El barón del terror (1962)

Director:

Chano Urueta

Writers:

Federico Curiel (story)
Adolfo López Portillo (story)

Release Date:

1963 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Tagline:

The most bizarre horror movie. Ever.

Plot:

In 1661 Mexico, the Baron Vitelius of Astara is sentenced to be burned alive by the Holy Inquisition of Mexico for witchcraft...

Plot Keywords:

Brain | Cult Favorite | Eating Brains | Flamethrower | Vampire

Cast

Abel Salazar	...	Baron Vitelius d'Estera
Ariadna Welter	...	Bar girl - Second victim (as Ariadne Welter)
David Silva	...	Detective inspector
Germán Robles	...	Indalecio Pantoja / Sebastian de Pantoja
Luis Aragón	...	Prof. Saturnino Millán
Mauricio Garcés	...	Forensic surgeon
Ofelia Guilmáin	...	Luis Meneses' wife
René Cardona	...	Baltasar de Meneses / Luis Meneses
Rubén Rojo	...	Reinaldo Miranda / Marcos Miranda
Carlos Nieto	...	Lic. Francisco Coria
Carlota Solares	...	Townswoman
Federico Curiel	...	Detective
Magda Donato	...	Townswoman
Magda Urvizu	...	Maria Pantoja (as Magda Urbizu)
Miguel Brillas	...	Inquisitor Contreras

Also Known As:

Baron of Terror (USA) (informal literal English title)
Brainiac (USA) (promotional title)
The Brainiac (USA) (TV title)

Runtime:

77 min

Country:

Mexico

Language:

Spanish

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Company:

Cinematográfica ABSA

Quotes:

Baron Vitelius: It so happens liquor does me damage. I once had a very strange disease.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Mexican Monsters on the March (1994) (V)

Possibly The Best Film Ever Made?

TV comedy has made a lot of mileage out of the movies of 50s and 60s over the last few years. I've lost count of the number of supposedly generic 'B Movie' sketches I've seen on one comedy show or another- usually accompanied by the studio audience laughing so hard that you'd expect a 'Scanners'/'Meaning of Life style' bodily explosion any second.

I wonder what those TV hacks and their zombie audiences would do if confronted with this, a movie that is so magically, unashamedly bad that it covers you in puppy-dog kisses and dares you not to love it.

Quick Synopsis: A couple of hundred years ago an evil baron bloke was executed for being... well, evil. In contemporary Mexicamerica a meteor is lowered gracefully from the studio ceiling and in a puff of smoke turns into the reincarnated Baron: a brain-eating monster from space, who kills people by kissing them with his long forked tongue. In his disguise as the camply menacing Baron Del Terror he then throws dinner parties for his enemies' descendants, occasionally sneaking away to munch on a piece of cerebellum secreted in his cupboard. Involved in all this are a brave hero, his girlfriend, and a mad scientist. Oh, and some comedy cops for light relief- as if this needed any. I won't tell you how it ends, but I guarantee your jaw will be agape. Promise.

Nearly every scene is jam packed with absurdities- from the picture of Neptune on the wall of an office (to denote that astronomers work there) to the hilariously stilted dialogue- translated by someone to whom the English Language is, well, just something that other people speak. I kid you not, if any modern comedian could jam this many fantastic, mad, and stunningly dumb elements into a parody, he'd be a genius. Best of all is the fact that it's all played straight.

Run, do not walk, to your local cinema and demand a late night showing of 'Brainiac'. Invite all your friends, and then slip into delirium.

And then take all your copies of 'Saturday Night Live', and 'Amazon Women On The Moon', and burn them. They serve no purpose: This is the true face of the 'B', and it is far better than you'd ever imagine.