The Fearless Vampire Killers: Vampires 101 (1967) User Reviews

Vampires and comedy - a challenging endavor

[Horst_In_Translation · 4/10 · 29 December 2018]

"The Fearless Vampire Killers: Vampires 101" is a little 10-minute comedy short film from 1967 and this is the only effort as writer and director for Michael Mindlin Jr. And the reason that this one here is at least not entirely forgotten is that it was used to promote Polanski's "The Fearless Vampire Killers", a film that came out the same time, so both works are already over half a century old. Well this one here has Max Wall at the center of it playing apparently something you could call an academic or teacher in the fight versus vampires telling people the easiest and most effective ways to deal with these blood-sucking creatures. It includes stuff like garlic that everybody knows about of course now, but lets not forget how old this film is. By the way it is also in color, not to be taken for granted for 1967, even if there were many many other color films from that era. What else? Oh yeah I think wall looks considerably older here thanks to the mae-up than he actually is. There's also most biological references here making parallels between vampires and bats on one or two occasions. Overall, I need to add that I have not seen the Polanski film, but I have a feeling the connection is really only the subject, maybe the approach to comedy too, but I don't feel like it is a must-see what we have here, even if you liked the Polanski movie. Or loved it. Also Wall is not in it? I am not sure. As a whole, I give it a thumbs-down and recommend you watch something else instead. It hasn't aged greatly, which is not the lead actor's fault though.

Clearly under-rated

[brian_spence_ni · 10/10 · 7 September 2008]

6.3 out of 10? Why so low? This trailer of sorts is delightfully in keeping with the brilliance that is the fearless vampire killers!

I could definitely see this guy carrying off the abronsius role! I thought the tutorial delivery was delightfully quaint, and his comments on the quirks of vamps almost endearing. Italian vampires can tolerate garlic; hilarious but oh so xenophobically wrong!!!

The funniest thing, perhaps, was the fact that you could see the ending coming from a hundred miles away - even though, it seemed for a second that his reasoning with the vampire at the end might win him a reprieve. *Sigh* will vampire killers never learn from their peers earlier mistakes. TV gold

Brian