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This review is for the Blu-Ray edition of 'Captain Kronos: Vampire Hunter' released by Shout Factory! in 2019.
*****NOTE***** I'm giving this release 5 stars based on the extra's and picture. I'd give the movie itself a 6 or 7 out of 10 or 3 1/2 stars.
*****NOTE 2*****For those new to this movie, it was made in the early 1970's.
"IS THIS MOVIE RELATED TO THE KARNSTEIN TRILOGY?": Probably not. It takes place in a different part of Europe. Confusion comes into play because of the name of one of the vampires. Lady Durward says that her name is "Karnstein" by birth. The name sounds like "Karnstein" or "Karstein". The subtitles show it spelled as "Colstine" (however, I have seen subtitles misspell names many time). I've heard that the original script has it written as "Karnstein". So it's not certain if that was the original intent or not. The movie itself has not other parts that would suggest it is related to the trilogy.
BLU-RAY: The picture looks about as good as it can look. The print is very clean and the colors look good. This movie was barely shown back during it's original run and the original elements were probably in excellent shape. This is often the case with movies that didn't receive much fanfare. The result is this nice clean picture. Many of these Hammer Horror films didn't have the sharpest pictures to begin with due to how they were shot. This one looks fairly sharp but a bit soft in spots. I would suspect that anyone looking to purchase this release would be happy with it. The movie is shown in a 1.85:1 aspect ratio. The runtime is 98 minutes.
EXTRA'S:
-Audio Commentary with film historian Bruce G. Hallenbeck - I listened to most of this as well as the other commentary. I almost always prefer the commentary involving the people involved. The newer commentary tries to come up with some new material that has come to light in the subsequent years. I tend to find the solo commentaries by historians to be dry. They are informative but I don't like listening to biographies of every person involved. I would recommend listening to the alternate commentary provided in this release.
-Audio Commentary with writer/director/producer Brian Clemens, Actress Caroline Munro and film historian
Jonathan Sothcott - Brian Clemens dominates this commentary. Munro chips in here and there and the historian Jonathan Sothcott, pretty much lets the other two do their thing. Clemens, repeatedly compliments Caroline Munro and good-naturedly 'hits' on her constantly, can't say I blame him. (though obviously today, unfortunately, there are many in this world who would call this harassment and call for his cancelation. This commentary was made around 20 years ago).
-Documentary: Anything Goes: Hammer Film in the 70's - This is a 33 minute modern documentary with Stephen Jones and Kim Newman. This is a Hammer lovefest by two 60ish guys who saw Hammer films in the theater when they were young. The reminisce about going to the theater and discuss their experiences sneaking into the theater and the influence the movies had on them. They discuss many of the Hammer films and all horror movies in general from the time period. They give a little extra time to 'Captain Kronos'. Photo's of the movies they discuss flash on the screen as they discuss them.
-Theatrical Trailer - Trailer is shown in standard definition and size and is 2mn47sec.
-Radio Spots -There are several radio spots and they total 3mn2sec.
-Subtitles
AHEAD OF IT'S TIME? This movie was made toward the end of Hammer Horror's run. The vampire formula had become 'tired' and repetitive. They were looking for something different for a vampire movie. Therefore, Hammer decided to go with a vampire movie in which the focus was on a Vampire Hunter. This formula was well ahead of it's time and would be used in later years. Most notably, the hit series, 'Buffy, The Vampire Slayer' would use this idea.
WHY THE ODD TITLE?: The director and writer, Brian Clemens, came up with the idea to call the main character 'Kronos' after the Greek word for time. The reason was that he was hoping that this movie would lead to a series of films using the character. By using the name 'Kronos', he felt that the character could be used in any time period. Dracula movies tended to move around to different locations and time periods. Effectively, the Kronos name might imply that he was a time traveler of some sort even if he really wasn't. Clemens, to further his reason for choosing the name 'Kronos' says that "evil is timeless".
*****WARNING - LOTS OF SPOILERS BELOW*****
PLOT/SUMMARY: A village has had a series of death's involving women who are seemingly drained of their youth. They appear to be old and withered right after they are attacked by an unknown attacker.
Dr. Marcus (John Carson) sends a message to Captain Kronos, a vampire hunter, to come to his village and help out with what he believes are vampire attacks. Kronos travels with his friend Grost, a hunchback. They are not sure if the attacks are from vampires due to the nature of the death's. Grost, a professor, says that their are different types of vampires. While travelling to the village, Kronos and Grost come across a young girl who is locked in stocks and is being punished.
Marcus pays a visit to the family of his deceased friend, Lord Durward. They do not allow him to speak to Lady Durward. The Durward's have two children, Sara and Paul. While returning home, Marcus comes across a cloaked figure and he discovers blood on his lips. He has been turned into a vampire.
In a local tavern, Kronos is attacked by thugs hired by Lady Durward but he defeats them. Marcus begs Kronos to kill him. After several attempts to grant him his wish, they discover that a cross made of steel can kill a vampire. They retrieve a steel cross from a cemetery and turn it into a sword. One evening, Kronos notices the carriage of the Durward's leave the scene of a vampire attack. Kronos, Grost and Carla plot to enter the home and confront the Durward's.
Carla, acts as human bait and approaches the house, telling the Durwards that she needs shelter. While there, Lady Durward, now looking youthful after previously being shown to be very old and decrepit, hypnotizes Carla and her two children. Grost and Kronos sneak into the home. They encounter Lady Durward and to their surprise, Lord Durward emerges from a room...
PRODUCTION: Even though this movie was filmed in 1972, it did not hit theaters until 1974. It was part of a double bill with 'Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell'. It was distributed by Paramount in the U.S.
-James Carreras, head of Hammer Productions at the time, was less than enthusiastic about this film. He did not like making a film that was different than the traditional Hammer Horror film and didn't think the production team took the movie seriously enough. The people involved, including the actors, were disappointed that the movie received so little fanfare and was barely promoted. The rumor was that Carreras wanted a tax write off. I'm not sure I believe that rumor, as Hammer was losing money on all their films at the time.
-The director, Brian Clemens, also wrote the script and made over 1000 story boards for the movie. He also designed the stakes and logo for Captain Kronos among other things. He says he was heavily influenced by the great director, John Ford. He sort of wrote a vampire western.
-The part of Carla was specifically designed for her personality. The character that writer/director had in mind would have been different but needed a different type of actress. I think that Carla smiles too much in this movie. I thought it was kind of inappropriate considering the seriousness of the plot. Though the movie does have a touch of black humor.
-Ian Hendry was given a role in this movie under the condition that he did not drink. Hendry was a bad alcoholic and it was affecting his career. He mostly followed the rules, but not exactly. Clemens elaborates in the commentary.
-There is a British comic book series that was written about Captain Kronos and there has been a novelization of this movie (in 2011) as well.
WHO WAS THAT GUY WHO PLAYED CAPTAIN KRONOS?: The actor's name was Horst Janson. He is a German actor who is still alive, as of the time of this review in 2020. The vast majority of his acting took place in Germany for German productions. He does appear a few times in English speaking movies.
"I DO ALL MY OWN STUNTS": This is an often repeated line spoken by many proud actors. It usually is not true but in the case of this movie, it is. Horst Janson did all of his own stunts in 'Captain Kronos'. He was/is an experienced horse rider and can fence. Since the actor who plays LordDurward, William Hobbs, was a choreographer of fencing battles, the fight scenes looked more authentic than usual since no doubles were needed.
WHO WAS THE BEAUTIFUL WOMAN, WHERE HAVE I SEEN HER BEFORE?: That woman is Caroline Munro, who is still alive today, as of 2020 (age 71). I don't think I have ever seen a 'hotter' looking girl in a fantasy film then when I saw her in 'The Golden Voyage of Sinbad'. Just go and google some pictures from that movie.
Munro would probably be most recognized by James Bond fans, as she appeared in two Bond movies. She was in 'Casino Royale (1967)' in a minor part and she was Naomi in 'The Spy Who Loved Me (1977)' She also played the role of Dia in 'At the Earth's Core (1976)'. I mention these movies because to me, while growing up, they were her most visible roles. She appeared in quite a few other movies that movie fans would recognize including another movie for Hammer, 'Dracula A.D. 1972 (1972)'.
WHY DOES JOHN CARSON SEEM SO FAMILIAR? Well for starters, he was a very prolific actor and appeared in innumerable movies and television shows throughout the 60's and 70's and had a very long career that started in the 50's and went into the 2000's. Another often commented reason he seems so familiar is, that much to his annoyance, he sounds a lot like the famous actor, James Mason. His voice was one of the main reasons he got hired so often. Carson, didn't really like being compared to James Mason.
WHERE IS EVERYONE? Hammer Productions was having a lot of difficulty at the time this movie was made. Their American money had dried up and they needed to get financing elsewhere. It appears as one of their cost cutting measures was eliminating extra's. You see almost nobody. The town that this movie centers around looks lifeless. Carla, while being punished, is in the middle of nowhere. What kind of a deterrent is that?
COMMENTS/THOUGHTS:
IS IT REALLY THAT HARD TO KILL AN IMMORTAL CREATURE?: I've always had an issue with this sort of thing. What would happen if they just cut the vampire's head off... or did a 'Monty Python' on them and cut off all the limbs? How about crushing the vampire or at the very least chaining it up and burying it in a hole or bury it in cement? If in the modern world, you could do a lot worse. How about a hand grenade or explosive or even a chainsaw? To be fair, at the time they didn't have CGI. I suppose they could use special effects to show wounds resealing as you cut through or something like that.
BTW... the bit about vampires only 'bleeding during death' was made up for this movie.
WAIT... WHAT?... : At the end of the movie, Captain Kronos takes off with Grost, leaving behind Carla in that desolate town, in order to continue on with his adventures. Wait... What!?!... I'd understand if he didn't like women but he proves in the movie that this is not the case. How could he leave a girl like that behind??? It wasn't even as if she was dead weight... She was willing to participate in his adventures and was even willing to be bait, FFSake... I get it, if he was so in love that he didn't want to endanger her. But he could have at least brought her somewhere safe that he could come back to. Or at least tried. He takes off, getting nothing more than a blown kiss...
And we are still waiting for his adventures to continue...
DO VAMPIRES BRING DEAD FROGS BACK TO LIFE?: This part of the movie appears to be made up specifically for this movie. I have never heard of this sort of thing before. It is possible that the idea may come from old folklore.
WHAT I LIKE:
-I like that they did something different by focusing on the vampire hunter. At the time, Hammer Horror was dying and money from American studio's had dried up. They were trying different things. They brought Dracula into the modern world ('Dracula A.D. 1972' (1972)). They tried a new Frankenstein, with Ralph Bates ('Horror of Frankenstein (1970)') and added 'black humor'. They made 'Dr. Jekyll & Sister Hyde (1971)', a distinct twist on the old story. These are just a few of the ideas they tried. Unfortunately nothing was working. I kind of liked these new movies.
-Most people think the best scene in the movie was when Grost and Kronos try and kill Dr. Marcus. I agree. I just wish they would have extended it and tried a few more things.
-Caroline Munro. Back then, she made every movie she was in look better.
-I like John Carson as an actor.
-The fencing duel is very good, as pointed out above in '"I DO ALL MY OWN STUNTS"'.
WHAT I DON'T LIKE:
-I think that for many parts of this movie, the music is awful, including the main theme. In the commentary, the director states that he loves it. Maybe I'm in the minority, but I just think that trumpet (or whatever instrument it is) is incredibly annoying. Overall, the score just doesn't seem to fit. For me, it seems lit it would be more appropriate for a war movie in which you have armies charging at one another.
-The movie looks devoid of human life, as I note above. You never get the impression that there are people around. This sometimes was the case in Hammer Horror movies. I guess they didn't like to spend money on extra's.
-What was Carla doing locked up, outside, in the middle of nowhere. Would they really do that to a girl that looked as good as she did? I doubt it. The scene just looked odd. You would expect them to encounter a person like that in the middle of town where she could be used as an example. Anybody could just free her if she was in the middle of nowhere.
-Speaking of Carla, as I elaborate above in the 'WAIT... WHAT?' section, what is Captain Kronos doing, abandoning her forever when he had a partner willing to participate in his heroic deeds...
CONCLUSIONS: This movie was filmed near the end of Hammer Horror's original run. They were looking for no ideas, as their movies from the 60's had become repetitive. The idea for a vampire hunter was a bit ahead of it's time but would become mainstream in the years to come. This movie is actually quite entertaining, even though it has never received much notoriety. I don't very much like the title, nor do I like the soundtrack, but I like the movie.
The release is a good one. For extra's, you get two audio commentaries and a documentary.
RECOMMENDATIONS/RATINGS:
Plot: 7/10 or 3 1/2 stars - Not the best reputation, and a bit on the low budget side, but entertaining.
Picture: 8/10 or 4 stars - Probably as good as it can look.
Extra's:8/10 or 4 stars - Two audio commentaries and a documentary is always worth 4 stars as far as I'm concerned.
Overall: 4 stars - A good release for an OK film... I'm bumping it up to 5 stars just because...
IF YOU LIKE THIS THEN TRY:
-Buffy the Vampire Slayer television series
-Van Helsing (2004)
-Horror of Dracula (1958)
-Brides of Dracula (1960)
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Customer reviews
B-grade fun, and a stroll down memory lane
Reviewed in the United States on June 9, 2021
Hammer films were a staple for B-grade fun in the 70s and 80s.This is one of his classics.The production costs were low, and the actors were "chewing on the scenery" in terms of overacting.Altogether, excellent.The premise is that Captain Kronos (a former military leader) has become a vampire hunter along with his hunchbacked, brilliant companion who knows the ins and outs of the hundreds of types of vampires there are. (Who knew? Kronos, that's who.)Of course, it has some steamy scenes with the beautiful lass that they picked up as a hitchhiker at the beginning of the episode, and by the end, she was waving goodbye to Captain K as he rides away into the sunset.It is a B-grade film so do not require too much in the way of continuity. For example, the woman who leaves Captain K has no means, no skills, and no friends. How is she going to survive? The world will never know, but if you picked up this movie, you do not care either.All in all, it is a fun film, well worth watching.
Reviewed in the United States on June 9, 2021
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great film (but take care which version!)
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