If a single word could encapsulate Roman Polanski’s filmography, it would undeniably be “dark.” From the psychological torment of *Repulsion* (1965) to the nihilistic brutality of *Macbeth* (1971), his works are steeped in existential dread and moral ambiguity. Yet one of the great ironies of this shadow-laden oeuvre is that the film often regarded as his most macabre—*The Fearless Vampire Killers* (1967)—is, at its…







