Count Yorga, Vampire
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Movie Reviews of Count Yorga, Vampire
Movie Review: Suave and sophisticated
Summary: 4 Stars
This is the sort of vampire movie that Hammer should have been making in the 70's. All the Hammer sequels failed to match the original because Christopher Lee was given less and less to do.
In this updating of the vampire legend Robert Quarry is exactly what Christopher Lee should have been in the later Hammer sequels. Count Yorga is still a blood-sucking fiend at heart but he is quite happy to sit and discuss the supernatural with a Doctor during the film. He cuts quite a dash, and amongst the many vampire films I've seen, his portrayal is one of the very best.
The tension is racked up quite nicely throughout the film, and the modern (early 1970's) setting in Los Angeles seems to work well. Also being only 93 minutes long it doesn't overstay its welcome. You can get this film and the sequel (which I have not seen yet) in a nice double bill.
Movie Review: A Lot Better than the Average Vampire Movie
Summary: 4 Stars
I have seen this movie quite a few time and I must say that I'm a fan of the Count Yorga films. This film is better than the last three Christopher Lee Dracula movies. For a low-budget movie, it offered good acting from Robert Quarry, eerie scenes (the stuck van and dead kitten scenes), and a surprise ending. The style is much different than the Hammer films and it's a fairly hip 70's movie.
I have around 130 vampire movies and this movie is in the top 20, so it's pretty good. You've probably read what this movie is about, so If you're looking for something other than a Christopher Lee movie, pop up some popcorn and and watch this movie late at night (with the lights out)...you won't be disappointed.
Movie Review: ROBERT QUARRY IS AWESOME!!!
Summary: 4 Stars
I love watching Robert Quarry act,especially his two Count Yorga movies.He's great as he matches wits with his foes.Roger Perry who's another actor I like,plays Dr.Hayes,a blood specialist.The doc is called in by friends when one is missing and another has bite marks on her neck.The doc and friends try to get anwsers from the Count and he's too cool,as he brushes each question off.On the other hand,when he gets mad,his face turns white and he charges people.The Counts mansion is very gothic and you could get lost in it.No happy ending here.This is scary stuff.Movie Review: Count Yorga:Vampire
Summary: 4 Stars
I was pleasantly suprised that MGM released the uncut version of this film on VHS and DVD. The title card reads: "The Loves of Count Iorga:Vampire", which I believe may be the European cut of this film. It includes some extra scenes of gore(mostly in the kitten devouring sequence!!!)and overall is a fun movie to watch. Avoid the "sequel" The Return of Count Yorga.Movie Review: Cat, the other white meat...
Summary: 3 Stars
Written and directed by Bob Kelljan, who later directed episodes on various 70's TV shows like Starsky and Hutch, Dukes of Hazzard, and Charlie's Angels, Count Yorga, Vampire (1970), aka The Loves of Count Iorga (not a misspelling), did extremely well when it opened.
The movie starts off with a scene of a large cargo ship sitting at a dock off some California coast, and a large, coffin shaped crate being loaded on a truck. As the truck drives away, we are treated to voice over that sounds like a mix between Ricardo Montalban and Harvey Fierstein talking about the vampire mythos. The truck continues until it comes to a secluded driveway with a large gate. Next we go to a séance in progress, being conducted by Count Yorga, who, if you're familiar with the title of the movie, is a vampire. He ends up secretly putting the whammy on one of the women present, and then gets a ride home from a couple in their VW minibus...I have to say, it was kind of funny seeing this young couple and the aristocratic Eastern European (we learn that the Count came to America from Bulgaria) and very sophisticated Count crammed into the front bench seat of a minibus. Anyway, the couple drops the Count off after declining his offer to come into his home, and they get stuck in some mud along the Count's long driveway. This starts a five-minute discussion about mud. Where did the mud come from? How did we miss it come in? How come the rest of the ground is dry? Blah, blah, blah...it's scenes like this that really dragged this movie down. I guess, among the Count's other supernatural powers, creating wind and lighting, manipulating objects with his mind, mind control over animals and humans, super natural strength, he can also create mud. After hearing a wolf howl, the couple decides not to trek back to the Count's house but to spend the night in the minibus, and after a little lovin' in the back of the van, they are soon visited by a dark stranger (two guesses who). As the movie progresses, the Count takes a couple of women (Count Yorga needs women!) in the way vampires do, and the men begin to suspect something is wrong, and whatever it is, it's directly linked to Count Yorga. They start throwing around the theory of vampirism, with some willing to believe once offered proof, while others refuse to accept even the possibility as they think the idea is purely a work of fiction. After much goofy dialogue, two of the men decide to take matters into their own hands and try to sneak into the castle and convince themselves that Count Yorga is a vampire. They take along a female character, as they fear to leave her alone (great idea, take her into the lair of a suspected vampire). If they are able to confirm that Count Yorga is a vampire, they intend to kill him, and their friends who have been turned, as there is no cure for bloodsucking other than a wooden stake in the heart...the last twenty minutes or so things the pace picks up pretty well, as the two men confront Count Yorga and his brides from hell. And how could I write a review about this movie without mentioning Brudah, the Count's mostly mute, brutish servant? Oh man, he is good for a few laughs...he walks around the entire movie looking like a transported cavemen in a bad sport coat and tie. I kept injecting my own lines for poor Brudah when he had none...I imagined when he spoke, each sentence would be preceded by his own name..."Brudah want woman"..."Brudah drive car"..."Brudah need shave"....
The dialog throughout the movie is rather clunky but oddly realistic at times. The actor playing Count Yorga, Robert Quarry, was the highlight of the movie, really getting into the part creating a truly believable and scary character. I vaguely recognized him, but then remembered seeing him in Dr. Phibes Rises Again (1972). The direction was passable, but got annoying at times, especially during scenes with conversation, as the director would make many needless cuts back and forth between characters, sometimes showing the back of a character who was speaking... there was some blood and one scene in particular, with a cat, that was pretty ugly. The one actor most will probably recognize in this film is Michael Murphy, who played the mayor in Batman Returns (1992) and has been in a few Woody Allen movies like Manhattan (1979) and The Front (1976). The scares were mostly of the cheap kind, things popping out at the viewer accompanied by a loud sound effect or startling music. The film has a 90-minute run time, but I thought some trimming would have been useful, and would have quickened the pace.
The presentation on this disc looks really great, and special features include a trailer for the film and a neat reproduction of the original movie poster on a little card on the inside of the case. Age hasn't been kind to this movie, as the dating is very apparent in the wardrobe and hairstyles of the various actors, but I think the movie is worth looking into if you are a horror movie fan, mainly for Quarry's performance. A sequel was released a couple of years later titled The Return of Count Yorga (1972).
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