Baron Blood

Bava has done for castles what Berg did for oil rigs. Yes, Peter Berg. Yes, Deepwater Horizon. No, I did not remember his name. No, I did not remember that he filmed Deepwater Horizon. No, I did not remember the name Deepwater Horizon. Yes, I did google, "oil rig fire movie." No, I don't think it even amounts to a decent joke. Yes, I am sorry.

Definitely a triumph of style over content. Bava does a great job with the camera, colour and locations, but the underlying narrative is a bit unsatisfying. As usual, Bava manages to conjure up some fine imagery, and is occasionally able to create some atmosphere, but this doesn't quite live up to his better work. Features a curious performance by Cotten, some good set design, and some creepy moments; probably good fun if your expectations aren't too high.

Overly expositional dialog, a shallow (but fun) story and some cheesy acting, but the stylish direction is Mario Bava in top form, and for that the movie earns a lot of points in my book. Tons of great compositions, eerie lighting, varied colors, and amazing sets. The castle and its dungeon are perfectly creepy.

Mario Bava was a cinematographer who just happened to direct, and this film bears that out --the colors and lighting are first-rate, but the faddish zooms and inattention to screen space (see Polanski or Carpenter for how screen space should work in a horror film), let alone the nuisance of directing actors, all indicate a person whose sole priority is to get the look right.

Well, Joseph Cotten seems to be enjoying himself

[Italian Gli orrori del castello di Norimberga - version]

Bava was on autopilot when making B.B, a mediocre slasher mystery that signalled the decline of his creative powers. As usual, it has style to spare, but there is nothing particularly inspired about the world he creates as it simply recycles images and moments from his previous films. The setting is well utilized, but that's a given. Cotten hams is up with some aplomb, but Sommer is surprisingly bad, and the death scenes are quite lazily done. The pacing is off and there is zero suspense.

Joseph Cotten chewing scenery is about all to appreciate here.

Cool settings, nice story, weak ending. At least Bava knows how to make chicks look good. :>

47.000

A good horror with a great set. Not bad!

Para o padrão Bava, esse filme é terrível, anos luz do seu melhor.

50.500

Not Bava's greatest film but still a lot of fun.

I don't understand this film's bad reputation. For me it's among Bava's best. Great creepy and stylish gothic horror.

Decent Bava film that has good pacing, a few nice effects, and a fun, hammy performance by Cotten. Not too memorable, though, and lacks the atmosphere of Bava's best work.

"...enjoyable horror movie with a genuinely scary Baron."

More run of the mill Bava horror without a whole lot going for it.