Back in the thirties we became acquainted with the vampire
Dracula via Bela Lugosi. Things didn’t spark with the vampire craze again until
the sixties when Christopher Lee put new blood into the same character in
several Hammer films about the famed count. It wasn’t until 1970 that a new
blood sucker burst on the scene in a low budget film that drew enough fans to
warrant a sequel, COUNT YORGA, VAMPIRE.
The movie takes place in present day (1970 that is) Los Angeles
where friends of Donna whose mother recently passed away have gathered together
to hold a séance conducted by Count Yorga (Robert Quarry), completely unaware
of who he really is. Not long after one of the couples are attacked in their
van by the Count leaving the young woman a bit drained of blood and with an
appetite for eating the pet cat. Looking into the case Dr. Hayes, a family
friend, comes to the conclusion that she is suffering from vampirism. The
friends make the decision to visit Count Yorga and confront him with this
accusation and end his reign of terror. But things never go quite as planned
when it comes to angry folks taking on a vampire of any kind.
That’s a rather short summation of the plot here but
honestly that’s what it boils down to. The thing is it was never the entire
story here that made these films work but instead the updating of the vampire
creature that made the film stand out from others. While so many went with the
old versions of vampire having their exploits take place in castles well hidden
in the Carpathian mountains, this one takes place in LA. Yes, he lives in a
castle but nothing like those of the old stories.
The victims of Yorga’s rampage are modernized as well
wearing the latest fashion as opposed to the costume dramas of past vampire
films. This is a hip group of people who might not be willing to consider that
a vampire is a real creature at first but who soon come to grips with the
reality of what is going on. Where villagers knew that their legends were based
on fact, these people are far removed from those days and take some
convincing.
The modernization of the vampire here predates that of Anne
Rice’s INTERVIEW WITH A VAMPIRE and even that harkened back to vampires of the
past for the most part. Audiences who loved horror films were glad for the
arrival of this film. While it falls into the category of low budget films
every penny is seen on screen with some decent performances here as well as
situations that are not nearly as bad as many teen monster films from low
budget studios at the time. Instead we have a realistic look at a creature that
hadn’t been seen before. The success of the film generated a sequel and paved
way for the film BLACULA two years later.
Twilight Time once more does an amazing job of presenting a
pristine look with this transfer as well as several well-made extras. Those
extras include an isolated score track, audio commentary with film historians
David Del Valle and Tim Sullivan, a Robert Quarry interview by Rue Morgue
magazine, a fangirl radio tribute to Robert Quarry with Tim Sullivan, a still
gallery from both MGM archives and Tim Sullivan archives and the original
theatrical trailer.
Horror fans, AIP fans, Twilight Time fans and vampire fans
will want to make a point of adding this one to their collection. While MGM
sold the film in their Midnight Movies series this is the best print you will
find of the film. The fact that the name Twilight Time is on it guarantees
that.
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