Captain Kronos: Vampire Hunter

I've only seen a couple of Hammer horror films, but I'm impressed. They seem to be subtly effective if you're looking for a few thrills and chills, not overdoing the gore, being mild on the language but yet having a definite edge to them.

"Captain Kronos" isn't super but it's enjoyable. The direction is excellent, the DVD transfer looked nice, and - like a good mystery - there's a good twist at the end regarding the murderer, er.....vampire. For us guys, there are also a lot of pretty women in here, too. The acting isn't the best but who cares? It's entertaining, and not made to be taken seriously.

I enjoyed the team of "Captain Kronos and Professor Hieronymous-Grost," and I'm surprised there wasn't a sequel. These two guys make a good team: Horst Janson as the younger, dashing swordsman, and John Cater as the older assistant. The latter provides a little comic relief, too. Their relationship reminded me a bit of Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce at "Holmes and Watson."

The good captain is not your normal vampire hunter. He's just as anxious to get it on with the ladies, and he has a sexy one for a partner in Caroline Munro as "Carla." Kronos also smokes "herbal" cigars! The brief touches of comedy, western, swashbuckling, horror, mystery, romance, sex, supernatural, and who-knows-what else all make it an inventive and fun hour-and-a-half. Hey, it even gives God several good plugs! This horror movie is different, all right.

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.

This agreeable terror/adventure movie dals with Captain Kronos : Hort Janson, he is a tough predator of ominous foes , as he tracks down , hunts and confronts by fencing bloodthirsty enemies, and , finally, a family of vampires in this thrilling Hammer horror hybrid . Along the way captain Kronos faces off a nasty contender : Ian Hendry and saves as well as falls in love for a beautiful country girl in distress : Caroline Munro. And, eventualy, fights horrifying and dark forces. Evil Ends Here. A blood lust for eternal youth!.The Only Man Alive. Feared by the Walking Dead!

This chiller is originally mounted with nice photography by Ian Wilson, as well as lively musical score by Laurie Johnson, displaying an attractive plot with a peculiar protagonist , a sort of gothic superhero who stalks and is stalked by his preys. Being well written and filmed with tongue firmly in cheek by Brian Clemens who on this occasion sat in the filmmaker's chair as well, resulting in a mixed bag containing adventures, swashbuckling, terrifying scenes and spectacular fencing. Stars Horst Janson is pretty well as the vampire hunter who will stop at nothing to get his main goal : to hunt and kill bloodsuckers. And there are fine and fetching roles for John Cater as his hunchback helper, John Carson as a doctor, the feared young Shane Briant, Lois Daine as his mysterious sister , Wanda Wentham as an old vampyr woman and the always gorgeous Caroline Munro.

This enjoyable motion picture that isn't at all typical of Hammer's output comes from the fertile brain of Brian Clemens who directed as well, being his only one. He developed a long career with Albert Fennell at times, and mostly in television, as he penned many TV episodes from known series as Avengers, Bugs, Perry Mason, Alfred Hitchcock presents, Remington Steele, The champions, Danger man, The expert, Tension, My wife next door, Darkroom, Suspicion, The protectors, Quiller, The man of the clown, Wideworld of mysteries, The Baron, CSI the new professionals. And occassionaly for cinema as Highlanders II, Highway to battle, Trasatlantic. Rating : 6.5/10. Decent Hammer horror. Better than average .

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.

Was Horst Janson really forty years old when he made this? Damn, the man looked good!

Horst plays Captain Kronos, a man who wears a snappy uniform and hunts youth-draining vampires in the company of an affable hunchback. He also wears a bag on his head as part of some bizarre meditative ritual. Aside from the bag-wearing part, he's a solid action hero, and it's a shame that Hammer never turned this good little movie into one of its long-running franchises.

The acting is a highlight: John "don't call me Johnny" Carson gives one of his typically likable and neurotic performances as Doctor Marcus, Wanda Ventham makes a lovely villainess, and Ian Hendry has an amusing cameo as an obnoxious thug (how the mighty had fallen, though -wasn't he a star at one point?). There's also great lines aplenty and some nice choreography for the sword-fights.

This is the kind of movie that Full Moon - or for that matter, Dimension films - wishes it could make. Alas, modern horror is usually too gross and uninventive to match the charm and creativity of a Hammer "classic" such as "Captain Kronos."