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14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The full monty!, March 18, 2005
May I be the first to come out of the closet and say I'm an unabashed Yorga fan. I could have said coffin but that would have been too obvious. Instead I risk aspersions on my sexuality. That's the kind of cutting edge guy I am.
Yes, these two films are great. 'Return' is my favourite. The first is more horror, the second more played for laughs. Count Yorga is something of a tragic figure, his hubris not only destroying those around him, but also himself. But we're not talking Tolstoy here. This is inspired tosh of the first order. The count is a natty dresser with a nice line in dry sarcasm and aristocratic disdain, although never at the expense of good manners. He is a gentlemen who likes to get to the point quickly. "Dr Baldwin, you are going to die. You are going to die a most horrible death. You've been a fool, doctor, and now you are to die!" Yes, he got the point, I would say. Something to do with imminent extinction, perhaps? But the best line belongs to a co-star of his. "Dr Hayes, what an unexpected surprise" - "Yes, so much so that I almost had a massive coronry!"
Robert Quarry speculated what a third sequel might have looked like had it seen the light of day (unlike Yorga himself.) Apparently Yorga was to have fallen on lean times and been down with the street homeless. The mind, as they say, boggles!
Combined, this must get the full five stars. Favourite bits: when Yorga attacks!
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13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Two worthwhile Robert Quarry films on one DVD, May 4, 2005
Count Yorga, Vampire (1970)
Written and directed by Bob Kelljan (The Return of Count Yorga, Scream Blacula Scream), Count Yorga, Vampire (1970), aka The Loves of Count Iorga (not a misspelling) stars Robert Quarry (Madhouse, Rollercoaster), Roger Perry (Roller Boogie), and Michael Murphy (Cloak & Dagger). Also appearing is Michael Macready (Terror House), Edward Walsh (Hard Times, Let It Ride), and George Macready, as the narrator (he actually appears in the sequel in a memorable scene as an oddball professor).
After some expository sequences, we go to a séance in progress, being conducted by Count Yorga, who, if you're familiar with the title of the movie, is a vampire. He ends up secretly putting the whammy on one of the women present, and then gets a ride home from a couple in their VW minibus...I have to say, it was kind of funny seeing this young couple and the aristocratic, sophisticated Count crammed into the front bench seat of a minibus. Anyway, the couple drops the Count off after declining his offer to come into his home, and they get stuck in some mud along the Count's long driveway. This starts a five-minute discussion about mud. Where did the mud come from? How did we miss it come in? How come the rest of the ground is dry? Blah, blah, blah...it's scenes like this that really dragged this movie down. I guess, among the Count's other supernatural powers, creating wind and lighting, manipulating objects with his mind, mind control over animals and humans, super natural strength, he can also create mud. As the movie progresses, the Count takes a couple of women (Count Yorga needs women!) in the way vampires do, and the men begin to suspect something is wrong, and whatever it is, it's directly linked to Count Yorga. They start throwing around the theory of vampirism, with some willing to believe once offered proof, while others refuse to accept even the possibility as they think the idea is purely a work of fiction. After much goofy dialogue, two of the men decide to take matters into their own hands and try to sneak into the castle and convince themselves that Count Yorga is a vampire. They take along a female character, as they fear to leave her alone (great idea, take her into the lair of a suspected vampire). If they are able to confirm that Count Yorga is a vampire, they intend to kill him, and their friends who have been turned, as there is no cure for bloodsucking other than a wooden stake in the heart...the last twenty minutes or so things the pace picks up pretty well, as the two men confront Count Yorga and his brides from hell. And how could I write a review about this movie without mentioning Brudah, the Count's mostly mute, brutish servant? Oh man, he is good for a few laughs...he walks around the entire movie looking like a transported cavemen in a bad sport coat and tie. I kept injecting my own lines for poor Brudah when he had none...I imagined when he spoke, each sentence would be preceded by his own name..."Brudah want woman"..."Brudah drive car"..."Brudah need shave"....
The dialog throughout the movie is rather clunky but oddly realistic at times. The actor playing Count Yorga, Robert Quarry, was the highlight of the movie, really getting into the part creating a truly believable and scary character. I vaguely recognized him, but then remembered seeing him in Dr. Phibes Rises Again (1972). The direction was decent, but got annoying at times, especially during scenes with conversation, as the director would make many needless cuts back and forth between characters, sometimes showing the back of a character who was speaking... there was some blood and one scene in particular, with a cat, that was pretty ugly. The one actor most will probably recognize in this film is Michael Murphy, who played the mayor in Batman Returns (1992) and has been in a few Woody Allen movies like Manhattan (1979) and The Front (1976). All in all, I thought this was a very decent, low budget affair, much better than I would have expected.
The Return of Count Yorga (1971)
I guess we shouldn't have counted this Count out after the pervious film...you can always `count' on the Count to make a comeback...the Count was counted, but not counted out...okay, I suppose that's enough...as most of us probably know, vampires are among one of the most difficult creatures in Hollywood to destroy, and even then there's no guarantee they won't find some way to return...especially if there's money to be made...co-written and directed by Bob Kelljan (Count Yorga, Vampire, Scream Blacula Scream), the film stars Robert Quarry (Agent for H.A.R.M., Deathmaster), reprising his role, and a young Mariette Hartley (Marnie, Marooned). Also appearing is Roger Perry, who appeared in the first movie, but as a different character, Yvonne Wilder (Seems Like Old Times), Tom Toner (Splash), Rudy De Luca (High Anxiety), George Macready (Tora! Tora! Tora!), Edward Walsh (Count Yorga, Vampire), and Craig T. Nelson (Stir Crazy, Poltergeist) in his silver screen debut.
So what's the story? Well, after two and a half minutes of credits overlaid on a montage consisting on viewing various rooms in a large house (including a coffin room) we meet Cynthia (Hartley) a young woman who works at an orphanage near her family's residence in the remote northern California countryside. After scenes of something stirring from the ground in nearby cemetery, we then go to the orphanage where a costume ball/fundraiser is occurring, and we get to meet Cynthia's family (don't get used to them), along with her fiancé David (Perry). Count Yorga (Quarry) crashes the party and finds himself enamored with Cynthia, so much so he pretty much kidnaps her later on, after having his minions deal with her family, and spirits her off to his spacious abode, where he puts some sort of mind whammy on her so that she'll forget what just happened. From here David becomes suspicious at the disappearance of Cynthia and her family, begins investigating, getting the police involved, specifically two detectives played by De Luca and Nelson, who've been investigating a recent spate of brutal murders involving throats being torn out. Initially they're all a bit skeptical, but they soon learn the vampire's greatest weapon is the generally held belief that they don't exist...
I thought The Return of Count Yorga was a very decent film...it didn't really seem like a continuation from the first film, but more like an `ongoing adventures' kind of thing. The main reason to watch this, as with the first, is for Robert Quarry. The man has a real charismatic onscreen presence, and delivers his lines in the manner of a classically trained actor, with a lot less pomposity, and is just entertaining to watch. One of my favorite scenes is near the beginning, when Yorga meets everyone at the costume ball, him showing up in his `Countly' gear and replying in an appropriately sophisticated manner to some of the more crass individuals. Yorga seems to have dropped the slightly hippish clothing from the last film adopting a more loungish attire, including a red velour tuxedo complete with matching bow tie...stylin'! (never fear, as he still dons the cape) This sequel also brings back the Count's disfigured manservant Brudah (Walsh), who's also looking quite dapper in his dirt brown double breasted suit, perfect attire for dealing with trespassers or disposing bodies in the swampy bog behind the house...and speaking of the house, Yorga's crib is large and spacious, but the pool needs a little work. Overall the story is on the slow side during the first half, but does pick up later on, building to a climatic ending. Some other great parts to keep an eye out for are the scenes involving the detectives in Yorga's house, and when Yorga attacks...
Both these films, on one dual sided DVD, are presented in very good-looking anamorphic widescreen (1.85:1) and feature clean Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono audio tracks. Special features are limited to a theatrical trailer for each film. Now that Sony has bought up the MGM catalog, the fate of Midnite Movies seems uncertain. I hope they continue on releasing these lesser known films in this economical `twofer' format, as I will keep buying them.
Cookieman108
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
"How do you feel about driving a wooden stake through someone's heart?", May 6, 2008
Probably the most underrated vampire in cinema history, Count Yorga is a favorite horror character of mine. Robert Quarry is second only to Bela Lugosi in my book as far as vampire lords go, even beating out bonafide legend Christopher Lee whose Dracula performances are legendary. Yorga was originally spelled "Iorga" but was changed presumably because American studios give zero credence to the intelligence and literacy of horror and exploitation fans. Well screw you, too. Though both films were very obviously influenced by Hammer studios and their aforementioned Dracula films starring Lee, I find them preferable to almost all of Hammer's vampire flicks.
Robert Quarry's Count Yorga is neither otherworldy like Lugosi nor dour and curt like Lee. He is a socially confident gentleman with a quick and biting wit, calm demeanor, hypnotic skills both classical and supernatural, and a genuine love of the ladies. In fact, one may notice the way Yorga seems loathe to even touch the men he attacks, keeping them at arms length like so much garbage or if at all possible utilizing his followers to take care of them. I love it. Now, if I were an undead lord my favorite part would have to be the requisite harem, and Yorga's is most impressive. Always a sucker (pun intended) for the ladies, the good Count seems to enjoy watching his ladyslaves get it on almost as much as he does sicking them on his enemies. And let's face it: 70's horror and exploitation actresses are the hottest breed of human ever seen. The women in these two films are not Hammer quality, but one would still feel compelled to bite them on the neck and spend eternity forcing them to do your bidding. That said there is no nudity in either film and the lesbianism is only briefly implied (blink and you'll miss it) and not explicitly shown. There is quality violence and some solid scares, though. Oddly, the first film is rated "PG-13" and the second "R" in spite of the fact that the first is more explicit both horrifically and sexually. So dumb.
"Count Yorga, Vampire" aka "The Many Loves of Count Iorga, Vampire" is an absolute must-see vampire classic. We first meet the head vamp conducting a seance in modern day Los Angeles. Yorga is so confident that he spends time in both films advocating belief in the supernatural -especially vampires- to nonbelievers. This is one of my favorite aspects of the character and speaks volumes of his disdain for human knowledge. Soon, he continues his bloodletting (which began prior to the film's opening) by going after the beautiful daughter of his last victim. In my favorite scene the girl, having been bitten by the Count, is discovered by her loved ones devouring a small cat. It's a profoundly disturbing scene that does everything right and should be considered a classic unto itself. The ending is arguably the greatest parting shot in vampire cinema history. 4 1/2 stars.
"The Return of Count Yorga" is a solid sequel with more humor (some intentional, some not) than the original that retains nearly all of the elements of the first film while moving the action to San Francisco. Don't ask how or why the Count returned, just be happy that he did. I'm of the opinion that this one doesn't measure up to the original. The ending seemed silly and forced (fool me once...), the hot vampire brides were mostly made to look grotesque, the subplot involving a young boy taken by Yorga is a throwaway without a real arc, and there are some moments where you wonder if any part of this film was meant to be taken seriously. But it still has plenty of great moments both funny and creepy. My favorite involves the heroine -having been mindwiped by Yorga's hypnosis skills- wandering his mansion while hearing the creepy telepathic giggles of his undead brides and catching mental glimpses of the carnage she saw Yorga and his harem unleash on her family when they kidnapped her. It's simply a great sequence. Some humor ensues when Yorga strides into a costume party dressed as he always is. The Count passes a woman who remarks "Another vampire. But where are your fangs?". "Where are YOUR manners?" quips the stone-faced lord of the the undead before quickly moving on. Also worthy of praise is a slow-motion chase down a hallway when the girl's boyfriend comes investigating and narrowly escapes the ladyvamps only to find a positively demonic-looking Count Yorga out for his blood. 3 1/2 stars.
Together, these two vampire cinema classics make for five star must-own material. I'll never say no to a two-fer of this quality and if you're a horror fan neither should you. As usual for these sort of releases, you get one double-sided DVD with only theatrical trailers for bonus material. The first film has no English subtitles, the sequel does (both are English langage films, of course); just another little oddity. But I seriousy doubt anybody is expecting much from such an obscure pair of films. Just be happy for another great two-for-one deal and enjoy these
forgotten horror gems.
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