''Captain Kronos – Vampire Hunter'' is a 1974 British

swashbuckling A swashbuckler is a genre of European adventure literature that focuses on a heroic protagonist stock character who is skilled in swordsmanship, acrobatics, guile and possesses chivalrous ideals. A "swashbuckler" protagonist is heroic, daring, ...

action Action may refer to: * Action (narrative), a literary mode * Action fiction, a type of genre fiction * Action game, a genre of video game Film * Action film, a genre of film * ''Action'' (1921 film), a film by John Ford * ''Action'' (1980 fil ...

horror film, written and directed by

Brian Clemens Brian Horace Clemens (30 July 1931 – 10 January 2015) was an English screenwriter and television producer, possibly best known for his work on '' The Avengers'' and '' The Professionals''. Clemens claimed to be related to Mark Twain (Samuel ...

, produced by Clemens and

Albert Fennell Albert Fennell (29 March 1920, in Chiswick – 17 April 1988) was a British film and television producer. Fennell's film career began as a production designer and writer. His work as a film producer included ''Next to No Time'', (1958), ''Peepin ...

for

Hammer Film Productions Hammer Film Productions Ltd. is a British film production company based in London. Founded in 1934, the company is best known for a series of Gothic horror and fantasy films made from the mid-1950s until the 1970s. Many of these involve class ...

, and starring Horst Janson, John Carson,

Shane Briant Shane Briant (17 August 1946 – 26 May 2021) was an English actor and novelist. Briant studied law at Trinity College Dublin but became a professional actor playing the lead in ''Hamlet'' at the Eblana Theatre, Dublin. Briant is best known for ...

, and

Caroline Munro Caroline Munro (born 16 January 1949)McFarlane, Brian (28 February 2014). ''The Encyclopedia of British Film: Fourth edition''. Oxford University Press. p. 538; is an English actress, model and singer known for her many appearances in horror, ...

. The music score was composed by Laurie Johnson, supervised by Philip Martell. Belatedly released on 7 April 1974, the film was intended as the first in a series focused on the title character and his companions. Due to the film's violence and sexual subtext, ''Captain Kronos'' was

rated R Rated R refers to movies (and also to TV shows and video games in certain systems) that have been given a "restricted" rating by one of the following film rating systems: * Motion Picture Association of America film rating system * Canadian Home Vid ...

in North America. This was Clemens' only film as a director.

Plot

Dr. Marcus ( John Carson) calls in Captain Kronos ( Horst Janson), his Army Brother, to his village which is plagued by mysterious deaths marked by highly accelerated aging. Kronos and his companion, the

hunchback Kyphosis is an abnormally excessive convex curvature of the spine as it occurs in the thoracic and sacral regions. Abnormal inward concave ''lordotic'' curving of the cervical and lumbar regions of the spine is called lordosis. It can result ...

Professor Hieronymus Grost (

John Cater John Edward Cater (17 January 1932 – 21 March 2009) was an English actor. His television credits include: ''Danger Man''; ''Z-Cars''; '' The Avengers''; '' The Baron''; ''Doctor Who'' (in the serial '' The War Machines''); '' Follyfoot''; ' ...

), are professional

vampire hunter Vampire hunter or vampire slayer is a fictional occupation in history and fiction which specializes in finding vampires, and sometimes other supernatural creatures. A vampire hunter is usually described as having extensive knowledge of vampires a ...

s. Grost explains to the initially skeptical Marcus that the dead women are victims of a

vampire A vampire is a mythical creature that subsists by feeding on the vital essence (generally in the form of blood) of the living. In European folklore, vampires are undead creatures that often visited loved ones and caused mischief or deat ...

who drains not blood but youth, and that there are "as many species of vampire as there are beasts of prey". The discovery of another victim confirms Grost's explanation. Along the way, Kronos and Grost take in a local

Gypsy The Romani (also spelled Romany or Rromani , ), colloquially known as the Roma, are an Indo-Aryan ethnic group, traditionally nomadic itinerants. They live in Europe and Anatolia, and have diaspora populations located worldwide, with sign ...

girl, Carla (

), who had been sentenced to the stocks for dancing on the Sabbath. She repays them by helping them hunt the vampire; she later becomes Kronos's lover. Grost and Kronos conduct a mystical test that indicates the presence of vampires. Their findings are contradicted by an eyewitness who claims to have seen "someone old, very old", whereas a youth-draining vampire should appear youthful. Marcus visits the family of his late friend, Lord Hagen Durward, and speaks with Durward's son, Paul (

), and his beautiful sister Sara (Lois Daine). He must leave before speaking with the bed-ridden Lady Durward (

Wanda Ventham Wanda Ventham (born 5 August 1935) is an English actress with many roles on British television since beginning her career in the 1950s. She played Colonel Virginia Lake in the 1970s science-fiction television series ''UFO'' and had a recurring ...

). While riding through the woods, Marcus encounters a cloaked figure that leaves him shaken, and he finds blood on his lips. At a tavern, Kronos defeats thugs led by Kerro (

Ian Hendry Ian Mackendrick Hendry (13 January 1931 – 24 December 1984) was a British actor. He worked on several British TV series of the 1960s and 1970s, including the lead in the first series of '' The Avengers'' and '' The Lotus Eaters'', and played ...

), who were hired by Lady Durward's coachman to murder him. Kronos, Grost, Marcus and Carla set up a network of alarm bells in the woods to announce the passage of vampires. Meanwhile, a large bat attacks and kills a young woman. Marcus realises that he has become a vampire and begs Kronos to kill him. After various methods (including impalement with a stake and hanging) fail, Kronos accidentally pierces Marcus's chest with a cross of steel that Marcus had been wearing round his neck. Having thus determined the vampire's weakness, Kronos and Grost obtain an iron cross from a cemetery. They are accosted by angry villagers, who believe that they murdered Marcus. Grost forges the cross into a sword, while Kronos conducts a knightly vigil. After seeing the Durward carriage flee the scene of a vampire attack, Kronos suspects Sara as the vampire. Carla seeks refuge at Durward Manor to distract the household while Kronos sneaks inside. The "bedridden" Lady Durward reveals herself as the newly-youthful vampire, and she hypnotises Carla and the Durward siblings. Lady Durward has raised her husband Hagen ( William Hobbs) from the grave. She offers the mesmerised Carla to her husband, but Kronos erupts from hiding. Kronos uses the new sword's mirrored blade to turn Lady Durward's hypnotic gaze against her. He kills Lord Durward in a duel, and then destroys Lady Durward. The next day, Kronos bids Carla goodbye, before he and Grost ride on to new adventures.

Cast

* Horst Janson as Captain Kronos **

Julian Holloway Julian Holloway (born 24 June 1944) is a British actor. He is the son of comedy actor and singer Stanley Holloway and former chorus dancer and actress Violet Lane. He is the father of author and former model Sophie Dahl. Early life Holloway wa ...

as the voice of Captain Kronos *

as Professor Hieronymus Grost *

as Carla * John Carson as Dr. Marcus *

as Paul Durward * Lois Daine as Sara Durward *

as Lady Durward *

as Kerro * William Hobbs as Hagen * Paul Greenwood as Giles * Lisa Collings as Vanda Sorell * Brian Tully as George Sorell * Robert James as Pointer * Perry Soblosky as Barlow *

John Hollis John Hollis (12 November 1927 – 18 October 2005) was a British actor of TV and film. He is known for his uncredited appearance as Ernst Stavro Blofeld in the ''James Bond'' film '' For Your Eyes Only'', as well as for his appearances in the ...

as barman * Susanna East as Isabella Sorell * Stafford Gordon as Barton Sorell * Elizabeth Dear as Ann Sorell * Joanna Ross as Myra * Neil Seiler as priest * Olga Anthony as Lilian * Gigi Gurpinar as blind girl * Peter Davidson as big man * Terence Sewards as Tom * Trevor Lawrence as Deke * Jacqui Cook as barmaid * B. H. Barry, Michael Buchanan, Steve James, Ian McKay, Barry Smith, Roger Williams as villagers * Linda Cunningham as Jane * Caroline Villiers as Petra

Critical reception

AllMovie called the film "one of the last great Hammer Films productions". In later years, the film became a

cult classic A cult following refers to a group of fans who are highly dedicated to some person, idea, object, movement, or work, often an artist, in particular a performing artist, or an artwork in some medium. The lattermost is often called a cult classic. ...

, largely because of its unusual mix of supernatural horror and swashbuckling action. It was supposed to launch a series of new Hammer film productions but, in the 1970s, the studio developed financial issues and closed down.

Novelisation

A novelisation of the film, written by Guy Adams under the title ''Kronos'', was published in 2011 by Arrow Publishing, in association with Hammer and the

Random House Random House is an American book publisher and the largest general-interest paperback publisher in the world. The company has several independently managed subsidiaries around the world. It is part of Penguin Random House, which is owned by Germ ...

Group.

Comic book adaptations

* '' The House of Hammer'' #1-3 (Oct. 1976-Jan. 1977), by Steve Moore and Ian Gibson — a "sequel" rather than an adaptation * ''

Hammer's Halls of Horror ''The House of Hammer'' was a British black-and-white magazine featuring articles and comics related to the Hammer Film Productions series of Horror film, horror and science fiction films. The brainchild of Dez Skinn,Dakin, John. "'Marvel Revolut ...

'' #20 (May 1978), by Steve Moore and

Steve Parkhouse Steve Parkhouse is a writer, artist and letterer who has worked for many British comics, especially '' 2000 AD'' and ''Doctor Who Magazine''. Biography Parkhouse has worked in comics since 1967, when he drew the occasional "Power House Pin-Up" ...

* ''Captain Kronos — Vampire Hunter'' #1-4 ( Titan Comics, Oct. 2017 - an.2018), by

Dan Abnett Dan Abnett (born 12 October 1965) is an English comic book writer and novelist. He has been a frequent collaborator with fellow writer Andy Lanning, and is known for his work on books for both Marvel Comics, and their UK imprint, Marvel UK, sinc ...

and

Tom Mandrake Tom Mandrake (born 1956) is an American comics artist, perhaps best known for his collaborations with writer John Ostrander on several series, including ''Grimjack'' (from First Comics) and '' Firestorm'', ''The Spectre'', and '' Martian Manhunte ...

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Captain Kronos - Vampire Hunter 1974 films British historical horror films Films shot at EMI-Elstree Studios Hammer Film Productions horror films 1974 horror films 1970s fantasy adventure films British fantasy adventure films 1970s historical horror films British action horror films British vampire films Films shot in England Films set in England Films adapted into comics Films set in country houses British historical fantasy films Films scored by Laurie Johnson British exploitation films British supernatural horror films 1970s English-language films 1970s British films