Fearless Vampire Killers Or: Pardon Me, But Your Teeth Are in My Neck (DVD, 2004)

Following the success of REPULSION, THE FEARLESS VAMPIRE KILLERS was Roman Polanski's first big-budget film, a noticeably more upscale and lavish production than any of his previous offerings. Professor Ambronsius (Jack MacGowran), an eccentric old academic specializing in the study of bats, and his bumbling but well-meaning assistant, Alfred (brilliantly played by Polanski himself), travel to a small village in snowbound Transylvania (actually, filming took place in the Italian Alps) that has been plagued by a clan of local vampires. After innkeeper Shagal's comely daughter, Sarah (Sharon Tate), is abducted by Count Von Krolock (Ferdy Mayne), Ambronsius and Alfred venture out to the count's castle to rid the area of its bloodsucking parasites once and for all--a dangerous undertaking indeed, especially since it soon becomes apparent that traditional weapons against the undead are not quite as effective as folklore would have one believe and that attractive young maidens are not the only ones in danger of becoming victims of a vampire' uninvited advances. One of Polanski's most impressive achievements in FEARLESS VAMPIRE KILLERS is presenting viewers with a perfectly executed horror-parody while at the same time maintaining a consistent underlying sense of dread.