‘Captain Kronos Vampire Hunter’ Will Be Hammer Film’s First-Ever 4K Restoration On Disc
by David Lewis
Good news for fans of rare 1970s horror: Hammer’s cult film Captain Kronos Vampire Hunter is ready to make the leap onto limited collector’s edition 4K Ultra HD and Blu-ray.
Classic horror titles from the vaults of England’s famed Hammer Film Productions have been released frequently on various home formats — think of all the Dracula films starring Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee from the ’60s. But this release of Captain Kronos represents Hammer Film’s first ever 4K restoration.
Written and directed by TV veteran Brian Clemens (a regular helmer of legendary UK shows like The Avengers and The Professionals), the 1974 film stars Horst Janson, John Carson, Shane Briant, and Hammer regular Caroline Munro. The plot is in the title — Kronos and his hunchbacked sidekick Professor Hieronymus Grost hunt vampires in spooky little villages. But they soon encounter a sophisticated new form of bloodsucker.
Captain Kronos Vampire Hunter has been restored from the original film negatives and will be available as a limited edition 5-disc set — two UHD discs and three Blu-rays. The set contains three versions of the film: The UK and US theatrical cuts, and the “As-Filmed” version, which sounds like a work print or some type of rough cut.
Special features include a new documentary on Clemens, interviews, introductions and commentary by Munro, and Clemens’ sons, Sam and George. It’s all housed in a collectible slipcase with red foil titling and featuring a double-sided poster, a booklet, and a 100-page reprint of the Kronos comic strips from the 1970s magazine The House of Hammer.
Captain Kronos Vampire Hunter will be available January 27th.
