Captain Kronos: Vampire Hunter

If you're interested in starting a collection of vampire movies, and you already have Dracula, Horror of Dracula, The Fearless Vampire Killers, The Hunger, Near Dark, and the Frank Langella version of Dracula with Laurence Olivier...you might as well go ahead and buy this one too.

Written and directed by Brian Clemens, the film stars German actor Horst Janson as Captain Kronos, a master of the sword and ex-solider, a freelance vampire killer, accompanied by the hunchbacked Professor Hieronymos Grost (John Cater), an authority on vampirism and good friend to Kronos. The film also stars the lovely and infinitely easy on the eyes Caroline Munro who appeared in others films like Dracula A.D. 1972 (1972), The Golden Voyage of Sinbad (1974), and The Spy Who Loved Me (1977).

The film wastes no time on the horror aspect as we witness a young, comely woman in the woods attacked by a mysterious, cloaked stranger. The once young woman is now old and withered, due to having her youth literally drained from her person. A couple more attacks occur within the small English village, and this prompts Dr. Marcus (John Carson), the local physician, to contact his old friend, Captain Kronos. On the way to the village, Kronos and Grost meet Carla (Monroe), an errant peasant girl, whom they allow to tag along, probably because she's so hot.

On arriving in the small village, Grost utilizes a unique vampire detection device to try and track the vile creature terrorizing the village, while Kronos has mad monkey love with Carla and rests for the upcoming battle. Meanwhile, the village loses a couple more young women, decreasing the overall population greatly as I didn't see a whole lot of townsfolk to begin with...The hunt is on as Kronos and Grost search for clues as to the identity and location of the vampire. Dr. Marcus may already have the answer to the mystery, but is not forthcoming due to personal reasons. Also, forces have begun to conspire against Kronos and his group, and our hero seems to be threatened from a number of sides. What drives the man to do what he does? His motivations are spelled out later in the film, and while pretty simple, they satisfy nicely. Will Captain Kronos discover the identity of the evil that plagues the village before he succumbs to it himself? What secret does Dr. Marcus harbor? Do we get to see Caroline Munro in the raw? Watch the movie and find out...

I really enjoyed a number of elements within this film. The notion that there are actually different types of vampires, and different methods of dispatch for each was a nice touch. Also, Janson really provided a wonderful performance as the sort of swashbuckling hero, one with no fear, and an eagerness to perform his self define task of ridding the lands of the scourge of vampirism. I also liked that his friend and maybe even mentor, the hunchbacked Professor Grost was actually presented as a highly intelligent individual, capable of assisting his friend in their exploits with the undead. The swordplay within the movie was a whole lot of fun, but I was a bit perplexed with scenes where Kronos would jam his swords into the ground, or use them to dig in the dirt. I know little of swords, but I would have thought a master swordsman would take more care with his weapons, not using them in such fashion for fear of dulling or nicking the blades. Oh well, a minor nuance that struck me as strange. The whole mystery element as to who is the vampire is played for all it's worth, and there are obtuse clues sprinkled throughout the story that may help the viewer uncover this on their own.

The print provided by Paramount looks excellent and there is a commentary track available including genre historian Jonathan Sothcott, filmmaker Brian Clemens and actress Caroline Munro. Kronos is swashbuckling action, Hammer style, and well worth looking into whether you're a fan of horror, action, or both.

Cookieman108