Captain Kronos - vampire hunter
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | Captain Kronos - vampire hunter |
| Original title | Captain Kronos - Vampire Hunter |
| Country of production | United Kingdom |
| original language | English |
| Publishing year | 1974 |
| length | 91 minutes |
| Rod | |
| Director | Brian Clemens |
| script | Brian Clemens |
| production |
Albert Fennell Brian Clemens |
| music | Laurie Johnson |
| camera | Ian Wilson |
| cut | James Needs |
| occupation | |
| |
Captain Kronos - Vampire Hunter (Original Title: Captain Kronos - Vampire Hunter ) is a British horror film directed by Brian Clemens . It tells "the story of a vampire hunter from the early 19th century, Captain Kronos ( Horst Janson ), who, with Professor Grost ( John Cater ), tracks down an outbreak of vampirism before he rides off on new adventures into the sunset."
action
Country doctor Dr. Marcus is at a loss. In his village people die like flies. All women who have died have one thing in common: shortly before, they had aged in no time at all. Dr. Marcus then asks his old army comrade Captain Kronos to come to him. In its wake is the odd professor Hieronymus Grost, like Kronos a proven vampire expert . Grost makes no secret of his opinion that this is clearly a special case of vampirism. While Marcus remains skeptical at first, a recent death soon teaches him better. Grost's theory: This vampire doesn't suck blood from its victims, but from their youth.
A special test carried out by Kronos, his companion Carla and Grost proves the correctness of this special vampire theory, which, however, is contradicted by an eyewitness report. Meanwhile, Dr. Marcus paid a house call to the family of his late friend Lord Durward. There he meets his adult children Paul and Sara, but not the widow Lady Durward, who is bedridden and to whom he is not admitted. On the way home, he meets a strange, sinister figure with a few drops of blood on his lips. Meanwhile, Kronos has to fight off various types of thugs under the guidance of a certain Kerro in a pub. These men were sent to Kronos by Lady Durward's coachman to kill him.
Obviously the village is threatened by danger from the nearby forest, and so Kronos, Prof. Grost, Carla and Dr. Marcus there several alarm bells in case the suspected vampire reaches the community again. At this point a young woman is attacked and killed by a powerful vampire. Dr. Marcus has become a vampire himself and pleads with Kronos to kill him. But the classic, staking with a wooden stake, does not work with this particular form of vampirism. And so Kronos rams the steel cross into his old friend's chest that he always wears around his neck. This attempt at killing is ultimately successful. Now the remaining three know how to effectively tackle this vampire plague.
In a cemetery, Kronos and his friend Grost get a very large iron cross. Some villagers have banded together and attack the small group angrily because they believe that Kronos and his companions murdered Marcus. Kronos disarms the angry crowd, and Grost forges an effective weapon against the vampire to be fought from the consecrated iron cross: a sword. During another vampire attack, Kronos sees a carriage, which is very similar to that of the Durward family, leaving the crime scene at high speed. Kronos then decides to pay a secret visit to the family, he suspects that the vampire is hiding in the spacious property. Above all, he suspects the young Sara Durward.
While Kronos tries to break into Durward Manor and get to the bottom of things, his mate Carla chooses the official route and under a pretext asks the Durwards for refuge. Kronos' assumption is not confirmed; the Durward siblings are themselves under the spell of the bloodsucker. It was Lady Durward who brought her late husband back to life. He is now thirsting for the elixir of life and is offered by his wife Carla as a rejuvenating appetizer. At this moment, Kronos jumps out of his hiding place and, with his iron cross sword freshly forged by Grost, reflects the hypnotic gaze of the vampiresque lady who perishes in the duel as well as her resurrected husband by the sword.
After their work is done, Kronos and Grost set out on new adventures.
Production notes
Captain Kronos - Vampire Hunter was shot under the short title Kronos in 1972, completed in 1973 and made available for theatrical use, but only premiered on April 7, 1974. It was one of the last classic horror films from the Hammer Films Company .
The budget was ₤ 160,000 . The production was planned as an introduction to a number of Kronos films; However, Hammer gave up on this idea when this flick failed to achieve box-office success.
Despite considerable reviews and the casting of the German Horst Janson in the main and title role, the production, an entertaining mixture of horror and coat-and-sword film , was never shown in the cinema or on television in Germany. In 2004 Kronos was released as Captain Kronos - Vampire Hunter in Germany on DVD as part of a hammer film edition.
Reviews
The Movie & Video Guide wrote: “Unique blend of horror and swashbuckler genres follows sword-wielding stranger as he stalks new breed of vampire across European countryside. Artsy, exciting almost intoxicatingly atmospheric chiller has developed considerable following across both sides of the Atlantic; one of the best (and least typical) hammer productions ".
Halliwell's Film Guide characterized the film as follows: "Lively horror yarn with amusing asides".
Cavett Binion judged: "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."
Individual evidence
- ↑ cit. n. The House of Horror. The Story of Hammer Films, edited by Allen Eyles, Robert Adkinson, and Nicholas Fry. London 1973, p. 64.
- ↑ Leonard Maltin : Movie & Video Guide, 1996 edition, p. 197. Translation: “Unique mixture of horror and cloak-and-sword film genres shows a sword-wielding stranger who is tracking a new type of vampire across rural Europe . The elaborate, exciting, and almost intoxicating creepy stuff has a sizeable following on both sides of the Atlantic; one of the best (and least typical) hammer productions. "
- ^ Leslie Halliwell : Halliwell's Film Guide, Seventh Edition, New York 1989, p. 171. Translation: "Lively horror story with some fun."
- ^ Kronos in New York Times
- ^ Kronos in msn entertainment
- ↑ Translation: "Well photographed and cleverly staged by Brian Clemens (Dr. Jekyll and Sister Hyde), this film is one of the few attempts by Hammer-Film to increase its audience in the 70s."