The Sadistic Baron Von Klaus (1962)

Charming and brutal

While it is a pity that the story wasn't told with more visual finesse, this is trivial compared to our real-world problems. It takes a good movie to put that into perspective.

Just intense enough to provide a much-needed diversion, just lightweight enough to make you forget about it soon after it’s over. It’s not exactly “good,” per se, but it does what it sets out to do in terms of putting us on edge, which makes it … successful?

There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.

Strange that enigmatic Ludwig von Klaus should be played by handsome Hugo Blanco who, with very little make-up, would be called upon to terrify people in 'The Mistresses of Dr. Orloff' two years after the release of this early Jess Franco directed horror story.As it is, 'Baron von Klaus' sits very comfortably among Franco's other early 60s horror releases. Apparently (as ever), funding was difficult, but you really wouldn't know it. The cast, the locations and the overall atmosphere (and the jazzy soundtrack) are stylish and polished, especially the mighty Howard Vernon as Von Klaus senior, whose striking presence is the focal point of any scene without the need to over-gesticulate or overact. However, somewhere in the middle of the story, the pace lapses quite severely and only partially manages to fully reinvigorate the proceedings by the end, despite a protracted and graphic sadomasochistic torture scene.Although enjoyable and laced with some beautifully orchestrated scenes, I found this slightly less impressive than Franco's other work from this period. I wonder if Franco, renowned for losing interest in things quickly, was getting bored with telling stories in this way? I wouldn't dare suggest that just because I found this occasionally sluggish that he was ready to move on to more graphic content – but certainly the inclusion of a level of gratuity here would seem to indicate a possible transition between the noir-ish tendencies of his early films to the more garish, exploitative productions of his later output.

There seems to be a world of difference between the dozen or so films that Spanish "bad boy" director Jess Franco made from 1960-'67 and the almost 180 (!) he has made since. Those early films--including such titles as "The Awful Dr. Orloff," "The Sadistic Baron von Klaus," "Dr. Orloff's Monster" and (especially) "The Diabolical Dr. Z"--feature truly gorgeous B&W photography, Gothic compositions, interesting and understandable story lines, high production values and a NONreliance on the ol' zoom lens. His latter works, a slapdash mixed bag at best, to my experience, are a whole different game. "Von Klaus," one of Franco's releases from 1962, shows him at a point where his creative powers were burning very strongly. In the film, a series of sex murders has begun to once again afflict the village of Holfen, as has been the case for the last 500 years. Centuries ago, Baron von Klaus had been discovered to be the maniac killer, and his spirit is said to sporadically inhabit the bodies of his descendants. So is the modern-day baron (played by Howard Vernon; Dr. Orloff himself) responsible, or possibly his nephew, a young pianist named Ludwig (Hugo Blanco, the titular star of 1964's "Dr. Orloff's Monster"), or is it perhaps someone else? That's what no-nonsense police inspector Borowsky (Georges Rollin) and a reporter from "Maidens and Murderers" magazine (Fernando Delgado) endeavor to find out, in Franco's very entertaining and impressive film. The picture boasts a handful of memorable and bravura sequences: Ludwig's fiancée's nighttime awakening to an ominously ticking clock; the midnight attack on bar owner Lida in her bedroom, and the subsequent chase, down cobblestoned streets, after the killer; the matter-of-fact revelation of the psycho's identity; and the startling rape and torture scene that comes near the film's end. This scene, replete with nudity, bondage, whipping and red-hot pokers, and accompanied by some bizarre musique concrete courtesy of Daniel White, must have been truly shocking back in '62, especially considering the fact that the film's previous murders are quite tame and bloodless by comparison. In all, a well-done if at times plodding horror outing, put way over the top by Franco's imaginative direction and exceptionally fine B&W cinematography. Francophiles who are only familiar with the director's later, cheezier efforts will certainly be stunned.

Too often is the prolific Spanish Exploitation-deity Jess Franco dismissed as a producer of nothing but sleazy trash. Fact is that the man's impressive repertoire of over 190 films, especially his earlier work, includes several creepy, elegant and downright brilliant films, such as "Gritos En La Noche" ("The Awful Dr. Orloff", 1962) and "Miss Muerte" ("The Diabolical Dr. Z.", 1966), just to name the two most outstanding examples. While "La Mano De Un Hombre Muerto" aka. "The Sadistic Baron Von Klaus" of 1962 is not nearly as great as the aforementioned two film, it is yet another good example for the stylish creepiness of Franco's early Horror films, and the man's well-deserved status as a pioneer of European Exploitation cinema."The Sadistic Baron Von Klaus" is set in a German village the residents of which are still haunted by its past. Once, their ancestors had suffered from the evil deeds of a sadistic Baron, who terrorized the area. When a young girl gets brutally murdered, the first suspect is the Baron's descendant (Howard Vernon), who happens to be the spitting image of his murderous ancestor...Franco creates a morbid and creepy atmosphere by employing the typically elegant black-and-white cinematography, eerie settings and macabre set-pieces of his early films. Most of the film is set in gloomy alleys, a dark forest, Gothic castles, tombs and other eerie places. Franco also delivers pioneering Sleaze - the film features female nudity as well as sadistic sexual perversions, which was not exactly the norm in 1962. Franco once again employs the great Howard Vernon, the most regular leading-man of his early films and a true master of sinister roles. The film drags a tiny bit in the middle, but the second half is truly intense. Overall, Franco's second Horror film is not as essential as the masterpiece "The Awful Dr. Orloff", which was released shortly before, but definitely a very good Horror film and early Euro-Exploitation effort that my fellow Franco-fans can not afford to miss. 7.5/10.

This is NOT a horror movie. It is a serial-killer movie, so you won't find any aspects of the supernatural, here.B/W feature, set in Germany, dubbed in French with English subtitles. I suspect that it was actually filmed in northern Spain. Don't know for sure.A modern day Baron's ancestors have a curse that goes back 500 years to when the ancient Baron was involved in a series of murders of young women by knifing and torturing them. The police and a crime reporter from out of town go on the hunt to search for the killer.Btw, it didn't take rocket-science to know who the killer was since this became apparent early on in the film.The film does have some spooky atmosphere to it and it also has one S/M scene where the barmaid (Gogo Rojo?) is chained up from a rafter, topless with very faint whip marks on her back. She is stabbed by the killer although it isn't shown on the film directly, but slightly off camera with no blood shown.But besides all this, I think it is a weak film that deserves no more than a 3 out of 10 for sheer boredom.