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. In Los Angeles, a group of friends of Donna (Donna Anders) reunites for a sance conducted by Count Yorga (Robert Quarry) to make contact with Donna's mother, who has recently died and was having a love affair with the Yorga. One reason for that is that in some significant ways the movie isn't very good. Low-rung vampire pic "Counts" on Quarry to elevate it. Not long after they leave, Donna reveals to the others that she knows Yorga because he was her mother's boyfriend. It was followed by a sequel, The Return of Count Yorga . 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. Starring Robert Quarry, Mariette Hartley, Roger Perry. Count Yorga, Vampire Special Effects . Kelljan died quite young at 52 from cancer. At those points, Perry especially shines as a fitting nemesis. The picture opened on 10 Jun 1970 in Los Angeles, and took in $160,000 in box-office receipts in the first week of release, according to the 12 Apr 1971 DV. Memorable moments include Quarry enduring a late night tete-a-tete with Perry and Macready and Lang experiencing a gruesome encounter with her cat. Cynthia tries to run from him, but Baldwin pulls her back and promptly bites her. Quarry told actor/producer Michael Macready he would play the vampire role if they turned the story into a straight horror film.[2]. Count Yorga, Vampire Director: Bob Kelljan Starring: Robert Quarry, Roger Perry, Michael Murphy, Michael Macready, Donna Anders Country: United States Running Time: 93 Min Year: 1970 BBFC Certificate: 15 The Count Yorga movies have been lurking at the seedier end of the video shelf since the seventies, and many have wondered what horrors they hold. Meanwhile, Hammer Productions, which all but cornered the vampire market throughout the 60s, found themselves playing catch-up. My dad was also a fan of this one as well. Just as he does, Erica, now a vampire and completely under Yorga's control, and a fellow redheaded vampire charge into the room to kill him. He and Donna watch Yorga turn to dust. Cynthia Nelson, a teacher at the local orphanage, talks with the pastor while watching the sun set. That night, Yorga visits Erica while Paul sleeps downstairs. 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. after giving the count a ride home, Paul and Erica get stuck and camp in their VW bus, and get attacked. The truck then climbs to a gated mansion in the Southern California hills.[1]. Thomas Yvonne Wilder as Jennifer Produced by Michael Macready Music by Bill Marx Directed by Bob Kellian Photographed by Bill Butler Metacritic Reviews. So grab some garlic and a crucifix 'cause Count Yorga might be in your neighborhood. Meanwhile, memories of the attack on her family slowly start to resurface in Cynthia's mind as she stays within Yorga's manor. Actor Roger Perry, who had a lead role in the first film, appears again but as a different character. Quarry would appear in another independent production, THE DEATHMASTER in 1973 which featured the actor as a vampire hippie guru modeled after Charles Manson. The first character to suggest that the Count may be a vampire is Dr. Jim Hayes (Roger Perry); when the good doctor (whos in bed with an attractive, but daft young lady) calls the police to tell them theyre most likely dealing with a vampire, hes laughed off the phone as the 47th nut talking about vampires. Meanwhile, in-house director Roy Ward Baker directed Ingrid Pitt in THE VAMPIRE LOVERS, which featured explicit lesbian eroticism. He also grimly adds they might have to kill Paul and Erica too if they have become vampires, since the vampire curse will make them evil and loyal to Yorga. What follows is a vampire film with the women predictably the victims/aggressors and the men predictably running around trying to solve things. A drive-in favourite from the moment it was released, a sequel soon followed. But the decade also unleashed cinematic oddities galore, most of which were . 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. 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. The fact that there is a costumed vampire at the party, leads to amusing tension and the viewer knows that the Count will be teaching these people a thing or two about real vampires as the movie continues. Oct 20, 2015. Transposing the vampire legend into modern-day Los Angeles was not without its hurdles for the writers. 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!) One tale recounts Price hearing Quarry singing opera in his dressing room during the filming of DR. PHIBES RISES AGAIN. Subscribe to DG on Patreon and get articles like this one before the rest of the world does! It is the sequel to the 1970 film Count Yorga, Vampire. Horror / Thriller (1970) 90 minutes ~ Color Sixties' couples: Michael and Donna, and Paul and Erica become involved with the intense Count Yorga at a Los Angeles seance, the Count, having latterly been involved with Erica's just-dead mother. Anyway, that's the setup in Bob Kelljan's surprisingly shocking, intelligent and believable horror film from 1970, "Count Yorga, Vampire." This was a huge hit in 1970 because it was the first modern vampire film. Though Count Yorga is referred to as "the Deathmaster" in publicity for this film, a later film called The Deathmaster, also starring Robert Quarry as a vampire, has no relation to the Count Yorga series. Sure, it's done on a shoestring, but director Kelljan gets the most out of the cavernous mansion interiors and clever camera set-ups. In the meantime, Quarry is the bad guy with a clichd side-kick who resembles a monster and has super strength. Yorga was originally spelled "Iorga" but was changed presumably because American studios give zero credence to the . Hayes is forced to the floor and fed on by the vampire women. On the one hand, they are early examples of the modernised gothic, taking the genre out of the costume drama and into the real world (at one point in Return, Yorga watches Hammer's The Vampire Lovers on TV - an amusing comment on the difference between the cozily distant gothic and the modern day . The 1970s produced acclaimed horror films like The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, The Exorcist, Jaws, Carrie, and Halloween. it's a your typical horror film. The brides wear a variety of night robes. Count Yorga is one who's not to be trifled with. "[4] Gene Siskel of the Chicago Tribune declared it "the best horror film of the year. What makes this picture a better than average vampire film is that it has a very tense and atmospheric plot structure. Tags: AIP, American International Pictures, Arch Archambault, Bill Marx, Bob Kelljan, George Macready, Horror, Judy Lang, Michael Macready, Michael Murphy, Robert Quarry, Roger Perry, Samuel Z. Arkoff, The 1970s, vampires. On top of this, we hear narration telling us a bit about vampire legends. From there, the audience moves along to a seance in a hip Los Angeles home. Count Yorga, Vampire doesn't distinguish itself by being particularly innovative, stylish or even excessively gory, but it is a lot of fun, Kelljan employing the genre's most recognised tropes to create a consistently entertaining flick - often witty, sometimes scary, occasionally camp, frequently sexy (the film was originally intended to be a soft-core movie, before being severely edited), and always enjoyable. Iorga/Yorga was named after Romanian historian and politician Nicolae Iorga, though he's supposed to be Bulgarian. Dr. James 'Jim' Hayes (Roger Perry), who is a family friend, sees Erica drinking the blood of a cat and he believes that Count Yorga is a vampire. In the midst of their escape, they encounter Brudda and managed to shoot him to death. Boyfriend Mike and pals Paul and Erica are along for support, disbelievers all, until strange occurrences cause Donna to get hysterical. In April 1991, the film was packaged as a Laserdisc double feature (Catalog Number ID7661HB), paired with the Vincent Price horror film, Cry of the Banshee; both films were not letterboxed, but employed a full screen, pan-and-scan process. Probably the most underrated vampire in cinema history, Count Yorga is a favorite horror character of mine. She strikes Yorga in the chest with Baldwin's battle-axe. Things get spooky when a group of. I said why dont you just make a regular horror film out of it? very average vampire plot, but it's not campy enough for Vincent Price, so you won't see him in here. A woman named Donna hosts a sance in hopes of contacting her recently deceased mother. Tired of the same old vampires? Their van gets stuck in the mud outside of Yorga's mansion, although Paul insists the road was dry a minute ago. External Reviews Quarry was never a fan of Vincent Prices over-egging the pudding (note: both men penned cookbooks) and opted to play Count Yorga straight albeit with a certain sarcastic wit. Yorga has all of. The film ended up going before the MPAA ratings board six times before being granted the GP rating, and two or three minutes of violent and sexual content were ultimately removed by AIP. The film consists of Donna's friends trying to learn more about, and subsequently finding themselves further and further into trouble with, Count Yorga. Erica is a young and attractive woman in her age early 20's with shoulder length brunette hair, green eyes, and fair skin color. The climax is also pretty memorable, and there are a few other scenes (like when the protagonists try to keep Yorga around for sunrise) that come across as pretty original. 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. At the time this film was made, vampires were almost always slow and hypnotic. 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. Together with his harem of vampire mistresses, they wreak havoc upon the friends and family of Cynthia Nelson (Mariette Hartley), who Yorga intends to take as his vampire bride. Massacre, the Exorcist, Jaws, Carrie, and Halloween bites her tense and atmospheric plot.... 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