a_chinn
Solid little AIP vampire pictures set in modern day Los Angeles. A young couple find themselves the guests of a Bulgarian count following the death of the young woman's mother. The counts and the mother had been involved, but after being invited back to the count's home, the film's heroine wakes up the next day feeling ill and her doctor informing her that she's suffered extreme blood loss. Hmmmm. How could that be? Overall, this film isn't as slickly made as the Hammer Horror films of this period, but it does have it's own low budget charms, primarily the Los Angeles setting, a few good visuals (particularly the count's "brides") and a fair amount of gory special effects. Hollywood veteran George Macready narrates the film's opening (his son was a producer on the film) and Michael Murphy, in an early role, also appears in the film.
oscar-35
*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.
mikelcat
Excellent vampire film because of the acting presence of Robert Quarry , who although an American can portray that old world style sophistication that I had not scene since Bela Lugosi's unforgettable interpretation of Dracula .Quarry is magnetic as Count Yorga , his twisted sense of superiority and confidence in the face of Roger Perry's character is fascinating as they spar with each other verbally and then Perry's character finally succumbs to Yorga's minions . Bob Kellijan does a great job with this and the follow-up ''The Return of Count Yorga '' of capitalizing on Quarry's appeal which carries the film .Hail Robert Quarry ! anyone who can make a vampire role his own is a great actor , Lugosi's footsteps are huge but Mr. Quarry holds his own !!
Woodyanders
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.
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