The Fearless Vampire Killers
Or: Pardon Me, But Your Teeth Are In My Neck
Who says vampires are no laughing matter?
Clever comedy-horror film directed by Roman Polanski. An expert on bats, Professor Abronsius and his dim-witted assistant, Alfred, travel to Transylvania to try to find and destroy vampires. Alfred falls for the vampire's latest target - the inn-keeper's daughter.
Member Reviews
Not as funny as I remembered - Coconut_Willy
I have seen this movie a few times quite a while ago and thought it would be nice to see it again. Maybe I was not in the appropriate mood but I didn't find it to be as funny as I remembered. Mind you, it is more of a satire than a laugh out loud type of film. The storyline is a bit ridiculous (as it's supposed to be) and is developed as a succession of mishaps for the main characters. The cast is appropriate for that sort of comedy doing a rather average acting job with a bizarre dialogue but very funny characters. The sets and locations are very good, the soundtrack is good as well as the camera work. The transfer to DVD is of rather surprisingly good quality considering this movie is over 40 years old. If you're looking for something that will make you laugh non-stop, this is certainly not a good choice but it is a good film nonetheless.A mixed blood bag - eoguy
This is the first film I've seen Sharon Tate in, and she is beautiful. Knowing more about her murder before seeing this film might have influenced my impressions - but the film still has its creepy moments. Also, the sets are WONDERFUL.
Polanksi is not much of an actor, but he can make memorable movies. This one is not as good as 'Chinatown' or 'Rosemary's Baby' - though seeing this one makes me want to revisit those two gems sooner than later. And, I guess I was hoping for something a little more off the wall than this - a friend had told me this was, to say the least, weird. It certainly is offbeat, but the film I saw before this one was 'Happiness of the Katakuris' which is really beyond classification as far as I'm concerned, and this film in comparison is really just kinda quirky.
However...it does have those Polanski moments. He uses tracking shots in curious ways...for example, a character will exit the shot and he'll keep the camera right where it is, not following the character (we see this repeated in 'Rosemary' - remember the scene where the old gal takes the phone call and we watch from the doorway and hear her talking but don't see her?), and he'll film people from the back tracking their movement(s), as if we're looking over their shoulder(s) (he effectively employs this technique repeatedly in 'Chinatown').
The music score is eery and memorable, and elements of it bring to mind Argento's score for 'Suspiria'. And, parts of the score even reminded me of the music score in Polanski's own 'Rosemary'. Polanski fans, vampire movie fans, horror film buffs, and even satire fans can enjoy this one - but it is relatively highbrow and maybe even somewhat self-indulgent for someone who is only looking for some mindless Saturday night entertainment.Pardon, Not the kind of comedy you expect - nkl-
I think my thoughts will contradict with the previous reviewer. While this is truly not the modern comedy like Wedding Crashers, which is not the worst movie of the last year but still targets too wide audience with extremely acceptable humor (Terrence and Phillipe are funnier btw). Now this movie is about crazy professor seeking to exterminate the vampires. He arrives to a small transivanian village with assistent who's played very cutely my Roman Polanski himself. Their Inn keeper is biten by vampires and runs away to the castle our heroes were seeking all along. When they come to the castle they are met with eerie hospitality of Their Excellency Caunt von Krolock and his son. Abronsius and Alfred tried unsuccesfully to kill the vampires. Alfred is in love with the Inn's keeper's daughter. They escape at last from the ball, but only to spread the vampires all over the world. The story is cute, funny, and intelligent. There are no hillarious jokes, just awkward moments. Authors are making fun of humans vision on the vampires and on horror movies as well. The movie isn't slow, it's just modern movies are too fast, if you like to think while watching the movie, than you will enjoy it, and don't expect any fart jokes, it's just completely different level of humour. Any former USSR viewers will find some simmilarities with "Vechera Na Hutore Bliz Dikanki".
Member Reviews
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Not as funny as I remembered - Coconut_Willy
I have seen this movie a few times quite a while ago and thought it would be nice to see it again. Maybe I was not in the appropriate mood but I didn't find it to be as funny as I remembered. Mind you, it is more of a satire than a laugh out loud type of film. ...A mixed blood bag - eoguy
This is the first film I've seen Sharon Tate in, and she is beautiful. Knowing more about her murder before seeing this film might have influenced my impressions - but the film still has its creepy moments. Also, the sets are WONDERFUL.
Polanksi is ...Pardon, Not the kind of comedy you expect - nkl-
I think my thoughts will contradict with the previous reviewer. While this is truly not the modern comedy like Wedding Crashers, which is not the worst movie of the last year but still targets too wide audience with extremely acceptable humor (Terrence and ...