Captain Kronos: Vampire Hunter (1974)

Two self-proclaimed vampire hunters investigate a series of attacks on young women in this unusual Hammer horror film with lots of swashbuckling and no Peter Cushing or Christopher Lee. The plot is a bit more complex than just that as the attacks have not lead to the young women dying (or being turned into vampires) but rather have resulted in them being drained of their youth. The makeup effects are incredible and lead to some truly jolting moments as the victims look around to reveal their wrinkled faces. The alternative spin on vampire mythology does not just end there; the film's vampires are creatures who just want to stay young, dead toads are used to catch vampires, their mere presence wilts flowers and in one of the best scenes, the hunters unsuccessfully experiment with killing one of their friends who has turned into a vampire. Horst Janson is a tad bland in the lead role, and other than Ian Hendry (who is barely on screen) and Caroline Munro, this is not an especially well acted affair, nor does it have the deep characters that may have rendered it a more memorable Hammer production. The film is always interesting though while it lasts with its unconventional take on vampirism, Laurie Johnson's music comes with an appropriate sense of grandeur and there are several quite exciting sequences thanks to well choreographed swordplay.

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.Thing begin well in the best Hammer tradition as a girl, picking flowers in a lush woodland, is attacked by a black-caped vampire whose face is kept hidden for most of the movie (adding a murder mystery slant to the proceedings). The local village doctor, Marcus, played by veteran John Carson - on the rare side of good this time - calls in his old war buddy Kronos to help out, and here the fun begins. On his arrival, Kronos frees a gypsy girl from the stocks, played by Caroline Munro. Munro has an underwritten role as per usual but she's sufficiently glamorous for the part.Along with Kronos comes the hunchback Grost, played to perfection by John Cater. Grost is a most unusual character, who hunts for vampires by burying dead toads in boxes around the area. However, this isn't as weird as it sounds, as apparently when a vampire passes it will cause the toad to return to life, as is proved later on in the film. There is much enjoyment to be gained from watching this film, not least from the fun Clemens and co. have from playing with vampire folklore in general. For example, here the victims are not drained of blood, but actually drained of life, so that they are discovered withered and aged when dead. Along with the aforementioned dead toads, there are lots of other neat little ideas to look out for, like when time actually stops for a few seconds. The vampire also wilts flowers and mushrooms when passing them by in the wood, a clever effect if ever I saw one.The special effects are actually quite limited in this film, although what appears is pretty good. The old-age makeup looks realistic, and there's a brief vampire dissolve in the best Dracula tradition. The film isn't very gory for the period, although there is a bloody bat attack and a cool scene where a man loses his arms after being run over by a coach. The acting is generally spot-on, with few exceptions. Horst Janson makes for an athletic and interesting hero, and he is given nice, odd touches of characterisation like the fact that he smokes and uses leeches on his back to clear his mind. Cater is brilliant as his assistant, and as I mentioned Caroline Munro provides sufficient glamour if not acting ability. John Carson is excellent as per usual in his sympathetic turn, and Shane Briant is fine. Ian Hendry turns up briefly but is magnificent as a cruel goon who finds himself on the receiving end of Janson's sword in a bar-room battle. Although some of the lesser actresses aren't that good, both Wanda Ventham and Lois Daine have fine, strong roles.Other bits to look out for include some nice references to westerns and adventure films of the past, like the scene where Janson takes out Hendry and two of his men in a swift movement, with the sword replacing a revolver in this case. The ending is also a good one. There's a brilliant sword fight which recalls THE ADVENTURES OF ROBIN HOOD and all of the swashbucklers that have come since, and doesn't disappoint in the least. Finally, the fine photography brings out the atmosphere of the British countryside, especially effective in some spooky (daylight) graveyard sequences. I would say that this neglected Hammer classic offers up a bit of everything for the genre fan and proves to be one of their best.

Captain Kronos is a little different for Hammer, but a worthy addition to their canon of films. Fitting into Hammer easily with the same feel and Gothic style, but different in its approach with some original and new ideas for its time. Just like the title indicates our hero is Captain Kronos and his occupation is to hunt vampires. He is an expert swordsman formerly of the King's Imperial Guard, self employed with his hunchback assistant Grost. They investigate a village that has their young women drained of their youth by a vampire. Speaking of women, our hero Kronos has a great one, picking up gypsy girl(Caroline Monroe) who is gorgeous, talented and worked on many classic horror flicks, most notably the ultra brutal 1980 classic Maniac. The rules for killing vampires are different and varied in this film and according to expert Grost there are many different kinds of vampires as well. Our hero Kronos , played by Horst Janson is kind of a half vampire who survived getting bit by one and continues to hunt them. Captain Kronos Vampire Hunter is way ahead of its time as a hybrid of horror and action, throwing in elements from western and samurai films. The action is not nearly as abundant as in a film like Blade, but I'm pretty sure Kronos influenced it. Captain Kronos Vampire Hunter is one of my favorites of the later Hammer films, as well as being one of the most well made also. If you are a fan of both action and horror, Kronos comes highly recommended.

In the English countryside, bizarre murders have been occurring as some of the women in the village have been drained of their age and killed instantly. A local Doctor named Marcus (John Carson) calls upon a vampire killer named Kronos (Horst Janson) along with hump-backed assistant Grost (John Cater) to investigate these strange occurrences. They team up with lovely gypsy (Caroline Munro) as they fight this unique kind of vampire creature that drains youth/lifeforces/souls/energy instead of blood yet also turns people into soul-draining vampires.Brilliant and very original Hammer production! this is probably their second best movie besides "Horror of Dracula" and one of my favorite movies since i was a kid. What is really outstanding that it has a breath of fresh air over the tired same old bloodsucking vampire routine as instead it goes for the energy-draining psychic vampire routine told in vampire legends mainly in Asia to Japan where they have vampires of that sort. The movies "Sleepwalkers", "Lifeforce" and others besides this have told of this kind of vampire on the big screen. The vampires in this movie do cast reflections and can walk in the daylight, Grost even educates the audiences there is more than one species of vampire when there are other kinds of vampires in the world that have powers different than any of the Dracula kind and can be killed in any way.The performances are very good, it's loaded with action and charisma peppered with a few humorous moments and a new twist to the vampire legend. Miss Munro is lovely as usual and this film has a nice combination of vampire flick and swashbuckler all rolled in one. This movie was a major inspiration to the Blade movies, Van Helsing, Buffy The Vampire Slayer and even the Castlevania games.A must watch! it also teaches people there is more than one kind of vampire to hit the screen when there are other legends.