“The Fearless Vampire Killers” (吸血鬼), Original Japanese Movie Poster 1968, Very Rare, B2 Size (51 × 73 cm) P57

This is an original Japanese B2 theatrical poster printed in 1968 for the Japanese release of The Fearless Vampire Killers (also known as Dance of the Vampires), Roman Polanski’s cult gothic horror-comedy starring Sharon Tate alongside Jack MacGowran.

A film that has only grown in stature over time, it’s a perfect late-60s collision of styles: classic Hammer-era gothic atmosphere filtered through Polanski’s modern irony—romantic, unsettling, and darkly funny in the same breath.

Film background
Directed by Roman Polanski, The Fearless Vampire Killers is set in a snowbound, storybook Transylvania of shadowed inns, wolf tracks, and candlelit castles—where a professor and his anxious assistant stumble into a local vampire plague with disastrous results. The film’s tone is famously distinctive: part old-world horror, part satire, with a dreamlike menace that makes it feel both timeless and unmistakably 1960s.

For collectors, it also carries a special cultural imprint as one of the defining “Sharon Tate” era titles—cinema history, fashion, and pop mythology entwined.

Poster design
An exceptionally stylish Japanese design—more art poster than conventional horror advertising. The composition is dominated by a large, soft-focus female profile in icy blue-grey tones, creating a mood of quiet dread and fatal glamour. Above, a moonlit castle sits on a ridge like a fairytale threat, while a small vampiric bite tableau and a blood-red splash puncture the calm with sudden violence.
The calligraphic title 「吸血鬼」 (“Vampire”) is rendered in expressive brush-stroke lettering, with the red “blood” drip integrated directly into the typography—minimal, elegant, and instantly arresting on a wall. It’s exactly the kind of high-concept Japanese graphic approach that often surpasses international poster art for the same film.

Rarity and condition
Japanese B2s from the 1960s are often found with heavy cinema handling, pinholes, or fold wear—especially for horror titles that were displayed hard and discarded. This example is a standout survivor, with excellent presentation and strong colour.

Condition
Excellent, close to Near Mint. Please review the photos—they show the exact poster for sale.

It is over 55 years old!
It is not a reproduction or a reprint.
Certificate of Authenticity included.