The Vampire Hunter
Ernest Chariot (Robert Lansing), an experienced slayer of vampires, has grown weary and aches to relax. Before he travels to Vienna for some relaxation, the lovely Maura Warren (Page Hannah) arrives at his home to report that her brother Gerald has been turned into a vampire. Not wanting to postpone his vacation, Ernest's eager apprentice Jack Avery (Jack Koenig) decides to go help Maura himself, despite Chariot’s warnings. After not returning for a matter of days, Ernest forgoes his trip to find him, ultimately learning that he has been kidnapped by Charles Poole (John Bolger), a vampire who wishes to exact brutal revenge on Ernest for disfiguring his handsome face many years ago.
Tropes:
- Alas, Poor Villain: As Charles dies, he feebly asks Ernest to put his mask back on to hide his scarred face.
- Big "NO!": Ernest has one when Charles reveals Jack's drained body.
- Bittersweet Ending: Charles ends up staked by Ernest, saving Maura's life, but Jack was killed before he could be saved.
- Bond One-Liner: Enraged by Ernest ripping his mask off, Charles shows off Jack's drained corpse in a crate, calling him a "Jack in the box".
- Chekhov's Gun: The crucifix that Jack uses to try and stop Charles, which he smacks out of his hand. The statue of Jesus happens to be knocked off because of this, and Maura uses it to burn Charles' hand during the final battle.
- Cool Old Guy: Ernest is known throughout the land as a notorious slayer of the undead. When his apprentice is kidnapped by Charles, who wants revenge against him for disfiguring his attractive face, he doesn't hesitate to put his plans aside to save him.
- Dirty Coward: Ernest calls Charles out on this when the two meet face to face, demeaning him for how he's afraid to die to the point where he slumbers in a wooden box daily.
- Distinguished Gentleman's Pipe: Ernest smokes one when he's unwinding, illustrating how old-fashioned and professional he is.
- Dramatic Unmask: The climax has Ernest ripping Charles' mask off to reveal the huge scar that covers the right half of his mouth, upon which Charles snaps.
- Evil Is Hammy: Charles revels in old-school villainy, and does so with a breathy baritone voice as he subdues Ernest and Jack.
- Gold Digger: Having been worked to the bone at a cotton mill for a good chunk of her life, Maura fell in love with Charles because he's so rich, in exchange for luring hapless suitors to his lair so he can feed.
- The Grotesque: Charles, whose lower face is gruseomely deformed thanks to Ernest.
- High-Heel–Face Turn: Maura, who spent years luring victims to Charles, teams up with Ernest to put an end to him once and for all.
- Historical Domain Character: In the opening scene, Ernest mentions that he's looking forward to a meeting with Sigmund Freud during his trip to Vienna.
- Holy Burns Evil: Ernest possesses many crucifixes in his living quarters, and he shows one of them to Maura to ask how Gerald feels about them, to which she answers that they've started making him nervous, as well as the fact that he refuses to be inside or near churches. Charles also displays the same vulnerability, as grasping a statue of Jesus burns his hand.
- Honey Trap: Maura is revealed to have been forced into seducing Jack and Ernest into arriving at Charles' manor on the vampire's orders, but she quickly defects to Ernest's side.
- Intergenerational Friendship: As Mrs. Haggerty tells Jack, the aging Ernest loves him like a son.
- Irony: Mrs. Haggerty finds a lucky penny and gives it to Jack to give him some luck. By the end of the episode, he's been killed by Charles.
- Karma Houdini: Literally nothing happens to Maura for getting Jack killed and Ernest even seems to forgive her for it extremely quickly.
- Mandatory Unretirement: Ernest wants nothing more than a little R&R after years of killing vampires, but Jack's abduction by Charles forces him to put those plans aside.
- Masking the Deformity: Charles wears a dark blue mask with a fake mouth and mustache across his lower face to hide the disfigurement that Ernest gave him in their last battle.
- May–December Romance: Ernest quickly falls for Maura, and she notes that the feeling is somewhat mutual, even though he's old enough to be her granddaughter.
- Mock Millionaire: As part of her lies to Ernest, Maura hints that her family is quite wealthy, but the second act has Ernest doing a background check revealing that she actually worked at a cotton mill, until she got fed up with the abuse and fell in love with Charles because he was so wealthy.
- Money, Dear Boy: In-Universe, this is the reason Maura gives as to why a vampire would bite and turn her brother Gerald, as she notes that her family has a considerable fortune, and that living forever must be quite expensive.
- Rage Breaking Point: Ernest provokes Charles' point by ripping his mask off, whereupon Charles provokes his by revealing Jack's corpse.
- Sacrificial Lamb: Jack, Ernest's apprentice, is lured to Charles' lair by Maura so the vampire himself can feed on him, as well as to send Ernest on the hunt for where he went.
- Shout-Out: Charles is quite similar and appearance and demeanor to The Phantom of the Opera, being a deformed recluse only capable of feeling rage and vengeance.
- Small Role, Big Impact: Mrs. Haggerty, Ernest's maid who introduces Maura to him and Jack, then informs Ernest himself about Jack being missing.
- Super-Strength: Charles possesses the trope as vampires often do, using it to subdue Jack, armed with a stake, with no difficulty, after which he breaks the stake in two.
- Time Skip: The second act takes place two days after Charles feeds on Jack.
