Review of The Fearless Vampire Killers (1967) by David S — 14 Oct 2016

Writer/director/star Roman Polanski is one of those people like Mel Gibson who is an awful person in real life, who I always feel that I need to qualify my reviews of their work, but who's films never fail to blow me away and are among my favorites.

In this film, Polanski does an amazing job of mixing fairly tale horror and slapstick comedy. Professor Abronsius and his faithful assistant Alfred (Polanski) on investigating vampirism in the mountainous regions of Transylvania.

This was Polanski's first color film and was also his first major English language film, although must of the film is told visually and dialogue is kept to a minimum. Polanski is an absolute master of camera movement, as the camera sleepily drifts around the snow swept landscapes and castle parapets.

The production design and overall atmosphere are spot on and feel completely unique to any other vampire film, feeling as if it is a bloody, bodice ripping, fairy tale, but with a surreal hallucinatory quality that also seems very befitting of the psychedelic 1960s.

The photography by Douglas Slocombe is amazing and the music by Krzysztof Komeda, who'd later score Polanski's "Rosemary's Baby," is amazing (I need to go buy it now!). The film is filled with memorable images that have been burned into by brain, like the snowflakes falling on Tate in the bathtub, Polanski's feet hopping across the castle rooftops, or even throwaway shots like the closeup of the hunchback sliding down the hill in the coffin.

The film is not as gratuitous or hard edged as the Hammer horror films and is not as goofy as AIP horror comedies aimed at children. Polanski crafted something completely original that absolutely holds up today as something smart, clever and still wonderfully unique.