The MovieStarring Horst Janson, John Carson, Shane Briant, Caroline
Munro, John Cater
Directed by Brian Clemens
Written by Brian Clemens
Produced
by Brian Clemens, Albert Fennell "There are many kinds of vampire",
we are told ... and in this movie, the vampire is taking not just blood, but the
youth of the young, female, victims. Captain Kronos, with almost 'super' powers
of speed, agility and swordsmanship arrives to save the village. ReviewStylish
late Hammer entry "Made in 1972, but not released until 1974, this
is an interesting departure from Hammer's usual vampire cycle, which consisted
of the Dracula series, and the softcore Le Fanu adaptations. Horst Janson
plays the swordsman Captain Kronos travelling the European countryside hunting
all things fanged, ably assisted by his hunchbacked friend Professor Hieronymous
Grost, an expert in vampire mythology. He comes to a village where all the young
women are ageing and dying prematurely, and realises something is clearly very
wrong. Janson is a bit wooden as the title hero, but John Cater is excellent
as Grost, and Caroline Munro is also excellent as Kronos' feisty love interest
Carla. What really makes the film a winner for me is some lovely stylistic touches
such as the flowers and vegetation withering as the vampire passes and theres
some welcome black humour to be found in the film as well." - Mr. Jonathon
T. Beckett "vampire lover" Carry On With A Fistful Of Garlic Writer
and Director Brian Clemens brought a real sense of originality to the various
Hammer projects he was involved in at the start of the 1970s. Nowhere is that
more evident than in this wonderful cross genre piece of Hammer Vampire Hokum
starring Horst Janson and the lovely Caroline Munro. The story plays like
a Segio Leone western mixed with "Carry On Film" style romp transported
to the darkest regions of 19th century Eastern Europe with Janson playing his
hero completely straight only adding to the fun of this refreshing twist in Hammer's
later rather lacklustre vampire cycle." - Martin Lewis (Englander in Holstein) Slow
but sure I really enjoyed this refreshing variation on the vampire theme;
the usual Hammer stodginess was broken by a quality script with more than its
fair share of dreadful puns. But it is a little dated, and very slow by today's
standards. It's well into the movie before Kronos is anything but a silent figure
on a horse, and by then the local maidens are dropping like flies. The casting
is excellent, with the 'strong silent type' Kronos (Janson), ably supported by
the witty Grost (Cater) and the beautiful Carla (Munro). The 'surprise' ending
was a little over the top, but hey, this is Hammer! - Drakmeister The DVDFormat:
Full Screen, PAL
Aspect Ratio: Full Screen:1
Number of discs: 1
Studio:
Simply Media
DVD Release Date: 16 Jun 2003
Run Time: 87 minutes | 
