sol- Two self-proclaimed vampire hunters investigate a series of attacks on young women in this unusual Hammer horror film with lots of swashbuckling and no Peter Cushing or Christopher Lee. The plot is a bit more complex than just that as the attacks have not lead to the young women dying (or being turned into vampires) but rather have resulted in them being drained of their youth. The makeup effects are incredible and lead to some truly jolting moments as the victims look around to reveal their wrinkled faces. The alternative spin on vampire mythology does not just end there; the film's vampires are creatures who just want to stay young, dead toads are used to catch vampires, their mere presence wilts flowers and in one of the best scenes, the hunters unsuccessfully experiment with killing one of their friends who has turned into a vampire. Horst Janson is a tad bland in the lead role, and other than Ian Hendry (who is barely on screen) and Caroline Munro, this is not an especially well acted affair, nor does it have the deep characters that may have rendered it a more memorable Hammer production. The film is always interesting though while it lasts with its unconventional take on vampirism, Laurie Johnson's music comes with an appropriate sense of grandeur and there are several quite exciting sequences thanks to well choreographed swordplay.

Ewan G Women in village ageing prematurely, evil at work, call in Captain Kronos, mayhem.Hammer cheese-fest which despite the silliness is entertaining and has its creepy moments. Horst Jansen is the striking Captain Kronos and looks and plays the part well with good support from the Dr.Watson-esque John Cater as Grost and, although Caroline Munro looks fantastic, the less said her about her acting the better. The sets are well made as you'd expect from Hammer, the sfx aren't bad either for its time and a memorable swashbuckling sword fight at the finale.

poe426 Long before genre-bending movies like SURIYAKI WESTERN DJANGO were being hailed as something heretofore unknown, there were movies like LEGEND OF THE SEVEN GOLDEN VAMPIRES and CAPTAIN KRONOS: VAMPIRE HUNTER. Like the vampires in Colin Wilson's LIFEFORCE, the vampires in CAPTAIN KRONOS suck the very Life out of their victims. Kronos, himself, is a cross between Clint Eastwood and Toshiro Mifune- without the presence of either. Horst does a passable if somewhat pedestrian job as the lead (like the title character in the anime VAMPIRE HUNTER D), but he clearly lacks the physical skill to pull off, say, the kind of swordplay one finds in the Rueben Mamoullian remake of THE MARK OF ZORRO (the duel between Tyrone Power and Basil Rathbone has to be one of the greatest sword fights in the history of cinema). Storywise, KRONOS is endlessly inventive, and director Clemens pretty much nails it when it comes to shot composition throughout. The remake (BROTHERHOOD OF THE WOLF) wasn't as good, in my opinion, but the idea is still good enough to warrant another chance.

Witchfinder General 666 "Captain Kronos - Vampire Hunter" of 1974 is certainly not one of the most brilliant films from the immortal Hammer Studios, but it is definitely a stylish and highly memorable immensely entertaining vampire flick, a typical product of the 70s, and a little gem of super-cool macho cinema. This very humorous horror flick that doesn't take itself very seriously may lack the extreme creepiness and haunting Gothic atmosphere of Hammer's masterpieces, but it features a lot of originality, great action, a great sense of humor and one of the coolest vampire hunters in motion picture history - Captain Kronos - in exchange.The eponymous hero is played by the German actor Horst Janson. Janson may not be a great acting talent, but he greatly fits in his role of the ass-kicking vampire-killing-machine Captain Kronos, and his thick accent makes the character even cooler. Kronos is the epitome of coolness, a master swordsman and former soldier with a fat 'K' signet ring on his finger and a samurai sword as a weapon of choice who always has a cigar in the corner of his mouth. He is assisted in his profession by the hunchbacked Professor Hieronymus Grost (John Cater), who does all the work for him, since Kronos has to save his strength for the vampire killing. The two are furthermore accompanied by the stunningly hot Carla (beautiful Caroline Munro, who was in quite a bunch of memorable horror films) whom Kronos has freed from the pillories... I don't want to give too much of the story away, but I can assure that the movie is worth the time. It may lack the suspense of other Hammer flicks, but it is an extremely stylish piece of cult-cinema that entertains like hardly another film. Every fan of stylish cinema should give this a try, for my fellow Hammer-fans "Kronos" is a must-see! Highly recommended!