The Fearless Vampire Killers (1967)

Directed by Roman Polanski. Starring Jack MacGowran, Roman Polanski, Ferdy Mayne, Sharon Tate, Alfie Bass, Iain Quarrier, Terry Downes, Fiona Lewis, Jessie Robins.

Stylish horror-comedy finds tottering vampire hunter MacGowran and his callow assistant (Polanski) deep in the heart of Transylvania. After a lovely innkeeper’s daughter (Tate) is bitten and stolen in the night, the intrepid stalkers follow the trail to the castle of Count von Krolock (Mayne). An enjoyable blend of black humor and slapstick—several payoffs and visual gags even echo of Mel Brooks, making his own vampire spoof (Dracula: Dead and Loving It) seem even more uninspired than it already is. Beautifully shot in the Swiss Alps, with gloomy texture and Gothic atmosphere that makes everything (including many of the actors) appear encased in cobwebs; not young beauty Tate, of course, as Polanski captures her radiance like a porcelain doll with red cascading curls aflame. A little slow to start, but an otherwise exemplary specimen of the sub-genre. Full title: The Fearless Vampire Killers, or Pardon Me, But Your Teeth Are in My Neck; released in the UK as Dance of the Vampires.

78/100