Our Vampires Are Different: In Kronos tradition. The Slake's kin are immune to sunlight, silver and crosses and can only be killed by beheading, though the Slake himself is vulnerable to crosses. Grost goes on to explain: "There are as many species of vampires as there are birds of prey. The traditional stake through the heart does not always hold good, you know... The cross can only protect those who firmly believe."

The first thing that I liked here is that Hammer was known for taking the classic monsters stories we know and doing different things with them. I've said before that coming in I was familiar with their Dracula and Frankenstein adaptations along with a few others, but it is more of the one-offs like this that I'm not at the moment. I actually am bummed that this didn't do better because I read there was going to be a series of films where we followed Captain Kronos fighting other monsters. After seeing this, it is a shame this didn't happen as I want that in my life. In 1977, the producer of the Bond films, Cubby Broccoli, cast her as Bond villainess Naomi in The Spy Who Loved Me. In one scene, Roger Moore’s Bond arrives in Sardinia, posing as a marine biologist. Naomi, sporting a bikini and diaphanous peignoir, sashays to her boat, as Bond comments: “What a handsome craft – such lovely lines.”Marcus visits the family of his late friend, Lord Hagen Durward, and speaks with Durward's son, Paul, and his sister Sara. He must leave before speaking with the bed-ridden Lady Durward. While riding through the woods, Marcus encounters a cloaked figure that leaves him shaken, and he finds blood on his lips.

Something else that I really like is that Hammer was willing to break the mold of things that they've already made. They had a slew of Dracula films where they killed off the vampire in a multitude of ways to try to keep it fresh. This movie expands on that explaining there are different species of vampires and I love this idea. This monster is more of life stealing creature as it is taking the vitality of its victims to make it stay young. Going along with the different kinds, I like that each vampire is unique in the way that it can be destroyed. We get to see Kronos and Grost testing different methods before heading off to face whatever is behind this. Mysterious Past: Most of Kronos' past, where he came from, and how long he's been doing his gig are left vague. Grost says Kronos is "formerly of the Imperial Guard," and he served alongside Marcus, but what empire is never explained and the only hint is that his family became vampires. How he got his katana alone would be enough to have a story about it.

Captain Kronos: Trope Hunter:

I've only seen a couple of Hammer horror films, but I'm impressed. They seem to be subtly effective if you're looking for a few thrills and chills, not overdoing the gore, being mild on the language but yet having a definite edge to them. Town with a Dark Secret: Serechurch, a grim little town in Romania and the main setting of the narrative. Features, among other things, a veritable boatload of Vampires.