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| FEARLESS VAMPIRE KILLERS (1967) | |
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Roman Polanski has directed several brilliant films such as Rosmary’s Baby (1968), Chinatown (1974), and the Pianist (2002).
When analyzing Polanski’s films they are mostly serious, dark, and realistic.
Fearless Vampire Killers on the other hand is a film that balances between
the serious and absurd, which gives the film a very dry humor. This could affect the audience's perception of the film as the humor never brings belly-aching laughter, or even
a chuckle. Nevertheless, Polanski flirts with the audience through the atmosphere in which the story takes place as there are serious social restrictions on what to express and what not to express in a timely fashion.
The story takes place in the Transylvanian Mountains where Professor Abronsius (Jack MacGowran) has set out with his assistant Alfred (Roman Polanski) to prove that vampires do exist. Professor Abronsius arrives frozen to a small town and as he thaws in a small local inn he discovers clues that supports his theory of vampires’ existence. However, the locals are noticeably uncooperative to the Professor’s questions of vampire activities. The locals almost seem to be ashamed of having a deadly monster crawling in their midst. It could be that this shame is what keeps them silent in regards to the presence of a bloodsucking monster that wants to feed on their children and family members, along with their inability to deal with the monster themselves. It appears that the locals want to deal with these issues but seem to be incapable of doing it themselves as two newcomers, Professor Abronsius and Alfred have to do the dirty work of the small town. Polanski playfully directs the film as he teases the audience with a sexy, yet a comically created horror theme. For example, Alfred falls in love with Sarah (Sharon Tate), the innkeeper’s daughter, to whom he displays his inner desires. The sexual tension in the film is exceedingly obvious, yet the people are overtly awkward in the way they handle the sexual issues. The sexual issues bring a muffled silence to the towns folks much like the silence they keep in the presence of vampire issues. This supports the notion that the vampires function as a social contraceptive, i.e., vampires existence are socially symbiotic to the family unit as it protects the family through fear and feed on the family blood. This of course has a symbolic meaning as it reflects societies different views of sexual issues. The film offers not so much laughter, or horror, but it offers some interesting notions to ponder as the film deals with fear and sexual issues. The issues are hidden underneath the surface, yet they are thrown at the audience with deliberate intention by Polanski. In the end the film offers a decent cinematic experience, which will offer some room for amusement and contemplation. A tragic side note that should also be mentioned is that Polanski fell in love with Tate during the production of the film. They got married soon after the film was released. However, their marriage came to a dreadful end when the Manson family murdered Sharon Tate two years after the films release. |
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USA / UK |
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| REVIEWED | |
| 10/31/2004 | |
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The Internet Movie Database. |
