The Castle of Baron Finch

A short horror film written and directed by Don Cunningham and starring himself alongside Jay Pennington, Elisabeth Anne Steigelman and Brad White.

The year is 1863 and Dr. Christopher Cushing (Cunningham) has travelled from England to Germany in order to rescue his wife Isobel (Steigelman), who has been abducted by Baron Janos Finch (Pennington), a vampire. Chistopher must find them, do battle with the monster and save his beloved spouse.

Filmed over a period of six years in Menard, Texas, this short is clearly meant to pay tribute to the horror films of the silent era. Filming was executed in black-and-white with the image looking grainy. There is no speech, no diegetic sound at all actually and the dialogue is presented through sentences on title cards just like the old days. What is heard is the gothic music Andreu Jacob that plays throughout and creates a sinister and dramatic atmosphere. Looking at the mise-en-scene, the action takes place in the countryside and there are locations that are often associated with vampire stories such as a cemetery, a castle and it should be mentioned that there is also a coffin. As for the narrative, it pretty much alternates between Christopher trying to locate his wife and Finch spending time with Isobel, teaching her how to be a vampire. Eventually, things lead to desperate life-and-death situations. It is also worth mentioning that another famous horror film creature makes its appearance.

The following is not intended to bring the film down, however, fans of the vampire genre might be disappointed by a couple of things. Firstly, there are no fangs to be seen (Finch never reveals his) and secondly, Finch appears to be walking around in broad daylight and vampires are supposed to be creatures of the night, yes, the image is black-and-white, however, the sky looks like it is daytime. Again, these two observations are not ment to damage this short but they go against the conventions that are associated with vampire films.

Regarding the performances, arguably Pennington is the one who stands out, portraying a vampire. Dressed in black, with long hair and a beard, he is constantly grinning, with an evil look on his face, making it clear that he is bad. Steigelman plays his victim. Wearing a white dress, looking like a bride, she appears to be under the influence of some kind of spell as she walks alongside Finch, smiling. And then there is Cunningham, who impersonates Dr. Cushing (an obvious homage to actor Peter Wilton Cushing), a brave man, determined to get his wife back.

Going to the themes now, this is a story about desperation, rescue, revenge, cruelty and tragedy. A story about Good vs Evil.

This is probably not meant to be a modern horror film, but rather a tribute to Gothic Horror Silent Films. Fans of the horror genre will most likely appreciate this twenty-minute long dark story that brings the viewer back in time, showing them what horror films used to be like.