Count Yorga (1970)

This one attempts to update the vampire mythos for 1970, delivering a decent if somewhat uneven film. “Yorga” opens with our main man Count Yorga hosting a séance for a bunch of swinging seventies types. One of the group, Donna, is apparently trying to contact her dead mother who just so happened to have dated Yorga for three weeks before dying mysteriously of anemia. Gee, that’s a shocker huh? Once contact is established in the séance, all hell breaks loose and the party abruptly ends, though not before Yorga works a little of the old vampire mind control over Donna. Stating suddenly that he has to leave, a young couple, Erica and Michael, offer to give Yorga a ride back to his mansion in their “mystery machine” styled red van. On their way home their van gets stuck in some mud and the couple do as any sane individuals would, they light a candle, fuck, and attempt to pass the night in the van. Yorga of course has other plans, attacking the couple by knocking Michael unconscious and necking with his girlfriend. The next day a friend of theirs, Dr. Hayes, treats Erica for her mysterious anemia and is quite puzzled about the puncture wounds on her neck. Several days later Erica is caught (in a fairly shocking and oft censored scene) having a snack of baby kitten, and Dr. Hayes soon starts to put two and two together. Let’s see, puncture wounds on neck, a suspicious Count Yorga who is from Bulgaria…egad!! Yorga is a vampire! Add to that the mysterious disappearance of Donna, and Hayes wastes no time in rounding up a party to conduct the obligatory raid on Yorga Headquarters.

This one did have one positive going for it, and that’s Robert Quarry as the Count. His performance is of a sophisticated and modern vampire who still wears the traditional red cape of yester year. Yorga has a polite and gentlemanly air about him, though be sure he’ll rip your head off when you look the other way. The rest of the cast is sadly uninspired, and I had a hell of a time telling them apart. Michael, the hero of the film, had the charisma of a wall and seemed completely detached from everything going on. You would think with your girlfriend turning into a vampire and eating kittens you would show some type of emotion. The characters, especially Dr. Hayes, seemed to quick to accept the fact that Yorga is a vampire with Hayes even going so far as to call the police about him! While light on any actually on-screen gore, the film makes up for this with a decent amount of atmosphere despite the obvious low budget. Originally intended as a soft-core flick, it’s interesting to note several sequences that start out as being fairly kinky only to have the camera cut away at the last second, with several love scenes and a lesbian vampire sequence coming to mind. Despite some positives, unless you’re a fan of seventies drive-in horror “Yorga” will come across as a clichéd and extremely dated film. Try to appreciate the budget and when it was made, and you might have a good time with it.