Baron Blood, Elke Sommer's Guide to Successful Dating

Today's entry is a good one from 1972, Baron Blood.  Directed by Italian horror icon Mario Bava, this film delivers good scares and teaches us valuable lessons.  Joseph Cotton (Lady Frankenstein, The Third Man) has the title role, and Elke Sommer plays the damsel (an assistant museum curator) in distress.  Mario Bava filmed this movie in beautiful Vienna (the setting for Joseph Cotten's most famous movie, The Third Man).

Okay!  First the plot, then the ever important social commentary.  An American college dropout dweeb boards a Pan Am flight to Austria.  Great 1970s movie music accompanies this plane ride.  His primary purpose in Austria is to research an infamous ancestor, the sadistic Baron Blood who was really good at killing people slowly with torture devices.  Blood was knocked off over a century ago by a witch he ticked off.  The dweeb's first stop is Baron Blood's castle which is being restored by Eva (Elke Sommer).  Eva acts coy around the dweeb, and her wardrobes are always either tight, revealing, or low cut (or all three).  Mario Bava does a great job utilizing Sommer's charm.

The dweeb and Eva end up at the same dinner party.  Eva seems content in showing no interest in this dweeb.  As well she shouldn't.  She is beautiful, smart, ambitious, and will probably end up marrying royalty.  Then the dweeb propositions her.  The proposition?  Lets sneak into the Baron's castle (it's dungeon to be exact), recite incantations from an old, cursed parchment, hence resurrecting the sadistic ancestor.  Eva, against all logic, says, okay.  The Baron is resurrected and Eva finds herself in more peril, especially when wearing slinky evening gowns.

The movie is exciting!  Sommer and Cotton are terrific.  Bava throws in a ton of blood.  You will enjoy this slice of European, 1970s horror.  You parents out there....no matter how intelligent your beautiful daughters are, keep a very watchful eye.  If Eva can be seduced by this dweeb, there is no telling what miserable loser your daughter might decide to date.