SpuffyWeb Sadly Over-hyped

Suman Roberson It's a movie as timely as it is provocative and amazingly, for much of its running time, it is weirdly funny.

Rosie Searle It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

Bumpy Chip It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

BA_Harrison Mexico, 1661: Baron Vitelius of Astara (Abel Salazar) is sentenced to death by the Mexican Inquisition for acts of heresy, witchcraft, necromancy and generally being annoying. As he is burnt alive and a comet passes overhead, the baron vows to return in 300 years to take revenge by killing Inquisitors' descendants. Sure enough, three centuries later the comet reappears, bringing with it the baron, who is able to change from human form into a hideous brainsucking monster.The Brainiac features one of the goofiest movie monsters you're ever likely to see in a horror film, Mexican or otherwise, the wholly unconvincing creature having tubular quivering pincers, a pulsating hairy head, pointy rubber ears and nose, extra large fangs, and a forked tongue with which to suck out its victims' brains. But as hilarious as this monster is, it cannot make up for the film's dull plot, lifeless direction and cheap production values: printed backdrops stand in for real locations, the comet looks like a cut-out piece of paper stuck to a sheet of glass, and the baron's hypnotic gaze is achieved by shining a light into his eyes.The film's best moment is the shocking discovery of a body suspended upside down in a bath-tub (the man's head underwater), although any scene featuring the voluptuous Rosa María Gallardo as astronomer Victoria Contreras is worth a look (she can calibrate my telescope any day of the week!); worst (and consequently funniest) moments include the arrival of the creature inside a rock, the baron sneaking off to tuck into his bowlful of brains, and the wide-eyed expressions on the faces of his mesmerized victims.

Edgar Soberon Torchia Following «Santo vs. the Vampire Women», another cult oddity came to Mexican cinemas in November 1962, surpassing the tale of wrestlers and female vampires in weirdness and kitsch value. Director Chano Urueta had previously released the classic «El espejo de la bruja» and then came «El barón del terror», probably the title for which he is most remembered among the horror genre fans for its bizarre concept. The story has a similar beginning as Mario Bava's «La maschera del demonio», in which Baron Vitelius d'Estera is sentenced to be burned alive by the Inquisition, accused of being a warlock and seducer. He curses his judges and 300 years later he returns to take revenge, as a hideous monster who eats people's brains. He kills the inquisitors' descendants, has enough cerebrum delicatessen at home to eat, but for no discernible reason Baron Vitelius also viciously kills innocent persons, among them pretty Ariadne Welter. Produced with a very low budget by Abel Salazar, who also took the title role, the money must have been spent in the top cast. The curious thing about «El barón del terror» is that everybody agrees that it is a trashy movie but none can deny the strange fascination it exerts.

ferbs54 It turns out that all the word of mouth about the Mexican horror flick "The Brainiac" (1961) is absolutely correct: It IS one wild and loopy film experience! This picture tells the story of the necromancer Baron Vitelius Destera (played by the film's handsome producer, Abel Salazar), who is burned at the stake in 1661 by the Inquisition in Mexico City and swears vengeance on the descendants of his tormentors. Good to his word, the Baron falls to Earth in 1961 on a comet (the phoniest-looking comet ever shown on film, perhaps) to begin his homicidal agenda. Destera has the ability to transform himself into a giant-headed, pointy-nosed, fork-tongued monster, and his ability to hypnotize with a glance and bend others to his mental will makes his nefarious plans that much simpler. Oh...did I mention that the Baron uses his Gene Simmons-like tongue to suck his victims' brains out? Oh, man! Sounds pretty cool, right? Truth to tell, though, this film has been made on the cheap, with loads of ersatz-looking backdrops, lousy FX, and reams of unexplained happenings. Why, for example, does the Baron need to keep a stemmed dish of brains around for snacking purposes? How do the film's detectives ultimately crack the case of all these homicides? Why is fire able to harm the Baron in 1961 but not in 1661? Where DID that blasted comet disappear to? This movie has so many head-scratching moments, so many outrageous situations, so many admittedly cool murder scenes, such egregiously artificial backdrops and such strange humor (brain tacos, anyone?) that the net result is one of absolute lysergic surrealism. So yes, the movie is a hoot, and features a monster you won't soon forget. Unlike the Baron himself, the film is NOT a brain-drainer, but a genuinely exhilarating cult item. I, for one, was sufficiently impressed to check out director Chano Urueta's next effort, 1962's "The Witch's Mirror"...

john22900 May contain spoilers! First of all, beware of any cut prints of this film. I have noticed that in a lot of current releases of this film that the drowning scene is cut and for aficionados of truly bad and cheesy cinema, that is unfortunate. The logical loopholes in this story are so huge you could drive a Mack Truck through them. In other words, you really have to suspend your disbelief quite a bit in watching this movie. That said, however, for a Mexican horror film it is very entertaining and a lot of fun to watch. It's almost like watching a Mexican version of PLAN NINE FROM OUTER SPACE. As cheesy as the special effects were for this film and the fact that it was obviously made on a very low budget - think Roger Corman - it is probably one of the better Mexican horror films. I would like to see this film come out on DVD in the full uncut dubbed English version and as an extra on the DVD, the full length uncut Spanish version. I wish they would come out with the full uncut dubbed English version of EL VAMPIRO Y EL SEXO, another milestone in weird Mexican horror cinema.