Count Yorga, Vampire (1970)
Sixties couples Michael and Donna and Paul and Erica become involved with the intense Count Yorga at a Los Angeles séance, the Count having latterly been involved with Erica's just-dead mother. After taking the Count home, Paul and Erica are waylayed, and next day a listless Erica is diagnosed by their doctor as having lost a lot of blood. When she is later found feasting on the family cat the doctor becomes convinced vampirism is at work, and that its focus is Count Yorga and his large isolated house.
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Simply A Masterpiece
Absolutely the worst movie.
The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.
Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.
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.
Robert Quarry gives a suavely sinister and mesmerizing performance as Count Yorga, a smooth, cultured and highly dangerous Bulgarian vampire who's posing as a psychic medium in modern-day 70's Los Angeles, California. Yorga preys on several young ladies and incurs the wrath of their boyfriends, who find that killing Yorga is easier said than done. Directed with real skill and assurance by Robert Kelljan (who also wrote the witty script), with sharp cinematography by Arch Archambault, a steady pace, a lively, shuddery score by Bill Marx, a good deal of tension, and an extremely wild, rousing and gruesome conclusion that comes complete with a surprise downbeat ending, this horror opus puts a really nifty and entertaining contemporary hip spin on the usual bloodsucker premise. This movie further benefits from solid acting from a largely attractive cast: Roger Perry as the concerned, practical Dr. James Hayes, Donna Anderson as the fetching Donna, Michael Macready as Donna's worried, protective boyfriend Michael Thompson, Michael Murphy as the brash Paul, Judy Lang as the alluring, outgoing Erica Landers, Edward Walsh as Yorga's brutish, creepy manservant Brudah, and buxom blonde 60's soft-core cinema starlet Marsha Jordan as one of Yorga's sexy, yet lethal vampire brides. Better still, Kelljan totally pushes the PG rating to the limit: Erica snacks on a cute little kitten in one particularly shocking scene and Yorga's vampire brides all show off a lot of cleavage. George Macready supplies the supremely sonorous narration which bookends the picture. A real fun'n'funky delight.