The Sadistic Baron Von Klaus – Kino Lorber/Redemption Films (Blu-ray)

Theatrical Release Date: Spain, 1962
Director: Jesus Franco
Writers: Pío Ballesteros, Juan Cobos, Jesús Franco, Gonzalo Sebastián de Erice
Cast: Howard Vernon, Hugo Blanco, Gogó Rojo, Fernando Delgado, Paula Martel, Ana Castor

Release Date: June 9th, 2015
Approximate Running Time: 99 Minutes 58 Seconds
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1 Widescreen / 1080 Progressive / MPEG-4 AVCC
Rating: NR
Sound: LPCM Mono French
Subtitles: English
Region Coding: Region A
Retail Price: $29.95

"A series of grisly murders in the remote village of Holfen convinces the locals that the town is still cursed by the spirit of a 17th-century baron who maintained an elaborate torture chamber in the dungeon of his estate. Undaunted by the villagers' superstitions, a detective (Georges Rollin) quickly focuses his investigation upon the creepy Max Von Klaus (Howard Vernon). Meanwhile, the youngest male descendent of the Von Klaus bloodline (Hugo Blanco) returns home to mourn the death of his mother, and must wrestle with his own connection to the cursed family history." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 3/5

The Sadistic Baron Von Klaus comes on a 25 GB single layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 18.9 GB

Feature: 18 GB

Though the image lacks stability, there are some moments where the image looks too soft, most notably during a reinstated sequence that was originally deemed X-Rated. This scene, which lasts about three minutes, obviously comes from a lesser source. Now for the good in regards to this transfer. Contrast and black levels look consistently strong, details generally look crisp and print debris is minimal. Also, when compared to Images DVD, there is a marked improvement when it comes to image clarity and shadow detail.

Audio: 3.25/5

This release comes with one audio option, a LPCM mono mix in French, and also included with this release are removable English subtitles. There are a few minor instances where the audio sounds distorted, and there is a background hiss that varies in degree throughout. Also, the dialog is always clear, and everything sounds balanced, and the film’s score sounds appropriately robust.

Extras:

Extras for this release include are limited to a trailer for the film (4 minutes 7 seconds, LPCM Mono French with English subtitles).

Summary:

The Sadistic Baron von Klaus was a film that was made between The Awful Dr. Orlof and Dr. Orloff’s Monster, during Jess Franco’s brief Gothic Horror period of his career. Besides its Gothic leanings, another area where this film owes a great debt are the German Krimi films from the 1960’s, which have been often cited as a clear influence on what would become the Giallo genre. There is a scene in The Sadistic Baron Von Klaus where a black-gloved killer uses a hat and clothes over their face to hide their identity. Also at this moment, the killer uses a knife to caress and toy with his victim. This scene has all the hallmarks that have since become synonymous with the Giallo genre.

Narrative wise The Sadistic Baron von Klaus takes a familiar trip down murders' lane as there are a few timed red herrings along the way before the killers’ identity is finally exposed. Pacing-wise, things take a moment to settle in, but once this film gets into its stride, all of these issues are quickly forgotten as things move along at a brisk pace.

Even early on in his career, Jess Franco shows a strong sense of visual style as he uses black and white cinematography to its full effect. Whether it be shots of near-empty streets at night or other scenic landscapes, But Franco is not the type of filmmaker who would just throw away a shot.

Also, besides the aforementioned Giallo-inspired scene, another standout moment visually is a scene where the killer, now unmasked, brings a woman back to his dungeon. From there, the film finally lives up to its name as it takes on a more sadistic tone where the killer turns his moment of seduction into something one would expect from the Marquis de Sade.

From a performance standpoint, there are two actors that carry this film. The first one being Hugo Blanco in the role of Ludwig von Klaus, and the other being Howard Vernon (The Blood Rose) in the role of Max von Klaus, Ludwig’s father. The film does a superb job exploiting both actors' brooding performances by keeping you guessing which one of them might be carrying on the family curse.

There are many faces to Jess Franco, the filmmaker. He had a long career that spanned seven decades and covered every film genre. And yet, when discussing his films, one often gets a strange look like, "Are we talking about the same guy?" A lot of the misconceptions about his cinema have more to do with the fact that it would be futile to categorize his output as a filmmaker into an easily defined term.

With that being said, it is always refreshing to revisit the origins of a filmmaker's career. And in regards to The Sadistic Baron Von Klaus, it is a well-made thriller that foreshadows many themes that would dominate Jess Franco’s cinematic output.

The Sadistic Baron Von Klaus gets a strong audio/video presentation from Redemption Films.

Written by Michael Den Boer