"Count Yorga, Vampire" comes across as a rather standard and ordinary horror movie now, but I reckon it must have been quite innovating in the early 70's, since it was one of the very first films (at least, to my knowledge) to transfer the subject matter of vampirism to a modern-day setting. And that's not just any setting but California, with its wanton ladies and open-minded spirit. Robert Quarry is very convincing as the distinguished Bulgarian bloodsucker, arriving into the States in a cargo ship whilst an eerie voice-over intro enlightens us that vampires are of all times. The eloquent count soon infiltrates into a group of friends and enlists the girls as his own immortal vampire brides. Their boyfriends do whatever they can to save the girls, but Yorga is an intelligent and slick opponent that easily counters every attack. The first half hour of the film is painfully slow and overly talkative, yet you can sense that the atmosphere is heralding creepy and sinister events to come, so you patiently keep watching. And, indeed, the movie becomes much more horrific soon, with some really disgusting sequences (a girl eating a cat!) as well as some crafty suspense moments (a remarkable attempt to keep the vampire out of his coffin till sundown). The effects and overall production values often look very primitive, but the film does benefit from a solid directing job by Bob Kelljan ("Rape Squad") and a very enthusiast cast led by Quarry. Personally, I expected a little more sleaze and goofy humor, but "Count Yorga, Vampire" is a surprisingly tasteful and respectable variation on vampire films.
Review of Count Yorga, Vampire
