The movie opens with a séance conducted by the mysterious Count Yorga (Robert Quarry). The object is to contact the spirit of the mother of Donna (Donna Anderson). The mother had been Count Yorga’s girlfriend. Donna’s friends are very sceptical about the séance but Donna believes.
Donna is now under the Count’s hypnotic control.
Paul (Michael Murphy) and Erica (Judy Lang) have an encounter with the Count.
Erica is not well. Her physician Dr Jim Hayes (Roger Perry) diagnoses pernicious anaemia.
Dr Hayes is a blood specialist. He immediately suspects vampirism.
Dr Hayes persuades Donna’s friends that Count Yorga is a vampire who must be destroyed.
Unfortunately they turn out to be less than skilful vampire hunters. They equip themselves with sharpened broomsticks and crude improvised wooden crosses.
They do not inspire confidence.
They don’t know if they’re up against a single vampire. They do know that they will have to deal with the Count’s manservant/bodyguard who looks like a mad scientist’s assistant. We expect him to be named Igor but in fact he’s named Brudah (Edward Walsh). He’s dumb but he’s scary.
The stage is set for a showdown between the vampire and the amateur vampire hunters.
Count Yorga’s lair in his mansion looks reasonably impressive. It really is a great location which is utilised to the fullest.
The vampire makeup effects are adequate. There’s some gore but it’s fairly tame.
The visuals overall are OK but not exactly inspired.
This is a very low-budget movie and it does look rather on the cheap side.
This an extraordinarily un-erotic vampire movie and if you’re making an un-erotic vampire movie you’re pretty much missing the point of the whole vampire mythos. Intriguingly this movie was apparently originally intended to be a softcore erotic vampire film which might have been rather more entertaining.
Robert Quarry makes a moderately good vampire but doesn’t quite have the charisma that actors like Christopher Lee and Louis Jourdan brought to the role.
The other performances are adequate but unexciting.
This was an exciting time in the history of the vampire movie. European directors were totally redefining the genre with moves like Jess Franco’s Vampyros Lesbos (1970), Jean Rollin’s Requiem for a Vampire (1971) and The Nude Vampire (1970), José Larraz’s Vampyres (1974) and the underrated Paul Naschy vampire flick Count Dracula’s Great Love (1973). The Japanese were getting into the act as well, with The Vampire Doll (1970).
By comparison Count Yorga, Vampire seems old-fashioned, stodgy and clunky. It is in fact just another (unauthorised) retread of Dracula but with the action moved to 1970 California. The Count has been renamed, he comes from Bulgaria rather than Transylvania and a blood specialist takes the place of Van Helsing but it’s the exact same story.
This was of course the same approach that Hammer took with Dracula A.D. 1972 (1972), relocating Dracula to early 70s Swinging London. But the Hammer film is more professionally made, it has more style, it’s more fun, it has Christopher Lee and it at least tries to take advantage of the idea of an ancient vampire suddenly finding himself in a world of rock’n’roll, miniskirts, flared jeans, sexual promiscuity and mind-altering substances.
Count Yorga, Vampire simply does not take any advantage of its contemporary setting.
This is not by any means a bad movie. It’s just that if you want a fairly straightforward Dracula adaptation then Hammer’s Horror of Dracula is superior and if you want a “Dracula in the modern world” move than Hammer’s Dracula A.D. 1972 does it better and in both cases Christopher Lee is a much better Dracula than Robert Quarry. Count Yorga, Vampire really doesn’t offer anything special. Worth a look but set your expectations fairly low.
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