Michael fends them off, chasing away the redhead while Erica pauses, giving Michael a chance to stake her, but despite seeing she is no longer the Erica he knows, he cannot bring himself to do so, and proceeds upstairs while she hisses at him. Tommy is untouched, revealing he is under Yorga's power. The story features Quarry returning as the infamous vampire Count Yorga, along with his servant Brudah, both of whom have been revived by the supernatural Santa Ana winds. And I have seen quite a few. In this alternate take on the Dracula story, the titular count (from Bulgaria) holds a seance to contact the mother of young Donna. From there, the audience moves along to a seance in a hip Los Angeles home. Low-rung vampire pic "Counts" on Quarry to elevate it. Count Yorga, Vampire has been the subject of several home video releases in nearly all formats since the 1980s. An old school vampire living in the early seventies. YORGA was a surprise hit for AIP in the summer of 1970, appealing to both audiences and critics. Some of the older brides wear dirty gowns most likely because they were drained and buried with them on all at once. Yorga is simply looking to put together an undead harem that he can voyeuristically watch make love from the throne in his dungeon and he does, in a sexy sequence probably leftover from the scripts original iteration. Shortly after, Paul and Michael discuss the strange changes in Erica's behavior. Originally released in 1970, the first of his movies, Count Yorga, Vampire was a quiet, laid back kind of movie that felt more in line with the Dracula stories that had come before, yet managed to find a firm fan-base, and almost became a huge franchise. Meanwhile, Hammer Productions, which all but cornered the vampire market throughout the 60s, found themselves playing catch-up. Plot [ edit] A coffin is loaded to a truck at the Port of Los Angeles. Even Van Helsing had a hard time convincing his peers and the authorities of supernatural goings-on in the 1800s, and that became increasingly difficult in the 70s and 80s. Thomas is tricked into walking into the quicksand pit and promptly sinks to his death. For the rest of the decade he mainly concentrated on TV before sadly having his career cut short by cancer. The popularity, primarily at drive-ins and other theaters of that ilk, led to a sequel ("The Return of Count Yorga") one year later. It is flawed, but I still think it is the most effective vampire film I have ever seen. Quarry would appear in another independent production, THE DEATHMASTER in 1973 which featured the actor as a vampire hippie guru modeled after Charles Manson. Notable exceptions include Universals SON OF DRACULA, which transported the action to 1940s Louisiana, and 1957s proto-feminist teenage horror shocker BLOOD OF DRACULA which featured Sandra Harrison as an adolescent atomic-age vampire cast away to an all-girls boarding school. He also intends to take a new wife, while feeding his bevy of female vampires.Count Yorga continues to prey on the local community while living by a nearby orphanage. Count Yorga (1970) was one of my childhood favorites. First of all, the sets and atmosphere are great. It's a classic vampire feel with a typical plot and silly actors, but that is what makes a fun horror movie. Reverend Thomas is sent to distract Yorga while Baldwin, Madden and O'Connor sneak in to search the manor, armed with sticks they can cross and hold up to ward off the vampires. A coffin is loaded to a truck at the Port of Los Angeles. The seance doesn't go as planned, but Yorga is able to implant some post-hypnotic control on poor Donna, and soon enough bodies are piling up as Donna and her friends try to figure out what's what. Marx composed quite a few exploitation scores throughout the 70s, returning for the following years sequel RETURN OF COUNT YORGA, its pseudo-sequel THE DEATHMASTER, as well as Kelljans SCREAM BLACULA, SCREAM, ACT OF VENGEANCE (aka RAPE SQUAD), and the sci-fi cheapie, THE ASTRAL FACTOR. This time, the Count (played by Robert Quarry), having purchased an old mansion in California, is terrorising the nearby Westwood Orphanage. The film begins by showing us a coffin being removed from a ship, then trucked out to an estate in modern day (circa 1970) Los Angeles. Following a jarring and somewhat harrowing experience in the sance, the party breaks up and young Murphy and Lang give Quarry a ride home. Director-writer Bob Kelljan called in his wife Yvonne Wilder to co-write and she gave herself a plum role as a mute woman unable to get anyone . In these scenes, director Robert Kelljan tries to play the dreamy horror thing a la the same year's Let's Scare Jessica to Death (1971), but it proves rather vague and none of it coheses into a solid script. Starring Robert Quarry, Mariette Hartley, Roger Perry. We soon find out that Count Yorga is one of the most blood-thirsty and ruthless vampires we've seen on screen in years. Michael and Donna rest while Hayes studies vampire lore until he, too, falls asleep. Several ingredients really help to lift this modern-day tale above the raft of similar competitors. Robert Quarry makes your blood run cold as the modern day Count Dracula, and Roger Perry is driven and pretty funny as Dr. Hayes, the modern day Dr. Van Helsing. He also intends to take a new wife, while feeding his bevy of female vampires.Count Yorga continues to prey on the local community while living by a nearby orphanage. Yorga's Brides are a collection of unnamed vampire bries seen in The Return of Count Yorga, the sequel to Count Yorga, Vampire. The end result is Count Yorga, Vampire, a wonderfully fast-moving, edge of your seat scare ride that keeps you taunt until the shocking end. As I said, an entirely realistic series of responses that really aids the viewer in buying in to the story. The film was released on VHS home video (full screen format) in 1993 by Orion Home Video, which once held home video distribution rights to many titles in the American International Pictures catalog. For a low budget flick that's coming up on its 45th anniversary, 'Count Yorga, Vampire' looks practically flawless with this 1.85:1 1080p transfer. With Yorga stunned by the action, Baldwin uses the moment to throw Yorga off the balcony, and he lay motionless on the pavement below, dead. As the vampire women are forced back toward a cellar, Erica glances ominously at Donna. 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. They plan to attack later that afternoon in the hopes of killing Yorga in the daytime. Yorga attacks them, knocking out Paul and biting Erica. Excellent too are Roger Perry and the entire cast, except for Perry's bed partner who gets more lines than she can handle. Bob Kelljan's 'Count Yorga, Vampire' is often unfairly overlooked in an era dominated by English and European vampire movies. Variety wrote that Robert Quarry had an "aristocratically handsome look and plays the part with a certain sinister intelligence (and) even a sly humor that befits a guy who has been around for several hundred years," adding that "The dialogue has a believable sound to it, and the playing of the principals is low-key and convincingly realistic. having been bitten by the count, begins her transformation by devouring her pet cat was all but removed from the film, but is now available in all of its uncut gory glory. In addition to Siskels glowing review for the Chicago Tribune, Roger Greenspun of the New York Times called Quarry the best chief vampire I have seen in years. Kenneth Thompson of The Monthly Film Bulletin praised the acting and direction, comparing YORGA to NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD. Quarry told actor/producer Michael Macready he would play the vampire role if they turned the story into a straight horror film.[2]. "[4] Gene Siskel of the Chicago Tribune gave the film three-and-a-half stars out of four, calling it "extremely frightening" and adding, "Persons familiar with the original will find the sequel better photographed, better acted and containing more mayhem a minute. the only other name i recognize is the narrator, George Macready; he was the nightclub owner in the awesome film Gilda, from 1946. pretty good. Actor Roger Perry, who had a lead role in the first film, appears again but as a different character. However, as he turns to leave, Donna hisses and lunges at him, fangs bared, fully transformed into a vampire; he was too late to prevent Yorga from turning her (although there are no bite marks on her throat). By the time the police arrive, all of the evidence has been cleared away. The 80s saw a slew of modern-day vampire tales with Tony Scotts THE HUNGER bringing them to New Yorks goth scene, NEAR DARK to the Wild West, and FRIGHT NIGHT transporting the legend even closer to homenext door to a suburban teenage horror fan. The Return of Count Yorga ups the ante and sees the sardonic Count on the streets of San Francisco, his sights set on an orphanage as a potential source of sustenance. Yorga pushes Donna's mother into Michael's stake and flees, when Michael tries to give chase Yorga ambushes him outside the room intending to choke him to death. After Thomas learns of Jennifer's death, David is sure he is correct about the Count's true nature and manages to convince Reverend Thomas and investigating police detectives Lt. Madden and Sgt. Furthermore, Yorga had insisted that her mother be buried rather than cremated per the deceased's wishes. Director Bob Kelljan (Scream Blacula Scream) delivers a one-two punch of classic cult cinema mixing chills, thrills, style, and suspense with a knowing wit that revels in the . An opening grave yard is truly beautiful and spooky. Ohhow could I forget to mention the count's brides; possibly the scariest-looking, fastest-moving bunch you've ever seen! LOL, at least I thought it was pretty funny. Yorga tells Cynthia that there was a car accident and she was left in his care by her family. Count Yorga (Robert Quarry) is living in a small town outside of San Francisco, where he becomes involved with an Orphanage, primarily as a source of victims. He is about to take her when he hears Baldwin scream his name, who seemingly has escaped the brides. One of which is Erica, a friend of his that went missing earlier from her home after a blood transfusion. The films climax features our heroes storming Yorgas home at dusk, having overslept despite their plan to attack during daylight hours. It was a letdown for Quarry as well. Everyone at the seance agrees that the Count is refined, well-mannered, and eloquent. Bruddah tosses Jason's body into the throne/coffin room for the brides, including Ellen and newly vampiric Mitzi, to feed upon. The sance turns slightly chaotic, and Donna's friends begin to suspect that there's something odd about the Count, especially when they learn that he had been dating Donna's mother, requested that she not be cremated, as her earlier wishes had it, but didn't turn up at the funeral. Michael and Hayes switch places to keep Yorga off his guard, but Yorga becomes increasingly insistent that it is late and his guests must leave. Yorga is simply looking to put together an undead harem that he can voyeuristically watch make love from the throne in his dungeon and he does, in a sexy sequence probably leftover from the scripts original iteration. 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. 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. He also intends to take a new wife, while feeding his bevy of female vampires. Not only is Count Yorga very obviously . During the seance, Count Yorga builds a strong bond between Donna, the grieving daughter, and himself. "[6] David Pirie of The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote that Count Yorga had been resurrected "with considerably more enterprise and panache than before." She was played by Judy Lang. Its easy to pick out where the money shots would have occurred, had YORGA been shot as a skin flick: A love scene in a van on Yorgas estate, the girl-on-girl action in his dungeon, and what was probably intended as a masturbation scene when Erica is visited by the Count by night, a more explicitly erotic sequence inspired by a similar, more transgressive sequence in 1931s DRACULA. Both films were presented in the widescreen format, and included original theatrical trailers. This isnt the tragic, romantic vamp featured in so many gothic tales; Quarrys take on the Count displayed both a dry sense of humor, a proto-Studio 54 sleaziness, and a mouth full of fangs. Erica babbles incoherently, apparently afraid of something. By the end of the 1960s the boom in Old World gothic horror had begun to wane in the face of present day terrors like the Vietnam war. Once again, as in Vampire Lovers, the traditionally based vampire legend comes back from the grave containing the permissive sexual standards of the times. Directed by Bob Kelljan. Actor Robert Quarry, for one, makes a pretty good vampire, giving his character intelligence and elegance while at the same time showing he is a formidable threat. "[3] Variety called it "a solid follow-up" to the original and "a handsome-looking film which rings the bell on both the shocker and satirical level. Anderson plays a young lady who holds a sance with her boyfriend and two other couples along with Quarry who leads the event. There's something compelling about this vampire movie that I find kind of hard to explain. Boyfriend Mike and pals Paul and Erica are along for support, disbelievers all, until strange occurrences cause Donna to get hysterical. Too bad that Quarry never got the acclaim his magisterial performance deserved. It is extremely well acted by every cast member; Robert Quarry makes for an exceptionally sinister neck nosher indeed, and he is well matched by Roger Perry as Dr. Hayes. | "[4] Gene Siskel of the Chicago Tribune declared it "the best horror film of the year. Robert Quarry is the man as Count Yorga, and what's up with the coffin movers? That score kicks off the film with dissonant strings punctuated by a wolfs howl as an ominous narration from George Macready (writer and star Michael Macreadys dad) pontificates on the existence of vampires as Count Yorgas coffin is transported from the old country to his California mansion by his Renfield-inspired assistant, the hulking Bruddah (Edward Walsh). These include the comely Donna Anders, Judy Lang, Mariette Hartley and Yvonne Wilder. As she mocks him for "not loving her anymore" and soon starts laughing cruelly at him when he sense something wrong, her fellow brides attack Jason from behind. Time capsule material. 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. So stop trying to call your lawyers, Bram Stoker's estate. Did the mother of the Nelson family turn into a vampire. These are minor quibbles, however, as The Return of Count Yorga certainly worked for some audiences in 1971 when it was released, but it wasn't as big of a hit as its predecessor. O'Connor to join him in a rescue-mission at Yorga's mansion. Things get spooky when a group of. Count Yorga, Vampire is a super low budget vampire movie from 1970 about a vampire by the name of, you guessed it, Count Yorga. Hayes is forced to the floor and fed on by the vampire women. He tries to charm the young woman into willingly becoming his bride, though he is warned by his live-in witch that Cynthia will bring his end if he does not kill her or turn her into a vampire soon. Language links are at the top of the page across from the title. One of the female character turned within the movie. The Count Yorga Collection (Limited Edition) | Arrow Video US Product Video Product Overview Product Details The Count Yorga Collection (Limited Edition) Earn 450 reward points when purchasing this product* MSRP: $50.00 $45.00 Save: $5.00 Quantity Buy Now Save to Wishlist Log in/sign up to use Wishlists! Though Yorga is dead, his evil lives on as those who know of him are either dead or turned into vampires and will carry out his curse. Sign in to rate and Watchlist for personalized recommendations. The rock bottom budget is really evident in a number of scenes, from the lighting to the sloppy camera work. Hayes, Michael, and Donna go to the mansion themselves to inquire about Paul's whereabouts and keep Yorga active until sunrise. The early 70s were a great period for vampire movies. Count Yorga is one who's not to be trifled with. Murphy, who would grow into a prolific character actor, isn't bad either, but most of the rest of the cast is weak. Even Van Helsing had a hard time convincing his peers and the authorities of supernatural goings-on in the 1800s, and that became increasingly difficult in the 70s and 80s. To her horror, she sees that Baldwin's skin has turned pale and bite marks are on his face, revealing that he has transformed into a vampire (having apparently not escaped from the brides unscathed). 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! When Michael awakens, he finds Donna gone and that it is nearly evening when he calls to awaken Hayes. They said will you do it? Once at the mansion, Tommy disappears, while Jason is reunited with Ellen who has clearly been made into a vampire by Yorga. 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