Slightly at odds with Hammer's usual offerings, this is a film which could have been sooo good, but as it is as much miss than hit. The story is straightforward as usual-a soldier returned from the war teams up with a hunchbacked Professor to travel the land and seek out vampires, in this case a vampire that literally sucks the life out of it's victims, leaving them as wrinkled pensioners. So far so good, but unfortunately Horst Janssen, as the eponymous hero, is woefully miscast never coming close to giving the character depth. This, of course, is a problem that doesn't lie squarely at his feet as the writer/director Brian Clemens has to hold his hand up too. Clemens was one of the great British TV writers (The Avengers being one of his major credits) but he doesn't seem to be able to shake off the shackles of TV while directing this film. He tries to get some of the surreal humour that he used in The Avengers included but it seems at odds with the rest of the film. However, this disjointed film does have it's moments and I would recommend viewing at least once, but don't expect glory days Hammer. Apparently the film was hopefully going to be the start of a new series of films and you can see how that could have happened if the film had a surer touch and a different star.
Review of Captain Kronos: Vampire Hunter
