Baron Blood (film): Difference between revisions

| distributor = Jumbo Cinematografica (Italy) <br> [[American International Pictures]] (United States)

| released = {{Film date|1972|2|25|Italy|1972|10|27|United States|2002|03|15|Germany|ref1=<ref name="filmportal" />|df=y}}

'''''Baron Blood''''' ({{lang-it|Gli orrori del castello di Norimberga|lit=The horrors of Nuremberg Castle}}) is a 1972 [[horror film]] directed by [[Mario Bava]]. An international co-production of Italy and [[West Germany]], the film stars [[Joseph Cotten]] as Baron Otto Von Kleist, a murderous noble who is resurrected from the dead by his great-grandsondescendant, Peter ([[Antonio Cantafora]]), and a former college student named Eva ([[Elke Sommer]]).

At the castle, they meet Herr DortmundDortmundt, the entrepreneur responsible for the hotel project, and Eva, a former college student of Karl,. whoseHer job is to ensure Dortmundt does not make any lasting changes to the castle's architecture. After a tour of the castle, Karl invites Eva to his house for dinner. During the meal, Peter brings up the subject of Baron Von Kleist. Gretchen, Karl's young daughter, Gretchen, claims to have seen the Baron in the woods near the castle, but nobody listens to her. Peter produces an ancient document he found at his grandfather's house back in America. It is an incantation which,that ifwill readsupposedly inbring the castleBaron bellback towerto atlife midnight,when willread supposedly bringin the Baroncastle backbell totower lifeat midnight.

In the castle's woods surrounding the castle, the Baron emerges from his grave and visits a doctor's office. The doctor dresses his wounds. When the doctor insists on calling an ambulance, the Baron grabs a scalpel and stabs him to death.

The next morning, Peter and Eva admit what they've done. Karl insists they are imagining things and tells them to forget about it. The Baron secretly enters his castle and kills Dortmundt, hanging him from the castle ceiling. When the body is found by Fritz, the caretaker of the castle, the Baron kills him. With Dortmundt dead, the plans for restoring the castle fall through, and the property goes up for auction.

The next day, the castle is purchased by Alfred Becker, a millionaire who uses a wheelchair, purchases the castle. He offers Eva a job in assisting him toin restorerestoring the castle to its original condition. She gladly accepts. Later, Eva is attacked in one of the castle corridors by the Baron. She is saved by the intrusion of Peter. Eva quits her job and decides to make a fresh start elsewhere.

That evening, Eva returns to her apartment in town, only to find the Baron waiting for her. She escapes through a window and seeks shelter at Karl's home. Finally convinced that the Baron is alive, Karl agrees to help Eva and Peter find a way to destroy him. They visit Christina, a local medium, who conjures Hölle's spirit from the netherworld for information about the Baron. Christina gives them a magic amulet and tells them that the ones who raised the Baron are the only ones who can destroy him. Because of this, he will do everything in his power to kill Peter and Eva. After Peter, Eva, and Karl leave, Christinathe isBaron killedkills by the BaronChristina.

On her way home from school, Gretchen is terrorized by the Baron, who chases her thoughthrough the woods. Returning to the castle, Gretchen meets Becker for the first time. She tells her father that Becker is the Baron; she recognizes his eyes. Karl, Peter, and Eva confront Becker. He shows them the restored castle, complete with dummies impaled on stakes. Becker rises from his wheelchair and knocks out Peter, Karl, and Eva. He then takes them to his torture chamber.

When Eva wakes up, she is tied to a chair and sees Fritz's dead body in the open spike-lined coffin beside her. Becker ties up Karl to a [[Rack (torture)|rack]], while he tortures Peter with red-hot pokers. As Eva struggles to untie herself, she accidentally drops the amulet onto Fritz's body. A few drops of Eva's blood from her wounds land on Fritz's body and the amulet. The secret of how to destroy the Baron comes to light: the Baron's victims all rise from their coffins, empowered by the magic amulet and the blood of the ones who raised him. The undead victims attack the Baron and rip him apart. Eva unties Peter and Karl, and the trio fleeflees from the castle, while the Baron's dying screams and Hölle's laughter echo into the night air.

The film's onscreen writing credits differgiven betweenonscreen vary in different versions of the film:. Italian prints credit the screenplay to "Wilibald Eser" and Bava, while. English-language printsreleases credit the story and screenplay solely to Fotre, while"adapted for the screen by" another American writer, William A. Bairn, is credited with having "adapted [the script] for the screen". Leone has maintainedstated that the screenplay is almost entirely Fotre's work, withand Bava's writing contributions beingto it were minor, such as the addition of blood oozing under a door during the invocation sequence. Bairn served as the film's [[dialogue coach]], but otherwise had little inputto indo with writing the film's. writing, whileWilibald Eser was a fictitious name; creditedthe credit was included to satisfy a term of the Italian/WestItalian–West German co-production agreement.{{sfn|Lucas|2007|p=883}}

In contemporary reviews, [[Roger Ebert]] gave the film two stars out of four, writing, "sometimes you can enjoy horror movies because they're so bad, but ''Baron Blood'' isn't bad enough."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/19721010/REVIEWS/210100301/1023 |title=Baron Blood :: rogerebert.com :: Reviews |last=Ebert |first=Roger |authorlink=Roger Ebert |work=rogerebert.com |access-date=16 August 2012 |archive-date=28 May 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070528101125/http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/19721010/REVIEWS/210100301/1023 |url-status=dead }}</ref> A.H. Weiler of ''[[The New York Times]]'' gave the film a negative review, calling the title villain "bland" and stating: "Under Mario Bava's pedestrian direction, the concocted creaking, screaming, gory murders and Miss Sommer's frightened racing through dark passageways largely add up to spectral schlock".<ref>{{cite web|last1=weiler|first1=A.|title=Movie Review – Gli Orrori del Castello di Norimberga – 'Baron Blood' Here From Austria |url=https://www.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9F04E7DE1231EF34BC4053DFB4668388669EDE|website=New York Times.com|publisher=A. H. Weiler|access-date=17 November 2014}}</ref>

From retrospective reviews, film critic [[Leonard Maltin]] gave the film a score of two-and-a-half stars, briefly noting "standard plot is livened by unusual settings and lighting".{{sfn|Maltin|2014|p=92}} ''Daryl Loomis'' of [[DVD Verdict]] gave the film a mostly positive review, stating: "''Baron Blood'' is not Mario Bava's best film, but it's far from his worst. It's bloody and full of torture, if not so full of suspense, but it's still a lot of fun."<ref>{{cite web|last1=Loomis|first1=Daryl|title=DVD Verdict Review – Baron Blood (Blu-ray)|url=https://dvdverdict.com/reviews/baronbloodbluray.php|website=DVD Verdict.com|publisher=Daryl Loomis|access-date=17 November 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141129022839/https://dvdverdict.com/reviews/baronbloodbluray.php|archive-date=29 November 2014|df=dmy-all|date=17 December 2012}}</ref>

[[Dread Central]] awarded the film a score of three out of five, commenting: "''Baron Blood'' [is] a particularly uneven piece of work; yet, Bava's eye is consistently impressive, creating swathes of Gothic imagery such as a chase sequence through fog-laden streets, sterling use of shadow in framing his antagonist, and a great location in the form of the Baron’s castle. To be expected is also the director's excellent use of lighting and primary colours, making this another rich visual experience with that distinctly European feel. While it certainly isn't anywhere near the upper echelons of Bava's filmography, it offers enough in the way of style and the gleefully macabre to keep it afloat".<ref>{{cite web|last1=Jones|first1=Gareth|title=Baron Blood (UK Blu-ray) – Dread Central|url=https://dreadcentral.com/reviews/45139/baron-blood-uk-blu-ray/|website=Dread Central.com|date=6 June 2013 |publisher=Gareth Jones|access-date=17 November 2014}}</ref>