and feral (his creepy dashes for prospective victims, seemingly out of nowhere, with blood-red eyes and arms outstretched actually gave me a jolt on a couple of occasions!). I was a bit surprised by this rather low budget 1970s incarnation of vampire films. The Return of Count Yorga(originally titled Yorga Returns) is a 1971 American vampirehorror filmdirected by Bob Kelljan and starring Robert Quarry, Roger Perry, Yvonne Wilder, George Macready, Rudy De Luca, Edward Walsh, and Craig T. Nelsonin his feature film debut. Lesson to be learned: If your girlfriend or fiance happens to develop sudden listlessness after attending a seance conducted by a smooth-talking count from Bulgaria, or perhaps develops a yen for consuming dead house cats, you may want to heed the advice of your doctor friend when he tells you that the count in question may be nothing less thana vampire! Bloodsuckers were rife in the 1970s, from gothic Hammer horror to European arthouse sleaze (Rollin and Franco) to kung-fu vampires to more contemporary takes on the genre, such as Romero's Martin, and this film from writer/director Bob Kelljan. Plot [ edit] A coffin is loaded to a truck at the Port of Los Angeles. We first meet Count Yorga at a seance he holds for a group of friends, one of which has just lost her mother. He also intends to take a new wife, while feeding his bevy of female vampires. It was followed by a sequel, The Return of Count Yorga . We basically know what fate will befall our innocent(just) protagonists, but we become riveted to their actions and those of the Count. That night, Yorga visits Erica while Paul sleeps downstairs. When we think of great vampire portrayals, normally the names of Lugosi and Christopher Lee immediately pop into our heads. The film was released theatrically in the US by American International Pictures in 1971. Together with his harem of vampire mistresses, they wreak havoc upon the friends and family of Cynthia Nelson (Mariette Hartley), who Yorga intends to take as his vampire bride. AIP insisted that they needed an unrestricted GP rating for the film in order to get the film released into the largest possible number of theaters, most importantly drive-in theaters. Although Michael is skeptical, the three men consider the possibility of vampirism as an excuse for Erica's behavior and agree to look into it while letting Erica rest. Hayes finds Erica's body among them, finding no heartbeat or pulse when he examines her. Quarry asked the horror icon, Ill bet you didnt know I could sing, did you?, to which Price retorted, well I knew you werent a fucking actor.. On the way to the staircase, Michael encounters Brudah in the living room who eventually dies of his wounds. Returning to a small California coastal community to feed should be a pretty routine affair. Return of Count Yorga, The (Blu-ray) Anthony Arrigo |. Perry gives a skilled, knowing performance as well, obviously aware that a blend of seriousness mixed with levity was called for in the production. A woman named Donna hosts a sance in hopes of contacting her recently deceased mother. Stephen Farber's 1972 book, The Movie Rating Game, details the problems that the film's distributor American International Pictures had in securing a GP rating (formerly known as M, later renamed to PG) from the Motion Picture Association of America, which initially was divided as to whether to give the film an R or X rating. Cynthia tries to run from him, but Baldwin pulls her back and promptly bites her. The next morning, Jennifer, the Nelsons' mute maid, finds the massacre scene along with Tommy and calls the police. "[4] Gene Siskel of the Chicago Tribune declared it "the best horror film of the year. The film contains some truly startling moments (such as the count's toothy grimace as seen through a van's window), restrained but effective use of gore, a deliciously downbeat ending, and even a nice little shocker as a final capper. The concerned men drive to her home where they find the place in disarray, and a hysterical Erica eating her kitten. Marx was not a prince of darkness, but Hollywood royalty all the same: the adopted son of Harpo Marx and Susan Flemming, Marx had begun arranging music for his father at 16. One of which is Erica, a friend of his that went missing earlier from her home after a blood transfusion. Bob Kelljan's 'Count Yorga, Vampire' is often unfairly overlooked in an era dominated by English and European vampire movies. Sure, it's done on a shoestring, but director Kelljan gets the most out of the cavernous mansion interiors and clever camera set-ups. "[3] Variety called it "a solid follow-up" to the original and "a handsome-looking film which rings the bell on both the shocker and satirical level. Count Yorga, Vampire (1970) Plot Showing all 4 items Jump to: Summaries (4) Summaries A couple invites a Count from Hungary, who recently immigrated to America, to conduct a seance for the woman's recently deceased mother, oblivious to the fact that he is actually a vampire. They said will you do it? Up until then all vampire films had been set in Europe in the 1800s or early 1900s. Count Yorga is one of those films that came from the 70's, in my opinion, a very sexy vampire film, sort of soft core in some ways. Madden tries to find a way to him, but he gets lured in by a voice from the shadows (thinking it is Baldwin) and then killed by Tommy who stabs him in the same way he murdered Jennifer. He also intends to take a new wife, while feeding his bevy of female vampires. My dad was also a fan of this one as well. That's preferable compared to Franco's pitiful attempt to remain faithful to the source despite a lack of funds. Language links are at the top of the page across from the title. Prepare to meet Count Yorga. He praised the acting as being "of a generally high standard" and the castle set as "skilfully utilised to give the impression of a labyrinth of Borgesian proportions," though he criticized "a totally unnecessary and feeble attempt to make the Count into a sympathetic figure through such lines as, 'The most fragile emotion ever known has entered my breast.'"[7]. The Return of Count Yorga 1971 Directed by Bob Kelljan Synopsis The DEATHMASTER is Back from the Grave Count Yorga continues to prey on the local community while living by a nearby orphanage. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Sign up for our 100% Free Daily Grindhouse Newsletter. As played by Robert Quarry, he is quite creditable and effectively gave Christopher Lee (Hammer Film's Dracula incarnate) a run for his money. He's very charismatic and cool and I think this character deserved more than only two movies. A memorable sequence in which Erica (Judy Lang), having been bitten by the count, begins her transformation by devouring her pet cat was all but removed from the film, but is now available in all of its uncut gory glory. She is dressed in a . Anderson plays a young lady who holds a sance with her boyfriend and two other couples along with Quarry who leads the event. Cast Crew Details Genres Cast I have to admit though that I have a bit of fun with it now, like the guys who are being fed to the girl vampires, you have several hot chicks who are scantly clad and want to suck the blood out of you? He also has a certain moral flexibility. Will their boyfriends be able to stop him? The story is classic vampire stuff, and basically we follow Count Yorga as he involves himself with various other members of high-class society. Tommy is untouched, revealing he is under Yorga's power. Shortly after, Paul and Michael discuss the strange changes in Erica's behavior. The popularity, primarily at drive-ins and other theaters of that ilk, led to a sequel ("The Return of Count Yorga") one year later. Some friends gather at the mansion of Robert Quarry (Count Yorga) so that they can hold a sance and Donna Anders (Donna) can contact her recently deceased mother Marsha Jordan. Michael and Hayes switch places to keep Yorga off his guard, but Yorga becomes increasingly insistent that it is late and his guests must leave. The film ends with a shot of Michael's bloodied and lifeless corpse. Meanwhile, the pastor falls for Yorga's charms and reveals the others' suspicions that he is a vampire, alerting Yorga of danger. The story features Quarry returning as the infamous vampire Count Yorga, along with his servant Brudah, both of whom have been revived by the supernatural Santa Ana winds. "[7] Kenneth Thompson of The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote that "the understated acting and the tightly controlled, increasingly staccato tempo make this the most distinctive essay in the macabre since Night of the Living Dead."[8]. But aside from the present-day (well, 1970) atmosphere and setting, this is a movie useful only as a cult hit. Jennifer, suspicious about Tommy's involvement with the Nelsons' disappearance and his visits to Yorga's mansion, loses her patience and slaps Tommy who stares at her in a vengeful manner. Preorder now She begs Paul to forgive her and to kill her. Anyway, that's the setup in Bob Kelljan's surprisingly shocking, intelligent and believable horror film from 1970, "Count Yorga, Vampire." Donna becomes hysterical during the proceedings and Yorga uses hypnosis to calm her. The sance turns slightly chaotic, and Donna's friends begin to suspect that there's something odd about the Count, especially when they learn that he had been dating Donna's mother, requested that she not be cremated, as her earlier wishes had it, but didn't turn up at the funeral. She reacts erratically to their presence, first threatening them with violence and then attempting to seduce Paul before coming to her senses and breaking down. Count Yorga, himself, is a very close-cut Dracula clone in the traditional sense of things. He eliminates each of the friends one by one until it's up to two remaining friends to become reluctant vampire hunters to save Donna from an existence of living death. With Yorga stunned by the action, Baldwin uses the moment to throw Yorga off the balcony, and he lay motionless on the pavement below, dead. The rest of the cast are pretty much unknown to me apart from Michael Murphy, an Altman semi-regular who also later appeared in 'Manhattan' and 'Magnolia'. A low-budget production, it updates its bare-bones reworking of Stoker's story to the then-present of about 1970 and resets the action in Southern California. ; Piet Plagiarism: After Yorga finishes feeding on Erica and making her into his bride, Brudah carries her body like this in her newly vamped form down into Yorga's throne room . Jason breaks free, only to run into Count Yorga, who chases Jason down a hall and strangles him. These include the comely Donna Anders, Judy Lang, Mariette Hartley and Yvonne Wilder. Bruddah tosses Jason's body into the throne/coffin room for the brides, including Ellen and newly vampiric Mitzi, to feed upon. The climax is also pretty memorable, and there are a few other scenes (like when the protagonists try to keep Yorga around for sunrise) that come across as pretty original. 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