Horror Classics: The Fearless Vampire Killers

The Fearless Vampire Killers is one of those films that, depending on your point of view, is either a masterpiece or a waste of time. With that in mind, I thought it'd be a good addition to the Horror Classics series - especially considering how serious the previous films were.

Behind the Scenes of the Fearless Vampire Killers

I wasn't able to find much as far as behind-the-scenes stuff goes but here's what I did find.

Written and directed by Roman Polanski, the first few months were somewhat chaotic as the crew had to transfer their outdoor shoots from Austria to an Italian ski resort in the Dolomites. This resulted in some tension with the Italian portion of the crew. Additionally, from what I understand, the main crew had very little faith in the film, deeming it old fashioned and nonsensical.

With all that said, the film did inspire the musical Tanz der Vampire and did quite well at the box office upon its release in 1967.

The Plot

The film follows a pair of vampire hunters, Professor Abronsius (Jack McGowran) and his apprentice Alfred (Roman Polanski) as they arrive at a small village in Transylvania. This village is, as you'd expect, under the rule of a vampire nobleman - Count von Krolock (Ferdy Mayne). While there, Alfred falls in love with the innkeeper's daughter, Sarah (Sharon Tate).

When she's taken by the Count, Alfred and the Professor take off to rescue her and end the vampire's reign of terror.

So, What Works?

Okay, so what works? Where does this movie shine?

Well, the music and cinematography are nice, and the costumes and set design are fantastic.

The landscapes and backgrounds are pretty cool and the performances are great. Ferdy Mayne's Count von Krolock is an imposing figure with a not-so-subtle menace to him. The Count's son, Herbert (Iain Quarrier), is both amusing and unsettling, and Polanski and McGowran's characters of Alfred and Abronsius are the perfect bumbling oafs.

What Doesn't Work so Well?

Well...the story itself has, if you'll excuse the pun, been done to death. The concept is great, but the execution is nothing we haven't seen a hundred times over. Unfortunately, the result is a story that, despite being tonally consistent, doesn't justify it's pace.

What do I mean by that? Well, the film is SLOW! It is very, very slow and when you're watching a storyline that you've seen many times before it just gets slower. The humor isn't too good either.

There are one or two jokes that are quite good (i.e. the regular vampire repellants - crosses, etc. - not working on the innkeeper because he's Jewish) but most of them fall flat. Is it supposed to be funny when the barmaid smacks Alfred's hand when he tries to cop a feel? I don't think so.

The Musical: Tanz der Vampire

30 years after the film, in 1997, Roman Polanski produced and directed a musical adaptation/remake of the Fearless Vampire Killers called Tanz der Vampire which opened in Vienna, Austria. It was a huge hit all over Europe and has since seen many adaptations in Germany, Japan, and, of course, in America's Broadway Theater.

The Broadway version went into production around 2000, with a tentative release schedule (March 2001) being announced in October of that year. After a number of other delays, a release date was set for April of 2002. The lead role was given to Michael Crawford - who played the original phantom in Andrew Lloyd Webber's Phantom of the Opera. The plan was to have further casting sessions in September of 2001. Of course, after the September 11 attacks those sessions didn't happen as flights were cancelled left and right - this led to the opening date being postponed yet again.

When the Broadway production finally opened, it was definitely not well-received. The show only lasted a few weeks, running 56 performances before closing shop. It was one of the biggest financial fails of Broadway history and, as far as I know, there hasn't been a Broadway/American production of Tanz der Vampire since.

Worth a Watch?

So...is this movie worth watching? Well, it's got a cult following of sorts and there are some strong points to it, but I don't know if I'd say it's 'worth' watching. I'd say it depends. If you haven't seen it and you're curious about it, check it out. Otherwise, there are other, better films out there.