Captain Kronos: Vampire Hunter

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Aristocrats Are Evil: A Kronos staple, though in this case the aristocratic Elders of Serechurch appear merely shady, rather than malicious. Or so it seems.

Something else that I really like is that Hammer was willing to break the mold of things that they've already made. They had a slew of Dracula films where they killed off the vampire in a multitude of ways to try to keep it fresh. This movie expands on that explaining there are different species of vampires and I love this idea. This monster is more of life stealing creature as it is taking the vitality of its victims to make it stay young. Going along with the different kinds, I like that each vampire is unique in the way that it can be destroyed. We get to see Kronos and Grost testing different methods before heading off to face whatever is behind this. Author/Critic Kim Newman and Author/Editor Stephen Jones sit down to have a candid chat about Hammer’s latter years and the huge output of genre films that came out at that time which ultimately made very little money.Eschewing the serious tone of many of Hammer's vampiric offerings, writer/director Brian Clemens opts for a slightly tongue-in-cheek approach that sits perfectly with his comic book style of storytelling. The lead characters were originally devised by Clemens with a series of Kronos movies in mind, and it is a great shame that this never happened. Town with a Dark Secret: Serechurch, a grim little town in Romania and the main setting of the narrative. Features, among other things, a veritable boatload of Vampires. Incest Subtext: Strongly (and, according to writer/director Brian Clemens, intentionally) hinted at between Paul and Sara Durwood. Another wrinkle in the mystery of the dark goings on in the small village is the wealthy Durward family, consisting of bedridden Lady Durward and her two androgynous adult children Paul and Sara, played by Shane Briant and Lois Diane respectively. Oddly close and constantly professing their insecurities regarding aging and ending up like their decrepit matriarch in the upstairs suite, Paul and Sara frequent the film as something of a disconcerting shadow hanging over the town. Probably the most in-line with Hammer’s typical output, the family represents the wealthy aristocracy, perched, as it always is, precariously above its subjugated class.

Forbidden Zone: The Slake and his Vampires live in ghost region separated from the rest of Serechurch by wooden walls where none dare enter...except Kronos, of course. Of course it's not without its flaws. Horst Janson (Captain Kronos) is by no means a physical actor so the action scenes leave a lot to be desired. His swordfighting as seen in the cemetery scene is lamentably bad. It's no wonder that the best scene of him using a sword is in the tavern where he teaches three bullies a lesson. His slashing there is composed in the editing room. OK this is Hammer, not Toho or Daei, and Janson couldn't possibly dream of equalling a Mifune or Nakadai, but still a couple of swordfighting lessons wouldn't have been such a bad idea. What's worse is that Janson is not a good actor period. His range involves little more than trying to look cool. Even at that, his boyish face and blonde hair don't help at all. He's more stiff and wooden than "badass" cool. A more charismatic lead would have done wonders for Captain Kronos. Katanas Are Just Better: An Unbuilt Trope: Kronos carries both a katana and a sabre, and appears to favour the katana for everyday use. However, he uses a medieval-style arming sword in the final fight, specially forged for the occasion. Throughout the dark investigation, Kronos still makes time for the kind of debonair interactions reserved for an action hero of his stature. While sensual love scenes and the dispatching of drunkard bullies in the local tavern by the edge of his sword may not move the story forward, they serve the characters all too well, promoting compassion, intrigue and excitement as though it were just as important as plot in the grand narrative scheme.

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Every costume, prop, and set is lavish and outstanding, carefully selected to successfully keep viewers immersed. The production honestly looks great, on its own merits but also by comparison to other features of this type that sometimes have a more grainy, unfocused quality to them. Laurie Johnson's score is unquestionably over the top, yet duly fitting, and appropriate to the feature. Horst Janson, John Carson, Caroline Munro, John Cater, Shane Briant, Lois Daine, Wanda Ventham, William Hobbs, Ian Hendry Didn’t her religious parents object to their only child getting into the scanty end of modelling? “I think they were pleased that I found a career that I enjoyed. I had dyslexia which, for a long time, really undermined my confidence. I think my mother hoped I would become a window dresser.”

I loved the job,” she says. “We had shoots in all kinds of exotic places.” And Cornwall. “I remember being in the sea in the winter. Not a good day.” Our Vampires Are Different: In Kronos tradition. The Slake's kin are immune to sunlight, silver and crosses and can only be killed by beheading, though the Slake himself is vulnerable to crosses.Carla seeks refuge at Durward Manor to distract the household while Kronos sneaks inside. The "bedridden" Lady Durward reveals herself as the newly-youthful vampire, and she hypnotizes Carla and the Durward siblings. Lady Durward has raised her husband Hagen (William Hobbs) from the grave. She offers the mesmerized Carla to her husband, but Kronos erupts from hiding. Kronos uses the new sword's mirrored blade to turn Lady Durward's hypnotic gaze against her. He kills Lord Durward in a duel, and then destroys Lady Durward. An excellent, atypical addition to the Hammer cycle which breathes life into some of the old vampire clichés that Hammer were keen to use at the time, thanks to a tongue-in-cheek script and direction from AVENGERS man Brian Clemens. A good cast, fine photography, a wonderfully evocative music score and a good eye for pacing make this a highly enjoyable, intelligent film, and definitely one of Hammer's best - full stop. Rasputinian Death: Doctor Marcus. After being turned, he asks for a Mercy Kill from Kronos and he and Grost test several kinds of methods to kill vampires to see what can kill the type that Marcus has been turned into. They find out their vulnerability is iron by sheer chance, and Marcus lives long enough to thank them before passing away.

The two cover a number of different Hammer and UK titles in general, suggesting that British horror films were for Britain what westerns were for America. They cover the important genre-splicing that was coming out of the particularly fruitful period of cinematic output and make the point that many of these films stand up better today than they even did at the time. The message of the conversation boils down to this: one should never be ashamed of the films one likes. Forging Scene: The Professor transforms an iron crucifix into a cruciform sword, with which Kronos can kill the vampire. This great example of self-parody from Hammer, home of cinematic Gothic horror in the UK, not only has one of the coolest titles ever but is also one of the best offerings from 'the studio that dripped blood'. Comic-Book Adaptation: Made by Titan Comics as a sequel to the film Captain Kronos: Vampire Hunter.Not being a vampire fan, let alone a student of horror, Clemens turned to Hammer’s stable of vampire films for research. He pored over the various vampiric entries in the studio’s canon to gain a better sense of style and understanding, walking away from his investigation believing that, by and large, the movies all seemed to be of the same ilk. Bolstered by the creative freedom offered to him by Carreras, Clemens set out to create new conventions and mythology. Most importantly, he sought to transform the lead into the hero in contrast to the fanged demon that Christopher Lee was so famous for.