The full moon in »The Fearless Vampire Killers«

the-fearless-vampire-killers1_198x198The comedy horror film »The Fearless Vampire Killers«, directed by Roman Polański in 1967, is a classic of the genre. The film tells the story of the vampire scientist Professor  Abronsius and his assistant Alfred (played by Roman Polański), who go on a vampire hunt in the snowy mountains of Transylvania and encounter various bizarre figures, and of course the beautiful daughter of the inn keeper Sarah (played by Sharon Tate, whom Polański married in 1968). The film entrances with its absurd and simultaneously funny atmosphere, created by the skillful interactions between light, music, scenery and actors. Thereby, satirical elements resonate as well, when the rotten aristocracy is represented in the form of the undead.

There are two full moon scenes in the movie, one directly at the beginning after the credits (at approx. 2 min), when the Moon hovers above the nightly, snowy landscape, and another, when  Abronsius and Alfred are locked up in the castle and the view through the window to the outside is shown (at approx. 33 min).


the-fearless-vampire-killers2_198x198The film poster with the famous bathing scene, where Count von Krolock haunts Sarah at night and bites her, was painted by the American fantasy and science fiction artist Frank Frazetta (1928–2010), who was the trendsetter for an entire generation of artists.

The full moon seems to be present throughout the film with its bluish light and embodies one more time the mysterious atmosphere that people attribute to it.


  1. Paula James | 2nd November 2020


  2. Mark | 17th April 2019


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