1972·Horror·1h 38m
7.0
★
A young man, Peter, returns to Austria in search of his heritage. There he visits the castle of an ancestor, a sadistic Baron who was cursed to a violent death by a witch whom the Baron had burned at the stake. Peter reads aloud the incantation that causes Baron Blood to return and continue his murderous tortures.
Directed by Mario Bava
supernatural
torture
gothic horror
witchcraft
Trailer
IMDB
N/A
Where to Watch
Cast
Joseph Cotten
Baron Otto von Kleist / Alfred Becker
Elke Sommer
Eva Arnold
Massimo Girotti
Dr. Karl Hummel
Antonio Cantafora
Peter Kleist
Umberto Raho
Inspector
Luciano Pigozzi
Fritz
Nicoletta Elmi
Gretchen Hummel
Gustavo De Nardo
Dr. Werner Hesse
Valeria Sabel
Martha Hummel
Rada Rassimov
Christina Hoffmann
Crew
Mario Bava
Director
Mario Bava
Screenplay
Stelvio Cipriani
Original Music Composer
Carlo Reali
Editor
Mario Bava
Director of Photography
Samuel Z. Arkoff
Executive Producer
Carlo Rambaldi
Makeup Effects
Popular Reviews
23 reviews
Josh skywalkerPRO
6.0★ · 07/09/26
Doesnt have the Bava feel i crave and desire as much as his other films same with atmosphere and style despite still being present its not as much as other Bava bangers for me but it was still enough to enjoy this it just felt more style over substance which i think Bava usually gets a good balance of particularly for horror.
Also wasnt enough kills and gore considering the Baron geez gets off on killing people in torturous and brutal ways and the characters werent as interesting either besides the Baron himself whos design and mystery is awesome and makes for a wicked revelation by the end and you can see the influence and inspiration this film will definitely have had on future horror.
The chase scene about an hour in between Eva and the Baron was awesome and easily my favourite scene of the whole film it looks epic and is scored to perfection Stelvio Cipriani
Also wasnt enough kills and gore considering the Baron geez gets off on killing people in torturous and brutal ways and the characters werent as interesting either besides the Baron himself whos design and mystery is awesome and makes for a wicked revelation by the end and you can see the influence and inspiration this film will definitely have had on future horror.
The chase scene about an hour in between Eva and the Baron was awesome and easily my favourite scene of the whole film it looks epic and is scored to perfection Stelvio Cipriani
Doesnt have the Bava feel i crave and desire as much as his other films same with atmosphere and style despite still being present its not as much as other Bava bangers for me but it was still enough to enjoy this it just felt more style over substance which i think Bava usually gets a good balance of particularly for horror.
Also wasnt enough kills and gore considering the Baron geez gets off on killing people in torturous and brutal ways and the characters werent as interesting either besides the Baron himself whos design and mystery is awesome and makes for a wicked revelation by the end and you can see the influence and inspiration this film will definitely have had on future horror.
The chase scene about an hour in between Eva and the Baron was awesome and easily my favourite scene of the whole film it looks epic and is scored to perfection Stelvio Cipriani
Also wasnt enough kills and gore considering the Baron geez gets off on killing people in torturous and brutal ways and the characters werent as interesting either besides the Baron himself whos design and mystery is awesome and makes for a wicked revelation by the end and you can see the influence and inspiration this film will definitely have had on future horror.
The chase scene about an hour in between Eva and the Baron was awesome and easily my favourite scene of the whole film it looks epic and is scored to perfection Stelvio Cipriani
matt
5.0★ · 12/31/25
classic 70s horror movie with nothing special besides the use of lights
classic 70s horror movie with nothing special besides the use of lights
Sarah
4.0★ · 10/01/25
Hooptober 12: 12/34
Happy Hooptober!
A pretty underwhelming Bava flick. As always, it's nice to look at but I found it tedious despite its lean runtime.
Criteria met:
zombie film (3/5)
Happy Hooptober!
A pretty underwhelming Bava flick. As always, it's nice to look at but I found it tedious despite its lean runtime.
Criteria met:
zombie film (3/5)
Hooptober 12: 12/34
Happy Hooptober!
A pretty underwhelming Bava flick. As always, it's nice to look at but I found it tedious despite its lean runtime.
Criteria met:
zombie film (3/5)
Happy Hooptober!
A pretty underwhelming Bava flick. As always, it's nice to look at but I found it tedious despite its lean runtime.
Criteria met:
zombie film (3/5)
Joao rodrigues
4.5★ · 06/16/25
Profoundly dull. It definitely has its moments, but it doesn’t really have as much powerful imagery as the other Bava gothics, which is surprising. The close-ups are immaculate, and this have some late Bava touches but nothing too specia. It’s also one of his longest films for some reason at 98 minutes, far longer than it needs to be. And unrelated, but the main character looks so much like CW Flash it’s weird.
Profoundly dull. It definitely has its moments, but it doesn’t really have as much powerful imagery as the other Bava gothics, which is surprising. The close-ups are immaculate, and this have some late Bava touches but nothing too specia. It’s also one of his longest films for some reason at 98 minutes, far longer than it needs to be. And unrelated, but the main character looks so much like CW Flash it’s weird.
Tristan
I 🖤 GOTHIC HORROR
I need to go to that freaking castle.
I need to go to that freaking castle.
I 🖤 GOTHIC HORROR
I need to go to that freaking castle.
I need to go to that freaking castle.