Count Yorga, Vampire (1970)

Really Surprised!

Absolutely Fantastic

A Disappointing Continuation

This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

Robert Quarry is the main reason to watch this early 70s, California-set vampire favorite. Quarry plays the title character, a Bulgarian émigré hired by some young adults to conduct a seance. Soon some of them are disappearing, the females falling under the spell of this stranger. It's up to those that are left, including Michael (Michael Macready, who also produced the film), and doctor / blood specialist Jim Hayes (Roger Perry), to wage war with the fiend."Count Yorga, Vampire" is good fun for fans of the vampire genre. Writer & director Bob Kelljan creates some convincing suspense and atmosphere (as well as a few well timed shocks). Things also get satisfactorily gory without ever turning the proceedings into a true bloodbath. Of course, it's also quite sexy, with the young ladies dressed provocatively, and Yorgas' vampire brides taking up residence in his cellar. Standout scenes include our protagonists facing off against the bloodsucker, trying to keep him up until dawn. But Yorga always seems to have the upper hand. A dapper, aristocratic type, he clearly holds his opponents in contempt and doesn't doubt that HE can vanquish THEM. Quarry is absolutely aces in this role, and it makes one wish that he could have had more leading roles over the years (not that he did that badly for himself - his career was especially impressive during the 70s).Yorgas' nemeses come off as reasonably likable, if occasionally foolish. What's particularly amusing is the way that Dr. Hayes is so readily accepting of the concept of vampires and that it's actually him that has to convince the others of the possibility.The lovely actresses present include Donna Anders, Judy Lang, Julie Conners, Marsha Jordan, and Deborah Darnell. Future star Michael Murphy is amiable as Paul, another of our would be Yorga slayers, the hulking Edward Walsh is amusing as the Counts' ugly manservant, and that's Michael Macready's father, veteran actor George M., speaking the narration for the opening few minutes.Highlighted by an effectively grim ending.Seven out of 10.

Robert Quarry stars as Count Yorga, a ruthless vampire who meets two couples at a séance where he is trying to contact his old love, who is the mother of one of the women. After one of the couples takes the Count home, the woman is attacked, and becomes a vampire herself. The other two men later decide to confront Yorga in his castle, and if necessary, destroy him, though they seem unprepared for his many brides...Mean-spirited and excessively violent film generates some suspense, but has a nasty air of nihilism about it, leading to a downbeat(and dead end) conclusion that makes this a futile & joyless viewing experience.

*Spoiler/plot- Count Yorga, Vampire, 1970. In the sexy 60's, a hip European guy is holding classes in the occult. A pair of sexy girlfriends attract the Count's attention and the jealous boyfriends try to save them from Yorga attentions.*Special Stars- Robert Quarry, Roger Perry, Michael Murphy, Donna Anders, Judy Lang, NARRATOR: George Macready.*Theme- Vampires are deadly as well as sexy to humans.*Trivia/location/goofs- Color. Started as low-budget soft-core porno movie. Count Yorga was supposedly to become an enemy of Vincent Price's character, Dr. Phibes. It was not developed.*Emotion- It's an updated vampire story in modern American with some of the nudity and sex scenes also updated. It's campy and titillating all at the same time. Worth a quick look from viewers.

Made on a decidedly low budget, this contemporary vampire story is noted for placing a Dracula-like figure in a modern setting for perhaps the first time and for the captivating performance of Quarry in the title role. Anderson plays a young lady who holds a séance with her boyfriend and two other couples along with Quarry who leads the event. She is trying to connect with her recently deceased mother, who was also the lover of Quarry from three weeks prior to her death. Following a jarring and somewhat harrowing experience in the séance, the party breaks up and young Murphy and Lang give Quarry a ride home. Lang becomes intrigued by Quarry, a recent transplant from Bulgaria who lives in a musty castle on a gated estate. Before long, Quarry has nibbled on Lang and enticed her to his side while Murray and pal Macready prepare to do battle with him. They enlist the aid of blood specialist Perry, who acts as a sort of modern day Van Helsing, trying to come up with ways to combat the vampire. Quarry is a striking presence as Count Yorga (actually meant to be Iorga, and pronounced that way in the film, but changed by the distributing company in order to be more easily pronounced by the movie-going public!) The actor clearly relishes the chance to perform this type of role and brings a gravity to it, despite some of the lighter and campier aspects of the movie. Perry gives a skilled, knowing performance as well, obviously aware that a blend of seriousness mixed with levity was called for in the production. Lang is attractive and reasonably good (soap fans will be interested to know that her daughter Katherine Kelly Lang has played Brooke on "The Bold and the Beautiful" for many years!) Murphy, who would grow into a prolific character actor, isn't bad either, but most of the rest of the cast is weak. Macready, who produced and directed the film (and enlisted his more famous father to provide a ripe, flavorful voice-over), while nice enough looking, is almost laughably expressionless and wooden during most of his screen time. Initially conceived as a sort of T & A horror flick, it eventually morphed into a standard horror outing, though some sexually prominent elements remain. Quarry watches as two of his undead brides ALMOST make out and Lang has a self-caressing sequence as she's falling under his spell. Perry has a bedmate who was clearly chosen more for her body than her ability to recite dialogue, though he scene is amusing whether intentional or not! The low budget is revealed occasionally such as when two men carry on a conversation done entirely in voiceovers as they are shown walking, in long shots, through L.A. (these scenes afford priceless glimpses at the city at that time, however) and in the Volkswagon minibus scenes in which the actors are clearly emoting during daylight hours for a scene that takes place late at night! However, the visible snags are all part of the charm, for the most part. The non-polished production aspects lend the film a somehow more realistic and accessible feel. Memorable moments include Quarry enduring a late night tete-a-tete with Perry and Macready and Lang experiencing a gruesome encounter with her cat. The popularity, primarily at drive-ins and other theaters of that ilk, led to a sequel ("The Return of Count Yorga") one year later.