morrison-dylan-fan Originally expecting to receive a DVD solely containing writer/director Jess Franco's 1973 Obscene Mirror,I was happily caught by surprise,when I discovered that the DVD seller had kindly included a bonus title!,which led to me getting ready to uncover the Von Klaus curse.The plot:Firmly keeping his feet on the ground,police inspector Borowsky has always dismissed the folk tales from the villagers about the first ever Baron of the wealthy Von Klaus family, (after attacking a woman,the first ever Baron Von Klaus killed himself via walking into the swamp surrounding the Klaus castle.Ever since Klaus has walked into the swamp,tales have been going around the village for decades about their being a Klaus ghost that kidnaps women.)due to seeing the myths as nothing but superstitious nonsense,that the locals use to take comfort in,instead of confronting the human face of evil.Sadly for Borwsky,he soon finds his dismissal of the supernatural to get a serious test,when a series of murders begin taking place across the village,that are eerily similar to Von Klaus mysterious killings. Whilst Borowsky is catching up with this folk tale, Ludwig von Klaus sits by his mum's death bed.About to take her final breath, Elisa von Klaus decides to that this is the best time to reveal to Ludwig that the first ever Von Klaus is suspected of being a serial killer.As Ludwig tries to get a grip on these new details, Murder and Maidens newspaper reporter Karl Steiner is ordered by his editor to pay a visit to the town,thanks to the ghost of Baron Von Klaus having returned to kill again.View on the film:Filmed at a time when the German Krimi genre was beginning to gain popularity,co-writer/ (along with Pío Ballesteros, Juan Cobos and Gonzalo Sebastián de Erice)director attempts to cross the police investigating side of the Krimi with a brewing Gothic Horror atmosphere.Running at a far too long 95 minutes,the writers are sadly never able to make both sides of the movie fully balance,thanks to the Krimi side of things being delivered in a surprisingly dry manner which lacks any really sharp twists & turns,whilst the Gothic Horror vibes are only allowed to deliver a true sting during the last few minutes of the title. Filmed away from the dictator-led Spain in France,Jess Franco surprisingly keeps away from using his trademark zoom-ins,to instead reveal a sharp eye for creating an excellent Film Noir mood,with Franco covering the Von Klaus mansion in thick,dusty blacks which create a strong feeling of their being a horrific evil covering the place in shadow.Along with the Film Noir mood,Franco also catches the audience completely by surprise,by delivering an extremely ahead of its time,daring S&M sequence,which along with the slow,sensual manner that Franco shots the scene,shows that the Von Klaus myth has come back from the swamp.

lonchaney20 Decent early offering from Jess Franco. This is easily the smoothest, least flawed Franco film I've seen, yet it's also the least interesting. The production and photography are of a higher quality than his later works, yet the story feels less ambitious and more generic. Though somewhat disappointing, the overall aesthetic is certainly less frustrating than latter day Franco, and has some intriguing similarities to some later Italian horrors. I'd bet that Bloody Pit of Horror and Baron Blood were both more than a little inspired by this film, though each take their similar premise in radically different directions.Though the characters often refer to supernatural phenomena, Franco eschews much of that Gothic imagery for some suspense and murder sequences straight out of a giallo (viewers wanting to see something of that ilk should check out Bava's Baron Blood). The murder mystery is fairly engaging and managed to keep me off the scent with a fair share of red herrings, but I can't say it was up there with the best of them.The ending, though, was curiously reminiscent of the later A Virgin Among the Living Dead, both visually and thematically. It occurred to me as I watched that all of the three Franco films I've watched recently (this, A Virgin Among the Living Dead, and Female Vampire) share some strong thematic connections, strengthening the reading of Franco as an auteur. Most significant is the cursed family and tragic killer. I plan to watch more Franco films now to see if any more connections occur to me. I have seen The Bloody Judge but barely remember a thing about it. In the meantime, my final word on this film is that it's decent but lacks the artistic ambition of a later work like A Virgin Among the Living Dead that would warrant repeat viewing.

Witchfinder General 666 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.

Brian Boyle Every one knows Franco is off his rocker. But this film is from a period where it wasn't so abundantly clear from looking at the screen.For those that think Franco is a hack film maker with all the sleazy zooms of his later films, see this and you'll discover that he does that because he likes it, not because he doesn't know how to do anything else.This one is made very nicely. It's shot in black and white holds up very well today, comparing favourably with many other films from this era and genre. Plot wise it's a serial killer movie, but it has that real timeless feel and atmosphere that places it firmly in the horror category.The understated performance from Franco regular Howard Vernon is outstanding, but all the cast are great. I'm not sure what the original language is, probably Spanish, I've seen it in English and French and although they're both acceptable, it's a shame not to hear the real actors voices (although Vernon probably dubbed himself).It's also amazingly daring for 1962, in fact way too daring for its day and the dungeon scene was removed by bastard censors. But it's back now and it's great, if you like that sort of thing of course, which, as you're reading a review of a Franco film, you do. I love this film.