Count Yorga, Vampire

Plot synopsis:
The scenario opens with narration about superstition and the abilities of vampires. A truck is loaded at the Port of Los Angeles, and as it climbs to a gated mansion in the Southern California hills, the cargo is revealed to be a coffin.
Donna (Donna Anders) hosts a séance in hopes of contacting her recently deceased mother. At the party are several of her friends and Count Yorga (Robert Quarry), a mysterious Bulgarian mystic who performs the séance. Donna becomes hysterical during the proceedings, and Yorga uses hypnosis to calm her. After the party is over, Erica (Judy Lang) and her boyfriend Paul (Michael Murphy) offer to drive the Count home. Not long after the three leave, in the after-party conversation with friends, Donna reveals that she knows Yorga from being her mother's boyfriend. Adding that the two were dating a few weeks shortly before her death and in fact, Yorga had insisted that her mother be buried rather than cremated as she originally requested in the event of death. Yet oddly, she can't recall seeing him at her mother's funeral. Meanwhile, Erica and Paul drop off Yorga at his home. However, their van gets stuck in the mud outside of Yorga's mansion (although Paul notices the road was dry a minute ago), and the two resign themselves to spend the night in their van. Yorga watches the couple make love, then attacks them, revealing himself to be a vampire. The following day, Paul tells Michael, Donna's boyfriend, about the attack. Paul didn't see their attacker, and Erica doesn't remember the attack at all.
Erica visits Dr. Hayes to have the mysterious bite wounds on her neck inspected. In contrast to her exuberant personality on the night before, Erica now seems despondent and listless. Hayes notices she has lost a lot of blood. Unable to diagnose the cause, he recommends rest and a high protein diet. Not shortly after Paul and Michael discuss the strange changes in Erica's behavior. They try to check in on her via phone but she just drops the phone to the floor without answering it. The concerned men then drive to her home where they find the place in disarray, and a hysterical Erica eating her pet kitten. 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. They restrain her and call Dr. Hayes (Roger Perry), who begins an emergency blood transfusion. Erica babbles incoherently, apparently afraid of something, begging Paul to forgive her and even kill her, but when asked of what has her scared, she state she doesn't know. Meanwhile, Yorga awakens in his manor and heads to his basement which has been converted into a throne room where his two vampiric-brides lie on slabs. One of them is shown to be Donna's mother (Marsha Jordan) whom he had drained, made into an undead servant, and dug up her body after she was buried. He awakens the two and watches as they have sex, presumably using his powers of mind-control to force them to do so.
Although Michael is skeptical, the three men consider the possibility of vampirism as an excuse for Erica's behavior. That night, Yorga visits Erica while Paul sleeps downstairs. Promising her immortality, he drains Erica of her blood and takes her back to his manor to add Erica as his third vampire bride. Paul, upon finding Erica missing, rashly goes to Yorga's mansion to rescue her. Yorga easily kills him by choking him to death, then having his servant, Brudah (Edward Walsh) break his back. Michael alerts Hayes that Paul has gone to the mansion, and Hayes confides that Paul's lack of preparation will probably lead to his death. While mulling over his options, Hayes' girlfriend suggests involving the police, citing an eerily similar case of a baby being found in the woods, drained of its blood with bite wounds on the neck. He takes it to heart and calls the police, but is rejected as a deluded prankster following a recent rash of such calls. Hayes, Michael, and Donna go to the mansion themselves to inquire about Paul's whereabouts and keep Yorga active until sunrise. While Hayes distracts Yorga with enthusiastic questions about Yorga's occult experiments, Brudah rebuffs Michael's attempts to explore the mansion. 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. Yorga distracts Hayes and strengthens his hypnotic control over Donna.
After leaving the manor, Hayes convinces Michael that killing Yorga will not be easy: vampires have greater strength and the wisdom that comes from living much longer than a "mere mortal". He also grimly adds they might have to kill Paul and Erica too if they have become vampires, since the people they were are dead and are now nothing but monsters loyal only to Yorga. They plan to attack later that afternoon. Michael and Donna rest while Hayes studies vampire lore until he too falls asleep. Yorga awakens Donna telepathically and summons her to the mansion. On her arrival, Brudah rapes her. Michael oversleeps because Donna sabotaged the alarm clock, and it's nearly evening when he calls to awaken Hayes. They stock up on stakes and makeshift crosses before heading to Yorga's mansion as night falls. They split up, and Hayes is confronted by Yorga. Both drop the pretense that Yorga is anything but a vampire, and Yorga leads Hayes into his basement where his vampire-brides lie dormant. Hayes finds Erica's body among them, finding to his horror, that she now has no pulse or heartbeat. He attacks Yorga with cross and stake, while yelling out for Michael (who hears Hayes and begins to run in the direction of his call). Yorga is irritated by Hayes' cross and taunts the doctor as he silently commands his brides to awaken. With Hayes' back to the approaching brides and his attention fixed on Yorga, the brides attack and drain the helpless Hayes.
Yorga reunites Donna with her mother. Michael finds Paul's mutilated body while navigating the crypt. Brudah attacks him, but Michael stabs him, presumably to death. Michael manages to reach the throne room but find Hayes as he lays dying from bite wounds and blood loss. With his last breath, Hayes tells Michael where Donna is. Just as he does, Erica, now a vampire and completely under Yorga's control, and an unnamed, red-headed vampire charge into the room. Michael fends them off, chasing away the red-head while Erica pauses, giving Michael a chance to stake her. Despite seeing she is no longer the Erica he knows, he can't bring himself to do so, and proceeds upstairs while she hisses at him. On the way to the staircase, Brudah emerges from the living room, holding his profusely bleeding knife wound, intent on attacking Michael. Michael, somewhat stunned that Brudah is still alive, moves up the staircase as Brudah reaches out for him. Brudah then collapses, finally dying. Upstairs, Michael confronts Yorga and Donna's mother. Yorga pushes Donna's mother into Michael's stake and flees. Michael follows, and Yorga ambushes him outside the room. Michael rams the charging Yorga with his stake, killing him. Donna mourns her mother a second time before Michael collects her. He and Donna watch Yorga turn to dust.
As they start to leave, they are confronted by Erica and the red-headed bride who, despite Yorga's death, still remain as vampires. They chase Michael and Donna downstairs until repelled by Michael's cross. As the vampire women are forced back and toward a cellar, Erica glances ominously at Donna. Michael locks them in and takes Donna's hand, believing the danger is over. However, as he turns to leave, Donna hisses and lunges at him, fangs bared, fully transformed into a vampire. He was too late to prevent Yorga from turning her.
In a final line of voice-over, the narrator sarcastically disputes that vampirism is just superstition as he laughs evilly. The film ends on a shot of Michael's bloodied and lifeless corpse.

Tags: murder

Review:
The rest of the cast is adequate, and I think Roger Perry does a wonderful job as a blood specialist who goads Count Yorga one evening into talking about the supernatural.
Soon after, we meet Count Yorga (Robert Quarry), as he conducts a séance to try to contact Donna's (Donna Anders) deceased mother.
It is no mystery, due to the title of the film, that he is a vampire.Although Count Yorga, Vampire is a bit talky in the beginning, the dialogue is good, and it gets even better as the film progresses.
The rest of the film is a very effective mixture of action and clever, dialogue-heavy scenes.Count Yorga, Vampire is one of the earlier attempts to place a Dracula-like figure in a modern setting.
We certainly couldn't say that the film has no flaws, but for many viewers, including me, there are qualities to this film that enable it to rise above the flaws, and it ends up as a 10 out of 10 for me.One of the most effective elements of the film is the extensive hand-held camera work, which in combination with early 1970s film stocks and processing techniques gives Count Yorga, Vampire an atmosphere akin to the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974).
The difference is that the focus here is a suave, debonair vampire living in a beautiful mansion, surrounded by beautiful vampire-women.For my money, Quarry is as good a "Dracula" as anyone who has played the role, including Bela Lugosi and Christopher Lee. There is also a Renfield-like character here in Brudah (Edward Walsh).
Count Yorga (Robert Quarry), a vampire, comes from Bulgaria to 1970 Los Angeles and starts making a coven of beautiful female vampires.
We soon find out that Count Yorga is one of the most blood-thirsty and ruthless vampires we've seen on screen in years.
Robert Quarry makes your blood run cold as the modern day Count Dracula, and Roger Perry is driven and pretty funny as Dr. Hayes, the modern day Dr. Van Helsing.
You have to know what you're in for when you sit down to watch a movie like "Count Yorga." Leave your expectations of lavish special effects, intricate plotting, and deep character development at the door.
He plays the best kind of vampire  suave and smart and friendly, until of course he decides to dispatch his opponents with almost animal savagery.There are some memorably horrifying moments, including the infamous cat scene and Roger Perry's final confrontation with Yorga in the crypt.
Bob Kelljan's "Count Yorga,Vampire" is an effective horror film which has plenty of suspense and atmosphere.Robert Quarry("Madhouse")is simply outstanding as a deadly vampire Count Yorga and there are some sexy vampiresses.The film may be a little too tame for some people's tastes,but there is enough thrills to satisfy horror fans.Highly recommended..
While only a nut would compare this to the greatness of Dracula or NOSFERATU, it still is a decent example of the franchise.Before talking about the plot, there was something odd I noticed and that was how sexy the film was and it looked, at times, like it was a soft-core porno movie.
As a result, the film is still quite sexy--but also one you could probably still let your teens watch.Iorga/Yorga lives in the Los Angeles area in a house that looks more like a castle than a house.
Soon, it also becomes rather obvious that the Count is a heterosexual vampire--with strong desires for the three women but only a desire to kill off the men.Many elements are taken from Dracula--even including a Dr. Helsing-like character.
Yet, the movie has a lot going for it as well, like the capable direction and writing of Bob Kelljan, the certain charm that the overall look of the movie has, despite the low budget, and some creepy and disturbing scenes like the woman who, after being bitten by Yorga, decides that eating her cat is a good way to get some iron.
But the thing that really makes the movie so good is Robert Quarry's performance as Count Yorga.
In Los Angeles, a group of friends of Donna (Donna Anders) reunites for a séance conducted by Count Yorga (Robert Quarry) to make contact with Donna's mother, who has recently died and was having a love affair with the Yorga.
Dr. James 'Jim' Hayes (Roger Perry), who is a family friend, sees Erica drinking the blood of a cat and he believes that Count Yorga is a vampire.
Count Yorga, Vampire, I remember seeing this movie as a kid and it scared the heck out of me.
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.
Count Yorga, her mother's boyfriend, is a mysterious man who never shows up during the day time and is a bit suspicious ever since all the girls keep disappearing when he came into the group's lives.
But the guys are on a journey to get their women back, but it's gonna be hard when they find out that they are dealing with vampires.Count Yorga is a fun horror flick to watch at midnight, I have to admit it still sometimes sends a little chill down my spine.
As played by Robert Quarry, he is quite creditable and effectively gave Christopher Lee (Hammer Film's Dracula incarnate) a run for his money.Incidentally, he anticipated the other Count's transition to modern times by 2 years and actually managed it a whole lot better (with, thankfully, little resort to Camp).
Though the film was given the alternate title of THE LOVES OF COUNT IORGA, VAMPIRE {sic}, which is actually borne by the copy I watched (for the record, this had been shown on local TV in my childhood but I first caught it years later on British Cable TV), it does not overstress the romantic angle.
The stylish film was produced by Michael Macready (who also assumes the requisite heroic persona on-screen, though the doctor-turned-vampire-hunter played by Roger Perry actually has an even more central role!), son of distinguished character actor George Macready (who generously supplies the portentous narration here and which, at the start, erroneously refers to vampires as "The Living Dead"{!}: indeed, the whole film – scripted by Kelljan himself – aspires to a certain literariness but often merely results in being verbosewhich, however, it often works around by having characters conversing about the unusual events in which they had been thrust presented as voice-over laid on exterior crowd scenes!).
Dracula for the swinging sixties sub-culture, with the dapper Robert Quarry ideally cast as the charming, articulate Count Yorga, a man of culture, who conducts a séance on behalf of the daughter of his former lover which sparks a series of shocking events to unfold.
When local GP (Perry) is informed of the mysterious Count Yorga, he begins to suspect there may in fact be a live vampire at large - convincing the authorities proves impossible and so he and Michael MacReady elect to go it alone and reveal the Count's sinister origins.
But they must contend with his faithful servant Bruder (Walsh) and a bevy of buxom undead vixens with insatiable appetites.Neoclassic vampire picture brings the Count Dracula character into the modern-day world with witty dialogue, moody atmosphere and convincing performances.
Quarry is a standout and Kelljan's economical direction keeps the pace tight and the action/suspense fluent throughout.Perry looks comfortable in his role and both he and Quarry essentially reprise their roles in the quickly made sequel "Return of Count Yorga" made the following year.
Count Yorga was something of a departure for vampire films in the seventies due to the fact that it's star isn't a bloodthirsty maniac, but rather a dapper and respectable rich bachelor, who happens to be a vampire.
The story starts properly once he has bitten one of the young women, who is later found with massive blood loss...and feasting on the family cat...Robert Quarry stars as the enigmatic count, and does an excellent job of it.
The actual horror of the film takes something of a backseat to Yorga's account of being a vampire; but the way that the film does this differently from other vampire movies helps it to retain it's element of originality.
On the whole, while I don't rate count Yorga as one of the out and out must see vampire movies, it's a very good one and fans of vampire films - especially Dracula and the like - will like this..
This is Yorga's movie anyway and Robert Quary give a great performance as the title vampire.
America was not to be left out, and Bob Kelljan's 'Count Yorga, Vampire' is a great little movie that is often unfairly overlooked.
'Count Yorga, Vampire' is interesting because it is set in contemporary America, quite a rarity at the time.
I enjoyed 'Count Yorga, Vampire' a lot and highly recommend it to fans of 60s and 70s vampire movies..
Filmed in 1970, on a limited budget, Count Yorga was the FIRST modern vampire film ever.
Another Dracula film in all but name, "Count Yorga, Vampire" was one of quite a few early-1970s reworkings of Bram Stoker's novel.
The lesbian scene while the Count watches and the implied rape by Yorga's servant are cut too short to be as shocking.A blood transfusion, like in the novel, is also performed.
Meanwhile, Robert Quarry's Count is almost too suave in the tradition of Bela Lugosi (as opposed to the more anti-social Dracula from Stoker's book); his disdain for rudeness nearly prevents him from avoiding the sunrise in one scene.Instead of any wolves, there's Rin Tin Tin, although it's not laughable as with the use of German Shepherds in the more faithful adaptations of Franco's 1970 film and the 1974 TV movie by Dan Curtis.
Some friends gather at the mansion of Robert Quarry (Count Yorga) so that they can hold a séance and Donna Anders (Donna) can contact her recently deceased mother Marsha Jordan.
Dracula in L.A. Robert Quarry makes his first and best appearance as the pasty-faced Bulgarian Count with excellent English in Bob Kelljan's 1970 minor classic Count Yorga, Vampire.
Paul turns to his trusted friends Mike (Michael Macready) and Dr. Jim Hayes (Roger Perry) for help, setting in motion a series of events that will lead to a final confrontation with Yorga, his scar-faced assistant Brudah (Edward Walsh) and his undead brides at their secluded retreat.Count Yorga, Vampire was originally intended to be a porn film and some of the production values and acting betray this sordid little secret.
The film is sombrely narrated by veteran actor George Macready (son of Michael) and the contemporary setting of 1970's Los Angeles anticipates later efforts such as The Night Stalker (1972), the superb Grave of The Vampire (1973) and Tom Holland's eighties favourite Fright Night (1985).A sequel, inevitably titled The Return of Count Yorga (1971), was released the following year and in spite of a bigger budget and higher production values, it fails to match the power and rough elegance of the first film.
Their reign continued well into the 70s, and one of their best from that period is this great vampire flick.Robert Quarry turns in a terrific, non-campy performance as Count Yorga, an old-school vampire living in 1970 L.A.
And there are few images from horror movies of the 70s as creepy as a newly infected woman munching down on her pet cat!The title as it appears onscreen is COUNT IORGA, VAMPIRE..
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.
In modern era now the Vampire strike in modern city,this time from Bulgaria,a low budge production,but uninteresting altogether,it's very analogous British sexy horror movies from the sixties,despite a bad makeup and costumes,the picture survives till the end,actually the end is a negative point for so negligible final,nevertheless The Robert Quarry made a convincing role as Count Yorga the Vampire!!Resume: First watch: 2017 / How many: 1 / Source: DVD / Rating: 6.
A GOOD Vampire film - fun to watch.Count Yorga is playing a spirit medium to help a girl speak to her recently deceased mother.
The final scenes, with vampire girls all over the house, and one lone guy left to fight the Count to the death, were some of the scariest scenes ever in any vampire film.The direction, for a B film, was good, but most of all it was Robert Quarry's film.
"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.
Robert Quarry stars as Count Yorga, a ruthless vampire who meets two couples at a séance where he is trying to contact his old love, who is the mother of one of the women.
The ceremony is being hosted by Count Yorga (Robert Quarry) and soon he is taking a part in Donna and her boyfriend Michael's (Michael Macready) lives.
It turns out that Count Yorga is actually a vampire and he has set his eyes on Donna.COUNT YORGA, VAMPIRE was originally going to be a softcore picture but apparently a decision was made to cut out most of the sex and go for a straight horror film instead.
If I had to say anything bad about the picture it's the fact that the story itself isn't the most original thing out there.COUNT YORGA, VAMPIRE is certainly an entertaining horror film and one that didn't have to rely on a bunch of blood or nudity..
Anyway, that's the setup in Bob Kelljan's surprisingly shocking, intelligent and believable horror film from 1970, "Count Yorga, Vampire." Several ingredients really help to lift this modern-day tale above the raft of similar competitors.
Made on a decidedly low budget, this contemporary vampire story is noted for placing a Dracula-like figure in a modern setting for perhaps the first time and for the captivating performance of Quarry in the title role.
Quarry is a striking presence as Count Yorga (actually meant to be Iorga, and pronounced that way in the film, but changed by the distributing company in order to be more easily pronounced by the movie-going public!) The actor clearly relishes the chance to perform this type of role and brings a gravity to it, despite some of the lighter and campier aspects of the movie.
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 !
It's up to those that are left, including Michael (Michael Macready, who also produced the film), and doctor / blood specialist Jim Hayes (Roger Perry), to wage war with the fiend."Count Yorga, Vampire" is good fun for fans of the vampire genre.
He's extremely charismatic and magnetic as the count, brings an air of class and sophistication to the film and holds his own with many more famous actors who've played vampires over the years.
Quarry stated in later interviews that he only agreed to play the vampire if the sex scenes were removed and it was made as a straight horror film, which is exactly what ended up happening.
The film was later re- rated PG-13, which is appropriate.All of the alterations to the original concept (plus the fact this was one of the first films to transplant a vampire into a modern day, non- Gothic setting) turned out to be wise from a lucrative standpoint as the film became a huge and unexpected hit and was immediately followed by the higher-budgeted sequel THE RETURN OF THE COUNT YORGA (1971), which brought back Quarry, Perry, Walsh and familiar character actor George Macready (who is the father of co-star / producer Michael and narrates this beginning and ending of this original)..
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.
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.
All the characters were good, and it's one of the better Vampire films i have seen, plus Robert Quarry is simply amazing in this!.
This is a creepy and extremely atmospheric Horror yarn,with a solid story, and an amazing performance from Robert Quarry!, i highly recommend it (especially for Vampire fans like me!).
Actor Robert Quarry, for one, makes a pretty good vampire, giving his character intelligence and elegance while at the same time showing he is a formidable threat.
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.
Quarry makes a terrific vampire Count, capable of a charming urbanity that Hammer Films rarely allowed Christopher Lee to display; and fully portraying the demonic fury bit that Lee was so good at.