‘Baron Blood’ or — Bava’s Beauty?
A cliche about Mario Bava’s films that’s resurrected almost as often as a sadistic undead Baron is that his fans will happily watch any of his movies simply for his style and direction alone, regardless of any other deficiencies the films might have. But, much like a sadistic undead Baron, that’s because it is undeniably true and the evidence is standing before your very eyes. Eek!
In ‘Baron Blood’ (1972) American post-grade student, Peter Kleist, comes to Austria to research his family-tree where he discovers his great-grandfather was the notorious Baron Blood, a bloodthirsty sadist who was cursed by a dying witch to return from the grave.
Over dinner Peter tells his uncle, with whom he is staying, and the beautiful Eva (Elke Sommer), one of his uncle’s former students, that he has a parchment that can bring the Baron back to life and that it might be a good idea to try this out after dessert.
Peter and Eva read out the incantation at the Baron’s old castle and it seems that they have succeeded in resurrecting the dreaded Baron from his grave, although before they can reverse the spell a gust of wind carries the second page of the parchment containing the reversal spell into a fire where it is consumed by the flames. Oh no!
Not only that but a strange American, Alfred Becker (Joseph Cotten), has arrived and has bought the Baron’s old castle with the intention of restoring it to its former condition — i.e. creepy and freaky. Yet what, if any, connection does Becker have to the Baron? Is it a coincidence this rich man has appeared on the scene at the same time as the Baron’s return? But it can’t be Becker that’s the Baron because Becker is wheelchair-bound. Does that mean the Baron really is… is undead? Zoinks!
Can Peter and Eva return the Baron to his grave before more murders are committed? Who, exactly, is the mysterious Becker? And, most importantly of all, what’s he going to do with all those large-screen TVs he’s just bought at action?
Okay, so ‘Baron Blood’ isn’t quite top-draw Bava with a plot that feels like a cocktail of Poe and Lovecraft hastily mixed by Shaggy inside the Mystery Machine whilst stoned (although doesn’t that sound fun?) and the film doesn’t exactly barrel along so much as grope about in the dark and fog, especially in the middle. But what is firing on all cylinders is Bava’s visual style which is immense.
Firmly back in Gothic territory ‘Baron Blood’ allows Bava to show that no-one quite used smoke and lighting better than he did with some of the imagery on display here up there with Bava’s best. There are sequences in which we are hit with a succession of truly ravishing shots. Plus, more location shooting than usual for Bava busts open the frame with a bigger sense of space functioning here than in some of his more set-bound films.
There are a few, although not many, cool murders and set-pieces plus some groovy special effects (the highlight for me being a slowly pulsing wooden door ozzing blood which must have influenced a number of horror filmmakers after) whilst Stelvio Cipriani provides a typically lush score (with a cool Les Baxter one available on the AIP version) and Joseph Cotten seems to be having fun as a baddie.
So sure, ‘Baron Blood’ isn’t my favourite Bava film but it has all the ingredients that make me love his work, and that’s not a bad thing at all.
Oh, and in closing — I did find myself playing a game with the movie at times and squinting my mind’s eye a little (okay, maybe a lot) pretending this was a sequel to Citizen Kane with Cotten coming back as Leland to Xanadu to bring Charles Foster back from the dead.
