The Fearless Vampire Killers

 

The Fearless Vampire Killers

1967

Director- Roman Polanski

Cast- Sharon Tate, Jack MacGowran, Roman Polanski, Ferdy Mayne, Alfie Bass, Terry Downes, Fiona Lewis, Iain Quarrier, Jessie Robins

            This movie, also released as Dance of the Vampires, and also released with the longer humorous subtitle, Pardon Me but Your Teeth Are in My Neck, is a pretty well balanced horror comedy with beautiful Gothic imagery.

            The story is pretty straight forward. An absent minded scholar, Professor Abronsius (Jack MacGowran) and his faithful student Alfred (Roman Polanski) are in the old country researching the existence of vampires. It doesn’t take long for him to find some clues as the inn where they are staying has garlic hanging everywhere.

            The inn is run by a salacious old pervert (Alfie Bass) whose primary interest is in hooking up with the inn’s maid (Fiona Lewis).  Alfred’s attention is immediately captured by Sarah, the innkeeper’s daughter (played by Sharon Tate who is absolutely gorgeous with red hair instead of her usual blonde).

            Alfred’s plans of wooing Sarah are interrupted though when the local aristocratic vampire, Count Von Krolock (Ferdy Mayne) sets his sights on, and and sinks his teeth into, Sarah. She is taken away to his castle and her father is turned into a vampire. The professor and Alfred’s investigation takes them to the castle and a confrontation with the Count and his many undead minions.

            As I said, the plot is pretty straight forward. As to the feel of the film, it’s not as much scary as it is creepy. Polanski was obviously having fun with plenty of gags and slap stick but the visuals of the movie keep it within the realm of horror. Polanski, of course, has no problem with creating horror having given us both the landmark Rosemary’s Baby and the highly intelligent Ninth Gate. So I imagine that he was able to just put his horror instincts on auto pilot and focus his energies on the comic aspects.

            The visuals are really the main reason I’d recommend watching the film. It’s quite something to look at, especially if you’re a fan of Gothic horror. The film’s wintry landscape was shot in Austria and the Italian Alps. Snow in the dark creates a beautiful black and white contrast. The cinematographer, Douglas Slocombe, by the way brought quite a bit of talent to the table. Some of his better known works included Raiders of the Lost Ark, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, The Italian Job, Rollerball, and The Lion in Winter!

Ferdy Mayne’s Count is decked out in the classic aristocratic vampire garb and would easily pass for the main antagonist of a Hammer film. Ferdy actually had a low baritone voice that was very reminiscent of Christopher Lee’s voice, if less operatic.

            The castle and its denizens create an opulent but decaying aesthetic. One scene in particular, a large dance whose attendees are all undead, is particularly striking. The castle’s  snow-capped battlements and moldy tombs perfectly create the lonely, isolated feeling of an Italian Gothic horror. I can easily imagine Mario Bava shooting a film that would look just like this.

None of this compares though to Sharon Tate. She is so beautiful and is every bit the Gothic beauty with her pale skin and large eyes. Decked out in red with her red hair she contrasts with the dull greys and browns of the castle (which I’m sure was the whole idea). One wonders how she made it through the 60s and never appeared in a Hammer film. This was Sharon’s 2^nd horror film, her first being the clever folk horror, Eye of the Devil. I’ve no doubt that if she’d lived she would have become an accomplished scream queen.

So don’t watch this movie if you are wanting to be scared. But if you are wanting to be entertained, or just enjoy its beautiful Gothic aesthetic, Fearless Vampire Killers is worth your time.

Fun fact #1- The film is connected with some other vampire films of the era. Fiona Lewis, who plays the buxom maid, also played Lucy in the Jack Palance version of Dracula. Ferdy Mayne appeared in many horror films like The Howling 2 but also the groundbreaking Vampire Lovers and the horror-comedy The Vampire Happening.

Fun fact #2- Although he is totally unrecognizable with his Albert Einstein make up, horror fans will know Jack MacGowran (the Professor) from a much more famous work. He played Burt Dennings, the director who gets murdered in The Exorcist.