Captain Kronos Vampire Hunter

A most beautiful example of the screenwriter’s art in that discursive model of a vine growing tendrils of speculation along the way, it could be anything, a vampire of indeterminate species reducing young girls to crones on the instant. Old age, time itself, invincible God.

It’s the Karsteins, against whom Kronos must arm himself like Dürer’s knight.

The direction has many felicities of touch, often noted in later reviews. Canby found it interesting but evidently missed the point (“the acting is terrible”).

A curious point is the Captain’s second weapon, a samurai sword he wields like Kurosawa’s Seven.