Review of Captain Kronos: Vampire Hunter (1973) by Douglas C — 10 Feb 2008

Successful entry in the Hammer horror vault due to very artful direction by Brian Clemens who also wrote the intelligent script. Kronos (Horst Janson), he of the too-tight trousers and too-short tunic, arrives in a village where young women are found in the forest with withered faces, drained of life. Is this the work of a new species of vampire? Hunchbacked professor Grost (John Cater) and wild beauty Carla (Caroline Munro) accompany Kronos as he roots out this menace in the 18th century.

There are many violent acts but interestingly very little is shown onscreen, apart from a fairly competently staged sword duel. Instead we see the aftermath - blood dripping down a lampshade or a basket of broken eggs carried by a victim - which doesn't give much of a visceral thrill but I appreciated its unusual cerebral style. I also liked how the identity of the vampire(s) are not who you might suspect at first, so the surprise ending was genuinely a surprise!