THE FEARLESS VAMPIRE HUNTERS, DANCE OF THE VAMPIRES.

I first remember seeing THE DANCE OF THE VAMPIRES as it was called many years ago on TV it must have been a long time ago as I watched it on a black and white set that my parents had. I am sure it was on BBC late at night you know the last movie of the weekend when they played the national anthem and reminded you to unplug the set. The edition of the film I saw that night was the version with the animated introduction, which is the one and only time I have seen this version. One of the things that struck me about the movie was the music, it was certainly atmospheric if nothing else, it was rather different for a horror movie but there again we are talking Polanski here.

Composer Krzysztof Komeda penned a very innovative and original sounding soundtrack to accompany the rather chaotic and madcap adventures of the two vampire hunters which the story focuses upon. Komeda’s score is essentially a serious one, but does however contain a few more slightly comedic interludes. After the animated intro the famous MGM lion turns into a green vampire character with its fangs dripping blood as this imagery begins so does Komeda’s wonderful choral main title at first it sounds off key or slightly out of kilter but as the credits roll and the drops of blood fall the music grows and develops establishing the core theme for the score which re-appears at key points within the movie, and is especially effective as we see Count Von Krolock (Ferdy Mayne) on his way to claim a victim, it is in my opinion a very modern sounding piece and even today sounds like it was written recently and could be the work of Philip Glass, but it is attractive in a sort of weird way. The composer supports the lead vocalising with harpsichord and also percussion which in turn is enhanced further by guitar and a kind of warbling choral sound. On first seeing the movie I must admit I found it a little hard going, I had after all been used to the gothic horrors from Hammer and the old black and white Universal tales of the macabre and the fantastic. Polanski’s approach was totally different from anything I had witnessed before and I have to say that it was not until a few years later when I sat and watched the movie again that I fully appreciated the comic and ironic appeal of the picture and the inventive and highly original score by Komeda. The version of the score I have was released on a Polish label THE FEARLESS VAMPIRE HUNTERS being the second Komeda soundtrack on the disc, the other being his triumph of film scoring ROSEMARYS BABY another Polanski horror movie. THE FEARLESS VAMPIRE HUNTERS contains approx 30 minutes of music, Komeda and Polanski choosing to score the project sparingly, in fact after the main titles the film has no music for at least the first half an hour.

It is in this opening 30 minutes or so that the audience is introduced to most of the leading players in the movie, Komeda’s score does not return until the scene where the hunchback who is the Count’s assistant and bodygaurd takes the Vampire to attack the innkeepers daughter Sarah played by Sharon Tate, as the beautiful girl sits in a bath tub filled with bubbles she notices that snow is falling indoors and looks up to see the evil Count coming through the skylight to abduct her. All that is left after he has gone is the bubbles that are now tainted with blood. Komeda’s music is highly effective within this scene and gives it a certain chilling atmosphere which is greatly aided by the utilisation of the Japanese bamboo flute called the Shakuhachi. Sarah’s Father played by Alfie Bass is bereft at the abduction of his daughter and chewing handfuls of garlic sets off into the frozen night to rescue her, in the morning he is found frozen and drained of blood. The vampire hunters decide it would be best to stake him there and then, but the innkeepers wife wont have any of it.

The vampire hunters decide to go down in the dead of night to finish him off, but they bungle the job and the now vampire innkeeper escapes and makes a b line for the maid, shocked at her once employer being a vampire and wanting to bite her she shows him a crucifix, the innkeeper laughs because being Jewish the crucifix has no power “YOU’VE GOT THE WRONG VAMPIRE” he says. Then there is the obviously Gay vampire who is the son of the Count, who chases Alfred the vampire hunters apprentice in the hope of turning him into one of the un-dead.

The chase is hilarious, and is masterfully scored by the composer who utilises choir, harpsichord and guitar which are all punctuated and supported by timpani. The timing of the music within this scene is crucial and without it the sequence would probably not have worked again we can hear certain similarities to the music of Morricone. This is a master class in how to score a movie, the music is certainly striking in places but then at other times it is subtle and understated. Komeda was a great talent and his working relationship with Polanski was a fruitful one.

PRIDE PREJUDICE AND ZOMBIES.

PRIDE PREJUDICE AND ZOMBIES ? Yes that’s correct I have not gone mad and got two genres or stories mixed up, well I haven’t but director Burr Steers seems to have. Released this week in the UK PRIDE PREJUDICE AND ZOMBIES (lets not forget those flesh eating varmints) Is an odd fusion of horror with the highly acclaimed and sophisticated story as penned by Jane Austen in 1813. It is actually based on the 2009 novel by Seth Grahame Smith who via his writings provided us with this parody of established English romanticism and mashed it up with the gory and manic world of the ZOMBIE. So here we are in 19th Century England and a mysterious plague has fallen upon the country the entire land being overrun and decimated by the un-dead hordes who lust after human flesh and more. Who can stop these I hear you scream, well our fearsome and somewhat highly strung Heroine Elizabeth Bennet of course silly you.

She is a supreme master of the martial arts and has all sorts of weaponry at her disposal. She joins forces with Mr Darcy and together they set about ridding the land of this Zombie scourge and whilst doing so discover that they are truly in love with each other. A highly unlikely scenario yes, but it’s a bit of fun isn’t it. The musical score is the work of Spanish born composer Fernando Velazquez who is certainly no stranger to horror movies, his score to DEVIL for example just oozed a virulent and foreboding atmosphere and was hailed by many as a masterpiece of film scoring which tilted its hat to the style of the great Bernard Herrmann within its perimeters on more than one occasion. I love the way in which the composer manages to balance the music equally within its respective genres, by this I mean that the score remains elegant and romantic throughout but at the same time the composer infuses the correct amount of action led cues and horror laced passages whilst introducing a certain amount of comedic writing which lightens the mood at times. The score is quite large scale, the composer utilising to great effect the string section which is ably supported and enhanced by percussion and imposing sounding horns. Velazquez also employs to great effect lilting solo piano and a spidery sounding harpsichord at times which effectively sends shivers down the listeners spine giving the work a chilling aura.

FERNANDO VELAZQUEZ.

This is a score that is filled with numerous sharp and searing string stabs, pounding percussive passages and an ample helping of rasping and growling brass performances, in short it is a great horror score but even though the majority of the music is what can be deemed as KNOCK EM DOWN AND DRAG EM OUT cues it still remains highly thematic and entertaining. Full of stirring heroic material which is supported by touches of the mysterious and full blown mayhem this is a soundtrack that I recommend to you, a truly old fashioned sounding horror score, that is relentless and unyielding, it’s a blast.