Captain Kronos: Vampire Hunter

Hammer was trying to change their failing and falling image in the 1970s and directed their cinematic resources towards other non-traditional horror themes. They came out with the Karnstein Trilogy of vampire films with lesbian overtones. They had Darcula meet kung fu in The Legend of the Seven Golden Vampires. Hammer showed more and more cleavage(and in many instances dispensed with the clothes altogether). They had Dr. Jekyll have a sister Hyde. And in 1973, Hammer tried to start a swashbuckling super hero vampire hunter with the film Captain Kronos, Vampire Hunter. The concept was that Kronos recently of fighting in the war, having lost his sister and mother to vampirism, set off into various European locales with his friend/hunchback/professor in search of evil to stamp out. The movie is at some points obvious parody and at others a homage of sorts to earlier Hammer pieces. The film is quite enjoyable for what it is. It does have many flaws, however, most dealing with a total lack of respect for traditional vampire lore. Day and night seem not to matter to the vampire, nor does the vampire drink for thirst but rather for eternal beauty. Okay. Credit certainly is due to the innovative and creative Brian Clemens who wrote and directed the film. The acting is acceptable. Horst Janson is okay as Kronos but really has little personal flair. Most of the film has him with his shirt off(pity more like this was not directed toward co-star Caroline Munro). Munro is okay in her role too. Really most of the acting is pretty bland with a couple good performances given by John Cater as the professor and John Carson as Dr. Marcus. The highlight of the film easily is the tavern scene when Kronos meets up with a trio of thugs led by Ian Hendry. Hendry has fun with his cameo. All in all Captain Kronos is an exciting and interesting picture to see. The sets and costumes are up to the usual high Hammer standards. The musical score is wonderful as well.

While few of the Hammer horror films took themselves too seriously it was in the 1970s when the cycle became almost a parody of itself and "Captain Kronos, Vampire Hunter" is perhaps the best example of this. Although it is a little known film it is certainly one of the best horrors, largely due to its original take on the vampire theme and imaginative, albeit risky, casting.

Rather than offer the audience another Christopher Lee dominated vampire flick, "Kronos" features Horst Janson in the title role and he is essentially the Clint Eastwood character from the Sergio Leone Spaghetti Westerns. This means Kronos is unstoppable with a sword and can kill several men with one quick swish of his blade, best displayed when the brilliant Ian Hendry and his mob make the mistake of picking a fight with him.

It is important not to take the film or the cast too seriously as this is essentially a comedy-horror. There are several very amusing scenes such as when Kronos and his hunchbacked helper struggle to find a way to destroy a particularly nasty vampire, making light of the many and varied ways to supposedly kill one of the undead.

Like all Hammer Horror films "Kronos" benefits from having a short 90- minute running time, concentrating more on action and bloodletting than the idle chat that typified Francis Ford Coppola's "Bram Stoker's Dracula". It is also good to see a vampire film in which the hero is dangerous and unpredictable and not entirely wholesome such as the Van Helsing character often is.

Anyone who found "Blade" to be too noisy and over-the-top (karate and vampires do not go together) should watch "Kronos" which is essentially the same film but far more subtle - like the difference between using a scalpel and a chainsaw.

Proof definite that Hammer could survive without Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing, or even their borrowed Universal monsters (Frankenstein's monster, Dracula, the Mummy). Kronos is an entirely original take on vampires and monster-hunting. Brian Clements (The Avengers) has fun with the concept, and you're never quite sure if you're watching a parody or a homage. Kronos works either way, though. Check out the swordfight scene that's a parody of every Western ever, when Kronos kills three men before they (or us) can see him draw his sword. Lots of action, and an interesting vampire concept, make for a must-see movie.

Now I'm a big horror fan, but ironically enough I finally decided to give this one a go because of the western and swordfighting angle it has (I'm a big fan of both spaghetti westerns and chambaras). And therein lies the power of Captain Kronos: it's more than your typical Hammer vampire entry. It manages to be both serious and tongue-in-cheek, both atmospheric and visceral, and thus operates on a whole other level than earlier Hammer vampire flicks which I find very formulaic.

Captain Kronos is a swashbuckling vampire hunter, a mixture of the spaghetti western cool anti-hero and the antagonist of evil that is usually the Van Helsing character. In true Clint Eastwood fashion, he smokes a stump, swaps the poncho for an 18th century army jacket and the six shooter for various swords (including a katana). His sidekick is the witty vampire expert Professor Grost and along with Carla, a gypsy girl they pick along the way (played by Caroline Munro), they're called upon to solve a case of vampirism in rural England.

What strikes me about Captain Kronos is the exceptional cinematography. Director Brian Clemens employs some very inventive angles to photograph the action, leaving more to the mind's eye through use of shadows and eliptical editing. Highlights include the shadow of a cross coming to life and the shadow of a man being hanged seen through a window. The exterior shots are all well composed, with the thick black soil, the trees and the bleak weather all coming together as the perfect setting for the vampires to wreak havoc. There are also some very chillng moments (like the hooded vampires in the forest and a very creepy old lady), so don't be mistaken: Captain Kronos might take its cue from action movies, but it's still essentially a horror flick at heart.

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.

Anyways, this is a movie that deserves to be rediscovered by all sorts of 70's b-movie fans. I'm not a vampire fan by any means, so it's very refreshing to see a movie playing with the conventions and clichés of the sub-genre (which I find tiresome for the most part) in entertaining ways.

I'm a big Hammer fan and have been wanting to see 'Captain Kronos: Vampire Hunter' for a long, long time. Now finally I own it on DVD and after watching it four times I think it could very well be my favourite from the studio. It's definitely without a doubt THE most underrated Hammer movie. It did poorly at the box office but it now has one of the most enthusiastic cult followings of any Hammer film. Quentin Tarantino is reportedly a big fan of this movie and seeing how it inventively draws upon several genres (e.g. Westerns) it's really no surprise. Hammer's long running Dracula franchise was running out of steam by the early 70s, and they were looking for a new series. Enter Brian Clemens of 'The Avengers' fame, who had previously written 'Dr. Jekyll And Sister Hyde' for the studio. He came up with some innovative ideas and he thought that this would be the first of many movies to feature the Captain Kronos character. Sadly it wasn't to be, and attempts to spin off a TV series also fell through. Watching it thirty years later I just can't understand why! Anyway, German actor Horst Janson plays Captain Kronos, the enigmatic, sword wielding, dope smoking action hero, and John Cater ('The Abominable Dr. Phibes') is his hunchback assistant Professor Grost. These are two fantastic characters, and I would love to have seen further adventures by them! Horror buffs will also get a kick out of the rest of the cast. The gorgeous Caroline Munro ('Maniac') is a gypsy girl who falls for Kronos, John Carson ('The Plague Of The Zombies') is Kronos' old doctor buddy, Shane Briant ('Frankenstein And The Monster From Hell') is a local young gentleman, and Wanda Ventham (Colonel Virginia Lake in the cult series 'UFO') plays Briant's invalid mother Lady Durward. On top of that there's a fantastic cameo by Ian Hendry ('Repulsion', 'Theatre Of Blood'). Hendry had been one of the original stars of 'The Avengers' playing John Steed's first partner in the little seen early episodes. A hard drinker, his career eventually suffered because of his vices, but he is terrific confronting Kronos in one of the best scenes of the movie. I really find it hard to fault this film. I think it's a forgotten horror classic, and why anyone would even bother contemplating watching the likes of 'Blade' or 'Van Helsing' when 'Captain Kronos: Vampire Hunter' is sitting on the shelf waiting to be rediscovered is beyond me! I wholeheartedly recommend this movie to every horror fan. I can't see how any fan of the genre couldn't help but love this unfairly overlooked Hammer gem!