The footprints end in mid-snow. A castle looms above a Transylvanian village where the innkeeper hangs garlic like Christmas decorations and the villagers refuse to discuss why their mirrors are all turned to the wall.
This is the world of The Fearless Vampire Killers (1967)—or, as it was originally released in Britain, Dance of the Vampires—Roman Polanski’s candy-colored love letter to the Hammer horror films of his youth, wrapped in a layer of snow, slapstick, and moonlit waltzes.
A Sled Ride into Genre Spoof
Polanski made his name with stark, black-and-white psychological horror (Repulsion, Rosemary’s Baby). Where Murnau’s Nosferatu had forged the vampire film in shadow and dread, Polanski wanted its opposite: in his first color feature, he wanted pure atmosphere: baroque sets, powdery moonlight, crimson drapes, and candlelit crypts that look painted rather than photographed.
The plot is classic Gothic by way of farce. Professor Abronsius (Jack MacGowran), a moth-eaten crusader for “science,” and his timid assistant Alfred (Polanski himself) arrive in the Carpathians chasing vampire legends. They find them—along with Sarah (Sharon Tate), the innkeeper’s daughter whose bath-time rendezvous with soap bubbles and falling snowflakes is interrupted by something far darker.
Enter Count von Krolock (Ferdy Mayne), the most elegant vampire this side of Christopher Lee. He abducts Sarah. Our heroes must infiltrate the castle, survive the midnight ball, and somehow avoid becoming the main course.
The Girl in the Bath
Sharon Tate was not supposed to be in this film.
Producer Martin Ransohoff had discovered her and insisted Polanski cast her instead of his original choice, Jill St. John. Polanski was skeptical—until he saw Tate. The story goes that he scared her into a genuine scream during her audition, and that raw, unguarded reaction won her the part.
It was a fateful casting. On set, Polanski was reportedly hard on Tate, demanding multiple takes, pushing for precision. But the camera loved her. Her Sarah is all porcelain curiosity and bath-bubble siren calls—a performance of such ethereal sensuality that it haunts the film with retrospective tragedy. Two years after this release, Tate was murdered by the Manson Family. She was 26. The film world lost someone who might have become considerable.
Watch the bath scene again: soap bubbles, then falling snow, then crimson blood. The textures of vulnerability.
Why It Works
The Look: Cinematographer Douglas Slocombe (who would later shoot Raiders of the Lost Ark) gives the film a storybook quality—deep shadows, cobalt night skies, snow that glows rather than reflects. The poster was painted by Frank Frazetta, the legendary fantasy artist, capturing the film’s blend of menace and camp.
The Tone: It spoofs the genre without breaking it. When Abronsius and Alfred tiptoe across the battlements, the castle still feels dangerous. The vampires are ridiculous but still vampires—particularly the Jewish vampire Shagal (Alfie Bass), who cheerfully ignores a crucifix (“You’ve got the wrong vampire!”) but fears the Star of David.
The Ball: The masquerade sequence—where our heroes, in borrowed domino masks, waltz among the undead—is the film’s signature set piece. Elegant, eerie, and played for genuine suspense. You understand why this scene alone inspired a stage musical three decades later.
From Screen to Stage
The film’s afterlife proved more successful than its initial release. In 1997, Polanski directed ** Dance of the Vampires**—a full stage musical adaptation with a book by Michael Kunze and songs by Jim Steinman (the composer behind Bat Out of Hell). It became a cult favorite across Europe, particularly in Vienna and Germany, where it ran for years. Steinman’s bombastic, operatic style proved unexpectedly perfect for Polanski’s gothic whimsy.
The musical preserves the film’s central irony: horror and comedy are not opposites but siblings, both born from the same human fear of death dressed up in costume.
Trivia & Shadow
- Original Title: Released as Dance of the Vampires in the UK, the film was awkwardly retitled The Fearless Vampire Killers or: Pardon Me, But Your Teeth Are in My Neck for American audiences—arguably one of the worst title changes in cinema history.
- The Scream: Tate’s audition involved Polanski hiding and leaping out to frighten her. The resulting scream was apparently so genuine that it sealed the casting.
- The Director’s Cameo: Polanski plays Alfred as pure, hapless earnestness—a nebbish in over his head, serving as audience surrogate.
- Krysztof Komeda’s Score: The jazz composer (who also scored Rosemary’s Baby) provides a haunting, playful theme that underlines the film’s tonal tightrope walk.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is The Fearless Vampire Killers about?
A bumbling professor and his timid assistant hunt vampires in the Carpathians, only to be drawn into Count von Krolock’s castle and a lavish undead ball that turns their rescue mission into a moonlit farce.
Who stars in the film?
Jack MacGowran (Professor Abronsius), Roman Polanski (Alfred), Sharon Tate (Sarah), and Ferdy Mayne (Count von Krolock).
Is it scary or a comedy?
Both. It’s a horror-comedy that preserves genuine Gothic atmosphere while undercutting it with slapstick and genre parody.
What’s the connection to the musical Dance of the Vampires?
The 1997 stage musical—also directed by Polanski, with songs by Jim Steinman—is an adaptation of this film. The title Dance of the Vampires was the film’s original British release title.
Why is Sharon Tate’s performance significant?
Beyond her ethereal beauty, this was one of Tate’s few substantial roles before her murder in 1969. Her presence gives the film a retrospective poignancy—youth and vulnerability frozen in celluloid.
The Fearless Vampire Killers is not perfect. Its humor is broad, its pacing occasionally slack, its American title unforgivable. But it is unforgettable: a film that understood you could laugh at vampires and still be afraid of them, that the Gothic castle and the pratfall could coexist, that snow and blood look remarkably similar under the right moonlight.
And that somewhere in a bath full of bubbles, a young actress was giving a performance that would outlive her.
