Captain Kronos - Vampire Hunter (1974): Evil Ends Here.

Captain Kronos - Vampire Hunter

When I made it known the other day that I think many of Tobe Hooper's movies are crap, a couple of people left suggestions of some of his earlier works that they thought were good.  One of those suggestions was Lifeforce which is about alien energy-sucking vampires which reminded me of this film, Captain Kronos - Vampire Hunter.

This is one of the later attempts by Hammer Studios to find an audience amid the changing face of horror and the emergence of exploitation films in the 1970s.  Captain Kronos - Vampire Hunter was intended to be the first in a series of films but the idea never caught on and Hammer Films eventually withered away.

How could you not want to see this movie?  It has a swashbuckling, tights wearing, cigar smoking, vampire killing German.  If that's not enough, it also stars Caroline Munro who is very easy on the eyes. What else do you need to know?  I'll give you a short summary anyway.  Something is stalking the woods and draining the fair young maidens of their youth and vitality, leaving wrinkled old hags in their stead.  At the request of one of the villagers, professional vampire hunters Captain Kronos of the Imperial Guard and his hunchback sidekick Grost travel to the area and rescue the gypsy Carla (Caroline Munro) along the way.  Once there, they kill some local thugs, slay some vampires and track down the vampire lord who is behind all of the life-draining murders.

"Quiet dear, the men are talking."

Captain Kronos is a good film and if it had more violence and nudity it could be a great film.  My impression is that this film came out a few years too late.  It should have been made in the late sixties instead of the mid-seventies.  Still, it's worth watching.

Violence Rating:  2.5 out of 5
Booby Rating:  1.5 out of 5

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