However, I just watched Dracula Has Risen from the Grave and Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed, so I was in my Hammer mode. You know the old saying – if I had a Hammer, I’d Hammer in the morning, I’d hammer in the evening all over this land. Anyway, I was pretty disappointed with Dracula Has Risen and Frankie Must be Destroyed, so I didn’t hold a lot of hope out for Kronos.
Well, i won't go all vitriolic, but, i found FRANKENSTEIN MUST BE DESTROYED to be one of the best Hammer efforts. Cushing's Frankenstein is the monster, as the script makes clear in many ways, most notably the rape scene.
FMBD does a nice Hitchcockian set piece, too, with the body in the garden and the busted water main.
Simon Ward - Young Churchill himself, seems a bit to beefy to be so put-upon, Hammer regular Shane Briant might have been more effective.
Veronica Carlson is perfect at the heroine, as is the creation (of brain transplanting, not, re-assembled body parts) of Freddie Jones, who was also very effective in David Lynch's THE ELEPHANT MAN.
Although it had a troubled history, Christopher Lee holding out for more money until filming was actually underway, DRACULA HAS RISEN FROM THE GRAVE is certainly not without its merits.
As a statement on Edwardian morality, it is a brilliant endeavor; HOWEVER, as a Dracula movie, it sucks. Lee's Drac is given NOTHING to do but stare and scowl, the character does not even really belong to the film.
But, DHRftG is moodily photographed, has the chaste brothel scene which introduced the Count (not Drac) who SHOULD have been the antagonist, leading to the great scene in the "novelty" shoppe, with the films great array of character actors in their prime. The Black Mass scene works well for me too. . .all those buttresses and stained glass create a truly eerie ambiance.
Once Lee's Drac appears, though. . . .
There are still some great-ish scenes all linked to a "sins of the fathers" theme. The sexual tension when the daughter is forbidden to go out for the evening, and might suffer a whipping is intense even for a Hammer film.
Both films look great on dvd, audio-wise, though, DHRftG has a better soundtrack.
It's been a while since I looked at CAPTAIN CRONOS, but, I remember being very impressed with Paramount's presentation on dvd. And, it has Shane Briant, too. It's a comic book, though more, graphic novel inlfuenced film, which should have started a series. It features a very enigmatic leading character, deliberately so. There are times when it reminds me of THE CONQUERER WORM, just the mood, not the violence, and I know I'll watch it again.
