.
The print that I saw in the cinema was the American International release which cut 10 minutes from the European version and had it re-scored by their go to composer Les Baxter. That was the version that first appeared on home video until the rights expired in 1992. That print is no longer available which is too bad as the additional 10 minutes (extra gore and grue) don’t add anything. The biggest issue I have with the European version is that the original Italian musical soundtrack consists of light Europop music that was popular at the time and it positively destroys the mood whenever it appears. While BARON BLOOD is hardly Bava’s best, it still has enough signature touches to make it worth seeing. It is part of Kino’s officially licensed Mario Bava collection.
The Capsule Critic 