Captain Kronos - Vampire Hunter

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Captain Kronos - Vampire Hunter

Captain Kronos - Vampire Hunter DVD cover
Directed by Brian Clemen
Produced by Anthony Hinds
Written by Brian Clemen
Starring Horst Janso
John Carson
Caroline Munro
Music by Malcolm Williamson
Cinematography Jack Asher
Editing by James Needs
Distributed by Hammer Film Productions
Release date(s) April 7, 1974 (UK)
Running time 91 min.
Country United Kingdom
Language English
Budget $400,000 (estimated)
All Movie Guide profile
IMDb profile

Captain Kronos - Vampire Hunter is a 1974 horror film written, produced and directed by Brian Clemens for Hammer Film Productions. It stars Horst Janson in the title role, along with John Carson, Shane Briant and Caroline Munro. The original music score is composed by Laurie Johnson. The film is marketed with the tagline "The only man alive feared by the walking dead!"

Contents

[edit] Cast

Caroline Munro and Horst Janson in a scene from Captain Kronos - Vampire Hunter
Caroline Munro and Horst Janson in a scene from Captain Kronos - Vampire Hunter

[edit] Credits

[edit] Plot summary

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

The film opens with two young women in the woods surrounding an English village. They separate, and before long Dr. Marcus (played by John Carson) rides by on his horse to discover one of them standing in a trance-like state, staring ahead at the other, whose face is now revealed to have been horribly aged -- with blood on her lips.

After the opening credits, which show Captain Kronos (Horst Janson) and his friend--a humpback by the name of Professor Grost (John Cater)--riding onto the scene in a wagon, we see the heroes come upon a beautiful young woman, Carla (played by Caroline Munro) in a stockade. Kronos asks her what her crime is, and when she explains that it is for some trivial matter he frees her. Grateful, she accompanies the pair to the English village to which Kronos has been summoned by Dr. Marcus.

As young women continue to be attacked and prematurely aged by a cloaked figure, who seduces them with a kiss, we learn in a scene including Marcus, Kronos and Grost that the girls are victims of a vampire: in this case, one that drains not blood but youth and vitality. Professor Grost explains, in accordance with traditional vampire folklore (as opposed to the generic variety created after Bram Stoker's novel), that there are as "many species of vampire as there are beasts of prey." And not all of them can be killed in the same fashion. Dr. Marcus is at first skeptical, having known of only one kind of vampire (the Stoker variety), but Kronos points out that the doctor would not have summoned him had Dr. Marcus not suspected vampirism.

Carla, working on the wagon in the courtyard, notices a huge scar on Kronos' exposed side. An alarm is then sounded, after a girl is attacked in church, and Kronos and Grost hop into the cart to go investigate, with Grost explaining to a bewildered Carla that the two are professional vampire hunters. Arriving on scene to examine the corpse, the truth of this youth-draining vampire is confirmed.

Later, Dr. Marcus visits the grave of his friend, lord Hagen Durwood. He exchanges words with Paul (Shane Briant), Hagen's son, who points out that his mother still bears a grudge against the doctor; seven years prior, Hagen had died in Marcus' care. Lady Durwood is in a nearby carriage, and after catching a glimpse of her withered face Marcus is astonished and begs to examine her, but Paul refuses to let him do so. Meanwhile, in the woods near the village, Grost and Carla place frogs in boxes, which are then buried. Carla is then instructed to mark the spot where the frog is buried, and ties a red ribbon to a low-hanging tree branch.

That night, after a brief conversation with Dr. Marcus about the necessity of preparation before battle, Kronos and Carla make love. The next morning, a girl and her boyfriend are making out in the woods when she hears a noise. Naturally, given the cliched nature of this scene, the girl ends up the next victim. However, we are given a clue to the vampire's identity: it is "someone old, very old." Finding her body, the boyfriend becomes thus far the only eye-witness to an attack, and Kronos and Grost rush to investigate. Questioning the boy, the heroes dig up one of the frogs to find it alive and well despite having been buried alive in a box overnight. Apparently, if a vampire walks over the grave of a dead frog, its unholy nature will bestow new life to it. Thus we are given further confirmation that the pair are dealing with a vampire. But Kronos tells a confused Dr. Marcus that a youth-draining vampire would appear "young and fair."

Kronos and Grost leave the area, and Marcus volunteers to remain behind to investigate further. At the village tavern and inn, people are asking questions about Kronos ("that soldier fellow," as he is called). The drunken ne'er-do-wells proceed to make trouble, and are then paid by another man to take out Kronos.

Marcus arrives at Durwood manor to visit Lady Durwood, but not before having a drink with Paul and meeting the boy's sister, Sara (Lois Daine). Marcus leaves without getting to see Lady Durwood, who summons her son to ask who was calling. Paul tells her it was Dr. Marcus.

At the tavern, Kronos and Grost are accosted by the thugs for hire and a fight ensues. Kronos displays his considerable fighting skills, especially his swordsmanship. At least, that's what we are supposed to see demonstrated; the scene actually shows an exchange of insults, which quickly cuts to the fools falling down on the floor. In the woods, Marcus is drawn in by a mysterious figure in a cloak, who whispers his name in a distinctly feminine voice. But alas, upon moving closer to the shadowy figure he finds nothing and rides off, obviously spooked.

Afterward, while having lunch, Kronos, Grost, Marcus and Carla are discussing the tavern fight. Kronos points out that the goons had been paid to take them out, though how he guesses this we do not learn. Then the four plan their next excursion into the woods using buried critters as bait. A bell is used this time to alert the vampire hunters to their prey's movements, and it pays off; the bell begins to ring. Kronos and Carla watch a girl picking flowers, and Marcus notices the makeshift alarm going off. The girl is attacked, her face bloodied by her assailant. Arriving with sword drawn, Kronos find Dr. Marcus has already gotten there ahead of him. They have failed to catch the vampire in the act, and another girl lies dead.

At the manor, Paul and Sara argue over the state of their mother, who is bed-ridden. Sara ruminates over what she thinks she'll become, and Paul alleviates her by saying that their mother is a Durwood by marriage, and therefore immune to what will one day befall them. What are they talking about? Sounds like some sort of family curse.

That night, Kronos tells Carla how he and his family were attacked by a vampire; how his mother and sister were turned, forcing him to destroy them both. Marcus, shaving, discovers to his horror that his greying hair has gone black and the wrinkles around his eyes have disappeared. He has been turned into a youth-draining vampire: it was he who killed that last girl in the woods, completely unaware that he had done it. Dragging a faint Marcus to a nearby building, Kronos is angry that the doctor failed to survive the vampire's bite as he and Grost tie him up, but the humpback tells him Marcus is "not the man you are." Marcus begs them to destroy him, because he cannot bear existence as a killing fiend. Kronos and Grost try to stake Marcus, but it has no effect. Next they hang him. Still Marcus does not die. Bruning him fails, too. But as Marcus flinches from the fire, the wound in his chest is pierced by a small steel cross around his neck, and he dies. Steel is the means of dispatching youth-draining vampires. Marcus is now at rest, but his death is witnessed by a villager who does not understand what has happened. The villager then rouses his friends at the tavern.

Kronos and Grost are next seen digging a large iron cross up from the cemetary, as the angry villagers arrives to take him into custody. Now we see Kronos' swordfighting skills in action. He fights off the mob with little effort, taking their weapons. Grost then take the cross and forges it into a formidable new sword, with which the captain will kill the vampire.

Another victim is taken, this time the sister of the man who hired the thugs to kill Kronos. This attack is carried out in their home, as her horrified brother looks on helplessly. Kronos discovers the victims, after finding their father nearby who had been similarly attacked. The next morning, Paul and Sara stand at their father's grave for their weekly visit. They are met by Kronos, who then puts two and two together to deduce that Marcus had before his transformation visited the Durwoods. After dark, Grost and Carla annoint Kronos with ointments designed to ward off vampiric attack. The captain has guessed that the vampire, whoever it is, resides at Durwood Manor and he intends to end the killing once and for all. At the manor, Paul offers a cup of wine to hiw withered crone of a mother, and then goes to answer the ringing doorbell. It is Carla, whose companions have knocked out the butler Barlow, thus forcing Paul to greet the visitors himself. Carla pretends to faint, and Paul brings her indoors to help revive her. Paul and Sara offer Carla a room, but she insists on being allowed to sleep there on the couch in front of the fireplace.

As Kronos and Grost sneak in and take up a hiding spot on one of the stairwells, Carla--assigned to act as bait for the vampire--is approached by a strange woman who mesmerizes her, baring fangs intended to pierce Carla's neck. But the female vampire is interrupted by a screaming Sara, who recognizes the creature as her own mother. Marvelling at her youth, the withered face is revealed as a mask left lying on the bed. Lady Durwood reveals her own status as a member of the vampiric Karnstein family, now given immortal life after seven years of waiting. And the youth-drainer? It is none other than Hagen Durwood himself, resurrected by his wife but with his face still scarred from decay. Lady Durwood now entrances her children, instructing them to remember nothing of what has transpired. Hagen approaches Carla, and is goaded by his wife to drain her youth and complete his regeneration. But Kronos, from his hiding place on the stairs, leaps to the rescue. Brandishing his new blade, Kronos challenges Durwood to the death. Although Durwood is a highly skilled swordsman who gives as good as he gets (even getting the upper hand when he manages to briefly disarm Kronos), there can be only one outcome. The captain re-arms himself with the help of Grost and kills Hagen, who falls to the ground aged beyond even his mortal years. As for Lady Durwood, she cries tears of blood over her husband and attacks, only to be dispatched by Kronos. Once she is killed, her hold over Carla and her children breaks. The vampiric couple lie dead, now nothing more than bones to be wept over by their heartbroken offspring.

At the village courtyard, Kronos bids goodbye to the memory of his friend Marcus. He and Grost leave Carla there and ride off, presumably for more vampire-hunting adventures.

Spoilers end here.

[edit] Trivia

  • Ingrid Pitt claims that she was offered, and rejected, the role of Lady Durward.
  • John Carson also appeared in the film Taste the Blood of Dracula.
  • In Dracula AD 1972, Caroline Munro played a victim of Dracula.
  • Given that the script mentions the Karnstein family, this film could conceivably been seen as a part of the same continuity as The Vampire Lovers, Lust for a Vampire and Twins of Evil. It could also be considered giving an explanation for the different types and powers of vampires seen in such Hammer films as Vampire Circus and Scars of Dracula.
  • A minor character was named "Barlow" which is the name of the master vampire in the Stephen King novel Salem's Lot.
  • Although sequels were planned, they were never made. Hammer went on to make seven more movies, including what would be the last and worst two Dracula sequels. The last film, 1976's To the Devil A Daughter, was the last horror film produced.

[edit] Externa links

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