62. THE FEARLESS VAMPIRE KILLERS
62. THE FEARLESS VAMPIRE KILLERS
(1967)
Directed by Roman Polanski
Legendary Polish genius and fugitive from justice Roman Polanski made this as a tribute to the series of vampire films released by Hammer that started with "Horror of Dracula" in 1958. The Hammer films are important and classic and they had a lot of red stuff and Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing and the directorial skills of Terence Fisher and, later, some snickering Ingrid Pitt action, but "The Fearless Vampire Killers" beats them all. Originally titled "Dance of the Vampires" it was released after Polanski's initial horror film "Repulsion" (1965) and a year before his horror triumph "Rosemary's Baby" (1968). The story follows two less than efficient vampire killers, one of them played by Roman himself, and has some very funny moments but, unlike many forgettable full blown spoofs of the undead, this is more of a horror film than a comedy, more of a fan's ode to bloodsuckers than a satire. The problem with many of those exalted Hammer flicks is that they become unintentionally silly in all their stately seriousness. What Polanski managed to do with his contribution was to craft a beautifully filmed homage that rises above his sources of inspiration with wit and snow and fangs and a memorable finale. On a final note, Sharon Tate, at the height of her beauty, appears in the role of vampire victim just a few years before those smelly hippies known as the Manson family ended her life.
(1967)
Directed by Roman Polanski
Legendary Polish genius and fugitive from justice Roman Polanski made this as a tribute to the series of vampire films released by Hammer that started with "Horror of Dracula" in 1958. The Hammer films are important and classic and they had a lot of red stuff and Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing and the directorial skills of Terence Fisher and, later, some snickering Ingrid Pitt action, but "The Fearless Vampire Killers" beats them all. Originally titled "Dance of the Vampires" it was released after Polanski's initial horror film "Repulsion" (1965) and a year before his horror triumph "Rosemary's Baby" (1968). The story follows two less than efficient vampire killers, one of them played by Roman himself, and has some very funny moments but, unlike many forgettable full blown spoofs of the undead, this is more of a horror film than a comedy, more of a fan's ode to bloodsuckers than a satire. The problem with many of those exalted Hammer flicks is that they become unintentionally silly in all their stately seriousness. What Polanski managed to do with his contribution was to craft a beautifully filmed homage that rises above his sources of inspiration with wit and snow and fangs and a memorable finale. On a final note, Sharon Tate, at the height of her beauty, appears in the role of vampire victim just a few years before those smelly hippies known as the Manson family ended her life.
posted by scottra at 12:00 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home