Count Yorga, Vampire
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Movie Reviews of Count Yorga, Vampire
Movie Review: The most terrifying film i have ever seen.
Summary: 5 Stars
Maybe outdated, maybe boring to view as a whole, but when i first saw it at the age of 13 got so shocked that i remained sleepless for days and horrified for months! From what i read on the web, i was n' t the only one.
In fact, some scenes are absolutely shocking (and still are)! I remembered them very well despite the fact that it's been 28 years since i saw the film!!! And don't forget it's a low budget film.
Movie Review: A Vampire in L.A.
Summary: 4 Stars
In the 1960s and `70s, horror films made a comeback after having been overshadowed by the science fiction craze that began in the `50s. With revolutionary films like Rosemary's Baby and Night of the Living Dead, the horror genre was revived with an added edge of sex and gore. One great film, which is often overlooked, is Count Yorga, Vampire. Count Yorga updated the vampire story by placing the events in a contemporary urban setting. The film starred Robert Quarry as the titular vampire and featured an attractive, though unremarkable, supporting cast. When the film was released in 1970, it was a modest hit for American International, an independent film studio that was later bought by MGM. The film even spawned a sequel, The Return of Count Yorga, which saw the Count resurrected after his demise in the end of this film (this isn't really a spoiler as the vampire always dies at the end of these films).
Traveling from Bulgaria to Los Angeles, Count Yorga moves into a mansion, where he is aided by his deformed servant, who watches over his coffin during the day. By night the Count uses his psychic abilities to hold séances and hypnotize beautiful women, who he then turns into his vampiric love slaves.
During one of these séances, Count Yorga meets two young women, Donna and Erica. Donna seeks his help in contacting her mother, who recently passed away. But Yorga has no intention of doing this; instead he casts his hypnotic spell over Donna. After the séance, Erica and her boyfriend Paul offer to drive Yorga back to his mansion. As Paul and Erica are leaving the mansion, after having dropped Yorga off, their van gets stuck in the mud. Forced to spend the night in the van, Erica and Paul make the most of things but during the night Yorga attacks Erica, though she has no memory of it afterward. When she goes to the doctor the following day, Erica is told that she has an unusual form of anemia, but it's more than that. Erica goes home and begins to act strangely and a few hours after her doctor's appointment, she has a violent breakdown, during which she eats her pet kitten. When Erica's doctor, Jim Hayes, reexamines her and is left baffled, he calls his an expert hematologist who believes that Erica's condition is the result of a vampire bite. At first no one believes him, but when Erica goes missing they are forced to reconsider the idea. Convinced that Yorga is the vampire, Paul goes to his mansion but he never returns. Donna's fiancé, Michael, along with Jim and Donna make an impromptu trip to Yorga's home. There they learn of Yorga's belief in the occult, which confirms their suspicions. The next day, Michael, Donna, and Jim plan an attack on Yorga's home, but things don't go quite as planned.
The film is powered by an eerie score composed by William Marx and memorable narration by George MacReady.
Also starring Roger Perry, Michael Murphy, Michael MacReady, Donna Anders, Judith Lang, and Edward Walsh.
Written and directed by Bob Kelljan, Count Yorga is a great horror film in the Hammer tradition.
Also recommended:
Hammer Horror Collection
Dracula: 4 Film Favorites
Dracula A.D. 1972
Blacula
The Exorcist - The Complete Anthology
The Complete Omen Collection
Movie Review: A standard vampire movie with some brilliant moments.
Summary: 4 Stars
It's 1970, and the charismatic Count Yorga is leading a group of young people in a séance to attempt to contact the deceased mother of one of the women there. Things eventually take a dramatic turn, and we soon find the Count taking a ride home with one of the couples. Unfortunately for that couple, they will not return from Count Yorga's as they were. When Yorga unleashes his bloodlust on the lovely Erica, her boyfriend Paul turns to their friend Dr. Hayes, a blood specialist, for help. Along with Michael and Donna, another couple from the séance, the heroes (some reluctantly) agree that Yorga must be a vampire and set forth to confront him. This, of course, proves to be a very dangerous course of action. And there's not just Yorga to deal with, but his brides and his brute, Brudah.
Count Yorga may seem like a typical vampire movie by today's standards. In fact, the story is similar to most Dracula films, except for the 1970 setting. Perhaps this is due to the film originally being planned (or so I hear) to be a softcore sexploitation film (The Loves of Count Iorga) most likely attempting to spoof Christopher Lee's Hammer Horror Dracula classics. The story goes that Robert Quarry, who plays Yorga, refused to do the film unless they made it a straight-up horror piece, and that's why we have it as it is today, a reasonably good modern-day (so to speak) vampire movie with a few scenes of true genius (like the most famous bit where Miss Erica is caught dining on a cat, or the ending, which thankfully isn't the usual "heroes triumphant" stuff). Overall, it's a great addition to a real vampire movie-lover's DVD collection; a fun movie with a good cast and interesting story. If you love Hammer Dracula films, this is sort of a 1970-American take on them. The DVD includes the theatrical trailer (those are always fun), and there's a double-feature version available as well that couples it with the sequel (in fact, I believe the solo version is out of print, but obviously still in stores since I just bought it myself). The sequel is titled "Count Yorga Returns", and from what I've read, it sounds great, but I hear it is more like a parallel universe story in that it doesn't make any reference or continuation from this one. Still need to see it for myself though, but I look forward to it.
Movie Review: The start of modern vampire cinema in America !!
Summary: 4 Stars
It was no secret in the early 1970's that American International Pictures were grooming Robert Quarry to take over the mantle of their number one horror star, from the ageing Vincent Price. Price was none too happy about the treatment he received from studio executive's and made his feelings felt on several occasions. One well known story has it that during the filming of "Dr Phibes Rises Again", Price heard someone singing Gershwin and looked around the corner to see Quarry in full voice. Quarry turned to Price and remarked "Vincent, you didn't know I was a singer !". To which Price replied "Well, I knew you weren't a ******* actor."However, Quarry did make a pretty decent vampire on three occasions in "Count Yorga", "The Return of Count Yorga", and the lesser known "Deathmaster"....all films being made virtually back to back ! "Count Yorga" started out as a concept from writer / director Bob Kelljan to make a soft porn style vampire film, however when he recruited Robert Quarry to play the lead, Quarry convinced him to play it straight for thrills. Keeping in line with the new age, hippie influenced culture of the 1970's, the film sees Count Yorga posing as a psychic medium and leading unsuspecting & naïve guests into his vampire clutches ! The film saw a departure from the more Hammer influenced style of vampire movie where the female underlings to Christopher Lee were buxom, attractive women. In "Count Yorga" however, the female servants of Yorga are haggard, disheveled harpies from the grave that mercilessly carry out the evil biddings of their master. Additionally, the film was noticeably more violent than Hammer's Dracula series, and shifting vampires to a contemporary setting ( as opposed to Hammer's Carpathian Mountains of the 1900's ) became the standard for vampire film's for many years to come, and definitely revitalized the declining movie fan's interest in blood suckers.
Kelljan does a pretty good job of keeping the plot ticking along, and Quarry does provide some solid scares....especially the shots of him bearing down on his victims in slow motion, arms outstretched and fangs bared. Well worth a look, "Count Yorga" is an interesting piece of vampire cinema that provided the genre with much needed fresh blood.
Movie Review: Cat Lovers Beware!
Summary: 4 Stars
COUNT YORGA, VAMPIRE is a fairly run-of-the-mill offering from AIP. Still, there's something about the title character that elevates CYV above most trashy vampire epics. Robert Quarry (Count Yorga Returns, Dr. Phibes Rises Again) is the toothy, dashing count. He performs a seance, where he hipnotizes a woman named Donna, who wants to hear from her dead mother. Unknown to her, Yorga was the one who killed mum and added her to his growing harem of undead babes! After the seance, Donna's friend Erica and her husband Paul (Michael Murphy) give Yorga a ride home in their hippy-van, complete with ultra-groovy curtains! Well, they get stuck in the mud outside Yora's mansion, and like anyone else, they decide to get nekkid and do the love thing. The count shows up and invades their privacy, tossing Paul like a piece of paper and giving Erica something to remember him by! Yep, she gets the hellacious hicky of death! Later, Paul and a friend find Erica feasting on a kitten! This infamous scene is the only real icky one in the whole movie. Paul has Erica see his buddy, Dr. Hayes (Roger Perry) who happens to be a blood specialist. Now, wouldn't you take her to a psychiatrist?? Or just strap a straight-jacket on her yourself and drive her to the ha-ha-ranch?? Anyway, Dr. Hayes gives Erica a transfusion which has no real effect. Yorga comes to her at night to finish the dirty deed. Now a full-fledged vampire chick, Erica takes her place in Yorga's secret dungeon. Paul attempts a rescue, only to be squished by the count's incredibly strong servant, Bruda (who looks a lot like one of the sinister hillbillies in "Deliverence"). Meanwhile, convinced of Count Yorga's vampirism, Dr. Hayes and company go to his home for the final encounter. I liked Yorga and his evil brides too. The Dr. Hayes character isn't bad either. Ignore the 70s hairstyles / fashions and just enjoy the show! If you like modern / urban vampires, check out The "Night Stalker" or "The Satanic Rites Of Dracula (aka: Count Dracula's Vampire Brides)" as well...