I bought the DVD after watching it from a taped showing on TV. I had taped it to watch later and had low expectations from its schlocky title and release date. On watching it, I had the pleasant surprise of seeing something far beyond my expectations. Shame on my Avenger fandom for not recognizing Brian Clemens name on it. CK/VH has many quirky details put into it that a talented director can do rather than just ordering something up from the CGI wizards. Creative camera angles, sets, and dialog make this a fine film.

The story is imaginative, yet tantalizing due to its subtle clues about the background of Kronos. If the film had been made ten years earlier or ten years later, it probably would have continued in a series for several more episodes. It just happened to be caught in a downtime period in the film industry. Too bad. Too bloody, bloody bad. Listening to the director's commentary makes one all too aware of an opportunity lost and never to be regained. Clemens seems to be very much responsible for the concept of his characters, which is one of the most charming aspects of the movie. The relationship between Kronos and Professor Grost is touching and well-written. Caroline Munro is more developed (in more ways than one, ahthankya!) than most Hammer females and has some of the best lines in the movie.

One regrets the budget constraints despite the creativity of cast and crew. I would love to have seen what could have been done with a bit more money. Not to mention continuing it into the type of series Clemens envisioned. Seeing it so many years after its release, I found it influential toward Vampire Hunter D (the second film especially). Kronos is mysteriously part vampire it seems, somewhat like D. Also look at the daughter of the vampires in Kronos and see how much she resembles the female bounty hunter in the D movie. They seem to be the only two women in the world with that hairstyle! By embracing Captain Kronos, I'm not entirely dismissing a full-scale effects movie like Van Helsing, but it shows that there is no substitute for good writing and imaginative directing.

A very different type of horror movie from pretty well everything I've seen, the closest comparison to "Captain Kronos: Vampire Hunter" would probably be "Brotherhood Of The Wolf" and then, to a lesser extent, maybe "The Ghoul" (1975 with Peter Cushing). Part vampire horror movie, part supernatural detective story, and part sword-slashing adventure movie. Set in England in - what would it be? 1800s or 1700s maybe - in a lush, gorgeous forest with small homesteads and winding wagon roads nestled amongst the greenery and bubbling brooks with great production design and photography, the movie pits professional evil-doer fighter Kronos and his allies against a new breed of vampire preying on the local villagers. With Horst Janson displaying solid screen prescence as Kronos, the scorchingly hot Caroline Munro as the vivacious, big-hearted (and occasionally naked) lead damsel, and John Cater brilliant as Kronos's kindly, learned, hunchbacked sidekick/mentor, not to mention a small bushel of lovely village girls filling out both their roles and their costumes admirably. A vampire picture with great crossover appeal, and fellow horror fans, don't pass this one up just because of its low blood factor. This is an original, classy gem in a unique style; I wish a round of sequels had followed, perhaps with the protagonists battling unorthodox mummies, werewolves or some other horror staple. One of the best vampire movies.

It's hard to make vampire movies fresh - that said - any vampire movie that plays with the traditional myths and still manages to carry a somewhat interesting plot deserves some props. Kronos is one of those movies. The film also demonstrates once again how well Hammer studios uses trick shots, lighting and natural scenery to establish the sense of foreboding doom and peril.

If you're interested in starting a collection of vampire movies, and you already have Dracula, Horror of Dracula, The Fearless Vampire Killers, The Hunger, Near Dark, and the Frank Langella version of Dracula with Laurence Olivier...you might as well go ahead and buy this one too.

Captain Kronos: Vampire Hunter (1974) aka Kronos is one of the better films to come from Hammer Studios in the 70's. It's basically a horror movie with a heaping helping of adventure thrown in and just a whole lot of fun.

Written and directed by Brian Clemens, the film stars German actor Horst Janson as Captain Kronos, a master of the sword and ex-solider, a freelance vampire killer, accompanied by the hunchbacked Professor Hieronymos Grost (John Cater), an authority on vampirism and good friend to Kronos. The film also stars the lovely and infinitely easy on the eyes Caroline Munro who appeared in others films like Dracula A.D. 1972 (1972), The Golden Voyage of Sinbad (1974), and The Spy Who Loved Me (1977).

The film wastes no time on the horror aspect as we witness a young, comely woman in the woods attacked by a mysterious, cloaked stranger. The once young woman is now old and withered, due to having her youth literally drained from her person. A couple more attacks occur within the small English village, and this prompts Dr. Marcus (John Carson), the local physician, to contact his old friend, Captain Kronos. On the way to the village, Kronos and Grost meet Carla (Monroe), an errant peasant girl, whom they allow to tag along, probably because she's so hot. On arriving in the small village, Grost utilizes a unique vampire detection device to try and track the vile creature terrorizing the village, while Kronos has mad monkey love with Carla and rests for the upcoming battle. Meanwhile, the village loses a couple more young women, decreasing the overall population greatly as I didn't see a whole lot of townsfolk to begin with...The hunt is on as Kronos and Grost search for clues as to the identity and location of the vampire. Dr. Marcus may already have the answer to the mystery, but is not forthcoming due to personal reasons. Also, forces have begun to conspire against Kronos and his group, and our hero seems to be threatened from a number of sides. What drives the man to do what he does? His motivations are spelled out later in the film, and while pretty simple, they satisfy nicely. Will Captain Kronos discover the identity of the evil that plagues the village before he succumbs to it himself? What secret does Dr. Marcus harbor? Do we get to see Caroline Munro in the raw? Watch the movie and find out...

I really enjoyed a number of elements within this film. The notion that there are actually different types of vampires, and different methods of dispatch for each was a nice touch. Also, Janson really provided a wonderful performance as the sort of swashbuckling hero, one with no fear, and an eagerness to perform his self define task of ridding the lands of the scourge of vampirism. I also liked that his friend and maybe even mentor, the hunchbacked Professor Grost was actually presented as a highly intelligent individual, capable of assisting his friend in their exploits with the undead. The swordplay within the movie was a whole lot of fun, but I was a bit perplexed with scenes where Kronos would jam his swords into the ground, or use them to dig in the dirt. I know little of swords, but I would have thought a master swordsman would take more care with his weapons, not using them in such fashion for fear of dulling or nicking the blades. Oh well, a minor nuance that struck me as strange. The whole mystery element as to who is the vampire is played for all it's worth, and there are obtuse clues sprinkled throughout the story that may help the viewer uncover this on their own.

The print provided by Paramount looks excellent and there is a commentary track available including genre historian Jonathan Sothcott, filmmaker Brian Clemens and actress Caroline Munro. Kronos is swashbuckling action, Hammer style, and well worth looking into whether you're a fan of horror, action, or both.

Cookieman108

Captain Kronos, TO THE RESCUE! A killer vampire hunter, hot & sexy English STUD and an expert swordsman to boot, who, with the physical & sexual assistance of the gorgeous gypsy shorty Carla and his hunchbacked homeboy, Professor Grost, scour the whole of England in search of a vampire that is draining the life out of all the pretty country girls, leaving them dead & horribly aged in the process. I bought this movie on sale and was quite pleased with my purchase. TOO BAD that there wasn't a Captain Kronos Trilogy out there. I would buy 'em ALL!