Captain Kronos – Vampire Hunter is written and directed by Brian Clemens. It stars Horst Janson, John Cater, John Carson, Caroline Munro, Shane Briant, Lois Daine and Wanda Ventham. Out of Hammer Film Productions, music is by Laurie Johnson and cinematography by Ian Wilson.Swashbuckling vampire slayer Captain Kronos (Janson) answers the call of his friend Dr. Marcus (Carson) to investigate the mysterious goings on in the village of Durward. Young women are being drained of all their youth, left at deaths door old and haggard. Aided by his trusty hunchbacked assistant, Professor Grost (Cater), Kronos' search for the truth takes him to the Durward family estate…One of the last great Hammer Horror movies, Captain Kronos – Vampire Hunter has done well to rise through the decades as a sort of culty camp horror classic. Initial plans were for it to hopefully kick start a series that would see Kronos fighting evil at any given place in time; Doctor Who with a sword and a taste for the ladies if you like. Clemens had some grand ideas for the movie, but was quickly brought down to earth when he was handed the production's paltry budget. Barely released in Britain with little to no publicity, and this nearly two years after the film had wrapped! Kronos has had to fight more than one battle just to get recognised. Thankfully the advancements in home entertainments have ensured it a deserved place in the upper echelons of Hammer's output.The film is a collage of genres, part horror, part comedy, part swashbuckler adventure and part saucy seaside postcard romp, but it all works so well in the pursuit of making the audience have a good time. The writing flips the vampire legend away from the norm, infusing the narrative with a new vampyric foe. This crafty sod can operate in the daytime as it drains not blood, but youth! As the genius Professor Grost tells us, there are many types of vampires, and different methods are needed to execute any of them on any given day. So this isn't a case of Kronos tracking down the guilty and using one of the trusty old methods used on Drac, oh no! Kronos and Grosty have to use trial and error to see what will work for this particular beastie. Wonderful!On his journey Kronos liberates a beauty from the stocks, poor Carla (Munro) was found guilty of dancing on a Sunday, she can count herself lucky it wasn't a stronger punishment. So cue mucho sexual shenanigans and barely concealed innuendo between the two pretty ones, with suggestive conversations about having each other and some fondling of the sword. Kronos will also waylay bullies, he has no tolerance for meat heads and cuts them down faster than Zorro ever could. This guy is a hero to the common people, an action man of substance and cunning guile, he likes to drink and toke, it's criminal that he didn't get his own series or sequels.Under scrutiny the low budget is evident, where bare minimum of set dressing for the interiors and extended exterior shots are a necessity, while you might be surprised to realise there actually isn't that many people in the story! But Clemens does a marvellous job with what he had to work with, really zipping it along and blending so many genre flavours with consummate ease. It's a shame this was to be his only film directing effort. He even gets sparky performances from his cast, managing to sexualise Munro without flashing the flesh and turning Janson's stiffness into one of the film's assets!Captain Kronos – Vampire Hunter, a ball of fun that sticks its tongue firmly into its pulpy bloody strewn cheek. 8/10

A master swordsman and former soldier (Horst Janson) and his hunchbacked assistant hunt vampires.I was sold on this film as soon as a character said, "What could be more improbable than God? And yet, I believe in him." It was such a great reversal of atheist thought (that God is just as believable as unicorns) by saying if there is God, why not vampires and other ghouls? Clever! I also liked when Kronos called the various people "rat face" "fatty" and "big mouth". That was pretty funny, both for his choice of words and the way he delivered those words.

Wow, was Hammer Studios going in a different direction with this film! While it is once again a horror film (the bread & butter for this film company), it's so unlike all their other films! While it's a vampire film, you see no trace of Christopher Lee or even Peter Cushing--and the style is so totally unlike their films. Instead, the film stars a very hot guy (Captain Kronos) and he always seems to have a hot lady in tow. This vampire hunter, however, is NOT to be confused for Dr. Van Helsing. Not only does he look nothing like Cushing, but how he kills the vampires and the types of vampires are all-new! These vampires are not so much blood drinkers but creatures that suck the youth out of people--and you then see them age rapidly when they fall prey to these new vampires. And, since the vampires are different, so is killing them. Many different ways are used--some of which are wacky and new--such as impaling, hanging and burning one (wow--he was tough to kill!!). And, finally, the story is just so very different.According to IMDb, Hammer was planning on a new series of Kronos films but canceled it due to the poor reception this film received. I can't really understand it, as the film was quite good and sexy--and an invigorating change--with a wild ending!

"My Family were Karnsteins!" Lady Durward reveals to her shocked children.In 1970 Hammer Films did the Vampire Lovers based on Joseph Sheridan LeFanu's novella Carmilla about the Austrian Vampire Noblewoman Carmilla Karnstein played superbly by German Actress Ingrid Pitt and her evil vampiric Satanic witchcraft loving family.Then in 1971 Carmilla is resurrected by the blood of a female human sacrifice played by Scandinavian Actress Yutte Stensgaard in the sequel To Love a Vampire to raise cain in a boarding finishing school and in 1972 Carmilla is briefly back again and makes a vampire out of a descendant in the film Twins of Evil and the descendant in turn makes one of his antagonist's twin nieces a vampire. In 1974 Captain Kronos Vampire Hunter now deals with Lady Durward nee Lady Karnstein who along with her late husband Lord Durward whom she made a vampire to keep their love alive drain the blood of young village girls. The vampires had two children when they were non-undead.The young two young adult children and the Doctor who was an admirer of the "once beautiful"Lady Durward and is the person who sends for Kronos are unaware that Lady Durward is responsible for all of it. This film is well acted (with the exception of Caroline Munro who was no great actress but a beautiful woman and a great scream queen of Hammer films)has great swordplay,dark hidden family secrets,great sets and witty double entendre. Ingrid Pitt by the way would have been perfect for Lady Karnstein Durward but Wanda Ventham was just as good in the role.This movie I recommend to anyone who is a vampire movie fan or a fan of Hammer films adaptation and sequels of Joseph Sheridan LeFanu's Carmilla.