Captain Kronos – Vampire Hunter
| Captain Kronos - Vampire Hunter | |
|---|---|
 Original British poster |
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| Directed by | Brian Clemens |
| Produced by | Albert Fennell & Brian Clemens |
| Written by | Brian Clemens |
| Starring | Horst Janson John Carson Caroline Munro |
| Music by | Malcolm Williamson |
| Cinematography | Jack Asher |
| Editing by | James Needs |
| Distributed by | Hammer Film Productions (UK), Paramount Pictures (USA) |
| Release date(s) | April 7, 1974 (UK) |
| Running time | 91 min. |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $400,000 (estimated) |
Captain Kronos - Vampire Hunter is a 1974 British horror film written, produced and directed by Brian Clemens for Hammer Film Productions that was originally the pilot for a planned series. 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.
[edit] Plot summary
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The film opens with two young women in the woods surrounding a Central European[citation needed] village. As they separate, one is approached by a cloaked figure. Dr. Marcus (John Carson) rides by on his horse to discover one staring at the dead body of the other. The dead girl's face has aged horribly and there is blood on her lips.
Dr. Marcus calls in his old army friend, Captain Kronos (Horst Janson), and his companion, hunchback Professor Hieronymus Grost (John Cater), two professional vampire hunters. On their way towards the village they free a gypsy girl named Carla (Caroline Munro) from the stocks. Carla decides to stay with the pair and later becomes romantically involved with Kronos. They arrive at the village where young women continue to be attacked and aged. Grost explains to the initially skeptical Marcus that the women are victims of a vampire that drains not blood but youth, and that there are "as many species of vampire as there are beasts of prey." The finding of another victim confirms Grost's explanations.
Grost and Carla bury several dead toads in the wood. The next morning, another girl falls victim. However, this time her boyfriend witnessed the attack and reveals to Kronos the girl saw "someone old, very old". Kronos states that a youth-draining vampire would appear "young and fair", a contradiction. Kronos digs up the buried toads, and finds that one of the toads now lives, confirming the presence of a vampire.
Marcus visits the grave of his late friend, Lord Hagen Durward, and speaks with the Lord's son Paul (Shane Briant). Paul tells the doctor that his mother still holds a grudge against the Marcus for not having been able to save Hagen's life from the plague. Lady Durward is sitting in a carriage nearby, having greatly aged out of grief. Later, Marcus goes to Durward manor to visit Lady Durwood, where he is welcomed by Paul and his beautiful sister Sara (Lois Daine) but has to leave without seeing the bed-ridden Lady. In the woods, a cloaked figure calls to him in an otherworldly female voice. Marcus rides toward the figure, but seems to black out following the sudden and brief appearance of thunder and lightning. As he emerges from the woods having lost sight of the figure, he is shaken and has drops of blood on his lips but is otherwise unharmed.
At a tavern, Kronos and Grost are confronted by a group of thugs hired by Lady Durward's coachman to kill them. The leader of the thugs, Kerro, provokes a fight by insulting Grost's deformity but Kronos kills them by cutting their throats with one stroke of his katana. Later, Kronos, Grost, Marcus and Carla plan their next excursion, setting up a system of alarm bells in the woods. While they work, a large bat attacks another girl. They rush to her aid, but the bat has vanished and the girl lies dead.
At the manor, Paul and Sara are worried by the state of their bed-ridden mother, who has touched neither food nor drink. Sara reveals that she is frightened by age, fearing her own eventual decay, but Paul replies that as Durwards by birth - a family "always renowned for their youthfulness" - they will not share in their mother's fate.
That night, Kronos explains to Carla why he fights vampires: while he was fighting in a war, his mother and sister were turned into vampires and attacked him on his return, forcing him to destroy them both. Meanwhile Marcus realizes in horror that he has been turned into a youth-draining vampire and begs Kronos to kill him as he cannot bear life as a predator. Kronos and Grost try several methods (including impalement with a wooden stake and hanging) but all fail until Kronos, attempting to hold Marcus still while Grost exposes him to flame, accidentally pierces Marcus's chest with a cross made out of steel that Marcus had been wearing round his neck. Marcus expires, once again his old self.
Realizing that it is the blessed cross of steel that destroys youth-draining vampires, Kronos and Grost go to the cemetery to obtain a large iron cross. A villager has witnessed Marcus's death, and thinking that Marcus was murdered in cold blood, rouses his friends at the tavern to avenge the good doctor. The angry villagers attack Kronos and Grost at the cemetery, but Kronos fights them off and disarms them. Grost now takes the cross and forges it into a new sword.
That night, another young woman is attacked at her home, while her father lies dead outside. Kronos comes across the scene too late and sees a carriage similar to the Durward carriage leave. Grost sets a trap by burying a dead frog in the road, and after the carriage goes by, he finds that the frog is now alive. The next morning, Kronos meets Sara Durward at their father's grave but Paul quickly interrupts their conversation and the siblings leave in their carriage. Kronos deduces that the vampire must live at Durward Manor, as Marcus was transformed after his visit, and in particular suspects beautiful, young Sara.
Kronos prepares himself for his task by arming himself with the new sword and various protective measures. To gain entrance into Durward Manor, Carla rings at the door and faints as Paul opens the door. Inside, she begs for refuge and the Durward siblings agree to let her stay. As she sleeps on the couch in front of the fireplace, she is approached and mesmerized by a shadowy female figure. The figure is interrupted by Sara's screams as she stumbles on the scene. Kronos sneaks into the house.
Sara and the alarmed Paul recognize the figure as their own mother, who has grown young again and who reveals herself as "a Karnstein by birth", that her family is "blessed with many dark secrets" and that after seven years of preparation she will now never grow old. Lady Durwood also introduces her late husband, whom she has raised from the grave. Lady Durwood mesmerizes her children, and then leads her husband towards the mesmerized Carla, inviting him to take Carla's life and youth. At that moment, Kronos erupts from his hiding place. Lady Durward tries to mesmerize him too but Kronos uses his new sword's mirrored blade to reflect her gaze back onto her, mesmerizing her.
Kronos fights a duel with Lord Durward, who was himself a famous swordsman, and is temporarily disarmed and almost vanquished, but as he gains back his steel blade, he is able to defeat the vampire, who falls to the ground, aged again. Lady Durward attacks Kronos in a frenzy but is easily killed, breaking her control over Carla and over her children, who look upon their parents' decayed corpses in horror.
In the village courtyard, Kronos bids Carla good bye and rides off to new adventures.
[edit] Cast
- Horst Janson as Captain Kronos
- John Cater as Professor Hieronymus Grost
- Caroline Munro as Carla
- John Carson as Dr. Marcus
- Shane Briant as Paul Durward
- Lois Daine as Sara Durward
- Wanda Ventham as Lady Durward
- William Hobbs as Hagen
- Ian Hendry as Kerro
