Captain Kronos: Vampire Hunter [Blu-ray]

Director: Brian Clemens Brian Clemens

Overview

A late entry from the foundering Hammer Studios, this intriguing and highly original twist on the vampire motif -- featuring for once a hero more charismatic than the vampires with which he does battle -- was the first in a planned series of Kronos films, but poor planning on behalf of its overseas distributors killed the franchise's great potential in the American market. Kronos (Horst Janson) -- a kind of swashbuckling Sherlock Holmes of the occult sciences -- and his hunchbacked companion Professor Grost (John Cater), arrive in the village of Durward where the local young wenches are being victimized by a family of vampires that drain youth, not blood, from their victims, turning them into withered old hags. Kronos' mystical intuition and powers of deduction lead him to the elderly Lady Durward (Wanda Ventham) and her pompous children Paul (Shane Briant) and Sara (Lois Daine), and he soon squares off against his vampiric foes with a lethal sword (fashioned from a sacred cross) and a bag of occult tricks (including an interesting use of dead frogs). Well-photographed and cleverly directed by Brian Clemens (Dr. Jekyll & Sister Hyde), this is one of Hammer's few attempts to broaden its audience in the 1970's -- a trend which reached its zenith of zaniness with everybody kung fu fighting in the Hammer/Shaw Brothers collaboration Legend of the Seven Golden Vampires.

Product Details

Release Date:	04/14/2020
UPC:	0826663207828
Original Release:	1974
Rating:	R
Source:	Shout Factory
Region Code:	A
Language:	English
Time:	1:31:00
Sales rank:	17,246

Special Features

New Audio Commentary with film historian Bruce G. Hallenbeck; New "Anything Goes: Hammer Film in The '70s" featurette; Audio Commentary with Writer/Director/Producer Brian Clemens, Actress Caroline Munro and Hammer Film Historian Jonathan Sothcott; Theatrical Trailer; Radio Spots

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Horst Janson	Kronos
John Cater	Grost
John Carson	Dr. Marcus
Shane Briant	Paul Durward
Caroline Munro	Carla
Lois Daine	Sara Durward
Wanda Ventham	Lady Durward
Ian Hendry	Kerro
Brian Tully	George Sorell
Elizabeth Dear	Ann Sorell
Trevor Lawrence	Deak
Terence Sewards	Tom
William Hobbs	Hagen
Lisa Collings	Vanda Sorell
Susanna East	Isabella Sorell
Neil Seiler	Priest
Olga Anthony	Lilian
Penny Price	Whore
Linda Cunningham	Jane
Robert James	Pointer
John Hollis	Barman
Peter Davidson	Big Man
Laurie Johnson	Composer

Technical Credits

Brian Clemens

Brian Clemens	Director,Producer,Screenwriter
Albert Fennell	Producer
Bill Rowe	Sound/Sound Designer
Jim Willis	Sound/Sound Designer
A.W. Lumkin	Sound/Sound Designer

Editorial Reviews

This clever revisionist take on vampire lore is one of the last great Hammer Films productions. Captain Kronos: Vampire Hunter succeeds where many latter-day Hammer productions fall short because it manages to respect the horror genre while subverting many of its conventions: it plays up the adventure (the usual cross-and-stake finale is replaced with a swordfight) and mystery angles of its premise and flouts a key vampire-film convention by valuing its heroes over its undead villains. Veteran screenwriter Brian Clemens keeps the audience guessing by making the vampire's identity a mystery and reworking the rules of vampirism to suspenseful effect. As a director, Clemens has a little trouble with pacing during the film's midsection but makes up for that with a knack for atmosphere and a keen eye for unusual visuals (look for the moment involving a cross and its deceptive 'shadow'). Captain Kronos: Vampire Hunter's appeal is sealed by a rousing score from Laurie Johnson and inspired work from a well-chosen cast: Horst Janson is appropriately fearless as the Errol Flynn-like Kronos, Caroline Munro is spirited (and fetching) as his gypsy love and John Carter displays some offbeat charm as Kronos' sidekick. Some modern viewers might be thrown off by the film's subtle, stately approach but Captain Kronos: Vampire Hunter is a smart, very likeable film that is a worthy addition to vampire mythos.

All Movie Guide