Captain Kronos: Vampire Hunter (1974) Dir: Brian Clemmens

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After watching ten in quick succession, it became a little harder to find some of the classic Hammer horror films that I was hoping to watch. Eventually, however, I did manage to find this 1974 Hammer, directed by Brian Clemmens. I had, by this time, already seen a few Hammer-produced vampire films, but this one seems to be one of the more championed by the production company, as well as its fanbase, so I figured it was well worth viewing sooner than later.

If I were to sum the film up, it would be by describing it as; 'the good, the bad, and the bizarre'. There was a lot to digest with this fairly unique vampire horror, and not of all of it tasted good. I loved Laurie Johnson's soundtrack - it reminded me of some of the classic cinema epics, albeit on a much smaller scale. That smaller scale extended to the rest of the film too - it was clearly made on a pretty tight budget, which is not a bad thing, necessarily.

The film was shot in a very 70's way, with a lot of slow, deliberate, and oh-so-dramatic zoom-ins at the end of shots. I found it all a little bit goofy, but I can appreciate the consistency of the direction. The film didn't just look like it was from the 70's, it felt very much of its time, which is to say; it had become extremely dated in some aspects. The very clearly fake humpback on one of the characters has aged like unrefrigerated milk, and the film's very outdated perspectives on women were so 70's it hurt.

The narrative was fine, maybe a little cheesy and random, but certainly entertaining to a point. It did feel closer to a bizarre 'Robin Hood' story to a clear-cut vampire tale, but, if anything, that only made the film feel more unique. There were some really odd writing decisions, especially at the end of the film, during the epilogue, of sorts. I did not care for a lot of it, if I'm being honest. What I did enjoy was the rough-and-ready action scenes, the extremely cheesy romance angle, and the dramatic twist towards the end, albeit the relevant practical effects for this looked very silly.

Horst Janson's 'Captain Kronos' was an amusing, of-his-time, and uber-charismatic protagonist, and Janson, for his part, brought all the cheekiness and arrogance to the role that could possibly have been desired. Caroline Munro's character was awfully shallow, but her acting was still fairly enjoyable - she seemed to thrive on the innuendo and cheek, much like Janson did. The supporting cast, headed up by the likes of John Cater and John Carson, as well as the pair of Shane Briant and Lois Daine, provided some fairly interesting, if a little clichéd, side characters.

Overall, this was most definitely one of the weirder Hammer horrors I'd seen to this point. I liked several aspects of it, but there were certainly a good number of issues with it too, mostly to do with how badly the film is showing its age. I will admit, however, that I did have a good time watching it, and I can certainly see why it has its fanbase in the Hammer horror community. It wasn't quite for me, but fans of classic and cheeky comedy might enjoy it a little more.