Review- Count Yorga, Vampire

COUNT YORGA, VAMPIRE (1970)

The plot: Centuries old vampire in modern-day (1970) Los Angeles. Hijinks ensue.
 
The poop: This is some brutal shit. It's not especially gory, mind you, it was released as a 'GP,' which became 'PG' later in the seventies -though not without issues. It was sent back to the MPAA six times, who requested cuts to the violence, nudity and even the sound effects in order to secure that important 'GP.' No, it's brutal because Count Yorga is one of the few cinema vampires of the seventies that seemed to be a genuine threat.

Keep something in mind here. Since roughly 1958, when Hammer's 'Horror of Dracula' was released, the vampire film was generally filmed as a gothic period piece. Which is great, stylistically, but keeps the audience at arm's length. Because of that distancing, the vampires created by Hammer Films rarely felt like much of a threat, even Dracula. Of course, it didn't help that, except for 'Horror of Dracula,' Hammer never gave Christopher Lee a Dracula script worthy of his abilities, but I suppose that's neither here nor there.

But there is no such distancing in 'Count Yorga, Vampire.' The world in the film is the world of 1970, complete with all the cynicism and jaded attitudes that go with it. So when Yorga gets down to business and does what vampires are wont to do, it feels more authentic and visceral, and when this movie's version of The Fearless Vampire Hunters go up against Yorga at the end... well, let's keep this spoiler-free and say that the movie ends exactly as it should end.

Deal-breakers: Kinda dated, though not nearly as dated as 'Blacula.' Still, though, you do get a mini-bus and a doctor smoking in his office, so there you go.

The up-side: Robert Quarry owns as Yorga. Flat out. As excellent as William Marshall was as Blacula -and he was excellent- I personally prefer Quarry as Yorga. He's an intelligent predator who uses the relative sophistication of the modern era in his favor. You genuinely believe he's been smart and crafty enough to have survived all this time.

Time for some Roger Perry love. He plays the aforementioned smoking doctor, who serves as the Van Helsing analog. He's fantastic, especially as he gradually figures out how utterly out-classed he is by Yorga. 

As I mentioned before, this movie has a vicious streak. It does not play nice. When horror fans reminisce about horror films from the seventies, this is part of the reason why. Not necessarily this movie, per say, but that willingness to get down and dirty. 

Makes a great double-bill with: The sequel, 'Return of Count Yorga,' of course. Also, 1973's 'The Deathmaster,' which has Robert Quarry as sort of a vampire-guru who takes over a hippie commune. Not as good -or as bad- as it sounds.

Other stuff: This was originally intended as a soft core porn flick. The original title was 'The Loves of Count Iorga, Vampire,' which is the title on the MGM DVD.