Captain Kronos: Vampire Hunter
Although other Hammer films had taken swipes at certain established authority figures — witness, for example, the corrupt men in Taste the Blood of Dracula, or the ineffectual and cowardly priest in Dracula Has Risen from the Grave — this one the first time since perhaps The Pirates of Blood River that the studio gave audiences an uppity, charismatic, young firebrand willing to buck the system. Hell, Kronos even smokes the occasional 18th century doobie! At last, there was a Hammer movie and a Hammer hero that young people could actually get behind and perhaps even relate to. Someone who was more like one of them rather than like a parent, standing around waiting to disapprove and tell the whippersnappers how to properly do things.
#1 by MatthewF on November 10, 2008 - 8:05 am
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I like this movie but it was too little too late. Regarding the last comment about the man promised ressurections of Hammer, I lost faith in that a long time ago, but it does really actually seem that a new proper hinst to god cinema movie is in production under the hammer banner, see http://www.hammerfilms.com/news/principal-photography-finishes-on-hammers-the-wake-wood
#2 by Blake Matthews on November 10, 2008 - 9:11 am
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So Kronos does what 007 and Doug McClure failed to do: bed Caroline Munro? Everything I read about this movie makes it sound way better than “Fearless Vampire Killers”.
#3 by Ed on November 10, 2008 - 10:00 am
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I’ve always wanted to see this, it sounds fantastic.
#4 by KeithA on November 10, 2008 - 10:04 am
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Blake: I think it’s a very different type of movie than Fearless Vampire Killers, though there are certainly some similarities as well. It’s weird in a quirky, playful sort of way, where as Fearless Vampire Killers,at least for me, is weird in a more melancholy, hypnotic way — more continental in its atmosphere,, I guess. The two movies make an interesting double bill, though.
#5 by El Santo on November 10, 2008 - 3:42 pm
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A few big differences between Captain Kronos, Vampire Hunter and The Fearless Vampire Killers: 1. FVK was designed as a parody of the early Hammer vampire films; Kronos is about having fun with the premise rather than making fun of it, if you grasp the distinction. 2. The gags in Captain Kronos are matters of sly wit, instead of being a mixture of antiquated slapstick and the same damn Jew jokes unimaginative comedians have been recycling since the frigging 1920’s, and as such, they tend to be actually funny. 3. Captain Kronos would still work as a vampire movie if you excised all the humor (it wouldn’t be as good, but it would work); FVK prefigures the Scary Movie series in the sense that, if you delete all the irrelevant side-gags about people clubbing each other on the head with sausages and whatnot, you’re left with about ten minutes of film.
Why, no– I’m not very fond of The Fearless Vampire Killers. What makes you ask?
#6 by KeithA on November 10, 2008 - 4:00 pm
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Another difference, aparently, is that I’ve remembered almost everything about Captain Kronos since the first time I saw it. By contrast, I saw FVK for the first time just a few years ago, and I remember almost nothing about it except the music and the sled at the end.
#7 by Tom Meade on November 10, 2008 - 5:10 pm
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The Fearless Vampire Killers is wonderful.
#8 by Tom Meade on November 10, 2008 - 5:10 pm
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jerks
#9 by KeithA on November 10, 2008 - 5:19 pm
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It’s on my list to watch again.
#10 by Blake Matthews on November 10, 2008 - 5:31 pm
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All I remember from the FVK is the ineffective crucifix scene, the last shot, and (I think) a comic bit involving a bumbling attempt to stake a vampire through the heart.
#11 by lyzard on November 10, 2008 - 6:20 pm
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The only bit I remember clearly is Sharon Tate in the bath, when the snow starts falling on her.
#12 by KeithA on November 11, 2008 - 9:46 am
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Lyz wins.
#13 by Zack Handlen on November 11, 2008 - 4:21 pm
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On the evils of Google Image Search: all this talk of Tate had me remembering how stunningly gorgeous she was as a red-head, so I tried to to Google her, not realizing that if you just go with her name… you get autopsy photos.
%#^$ me, that about ruins me for the rest of the month.
#14 by Al Bruno III on November 12, 2008 - 3:01 pm
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Ugh. Thank you for warning me of that Mr. Handlen. I never much liked FVH myself, I’m not sure why really. Kronos I always liked it had kind of an odd Dr. Who-esque vibe to it. I like KRONOS a lot myself, and I also wish there had been some sequels. Well I suppose in this era of remakes we may get a new movie after all someday…
By the way what was this about him appearing in a comic?
And also, long time reader, first time commenter.
#15 by lyzard on November 12, 2008 - 3:35 pm
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Welcome, welcome, thrice welcome.
And here you go, Santo—
#16 by El Santo on November 13, 2008 - 9:39 am
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Thanks, but it was Zack who wanted the Tate pics, not me.
#17 by lyzard on November 13, 2008 - 3:29 pm
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Oops, so ’twas! Pardons.
#18 by The Rev. D.D. on November 21, 2008 - 10:12 am
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To be honest, what hot-blooded man doesn’t want Sharon Tate photos?