Too much, too young - Count Yorga, Vampire (1970) Discussion

[–] adrax 17 years ago

I had the exact same experience...it scared the @#$$% out of me.
Had nightmares for weeks.

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[–] JAPfeif 17 years ago

I remember first watching this movie as a kid, at the drive-in movie (my mom and babysitter used to take us kids to the drive-in a couple time a month). Not surprisingly, the scene with the vampire hovering outside the van, the frogs' croaking getting louder & louder, the candle blowing out, and finally him peering in the window scared the crap out of ALL of us (being that we were in a car!)!

Recently my wife & I watched it and it had the same effect oh her (and we were in a safe living room!!).

Great movie.

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[–] marianp1 16 years ago

SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER
SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER
SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER
SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER
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SPOILER

The ending was copied from Polansky's _Fearless Varmpire Killers_!

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[–] adam_jondo 16 years ago

Saw this film on TV when I was nine and had the same experience as you guys. Scared the living cr*p out of me and couldn't sleep for a week. That was thirty five years ago and no movie has freaked me out the same way since.

So what is it about seeing THIS movie at around THAT of age?
Any theories?

If only you could see what I have seen through your eyes.

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[–] rupreck1959 15 years ago

Same here. Saw it with some mates from school when I was 12. No one went to toilet cos we were all too s#@! scared. Took my brother to see 'The Return of Count Yorga'. I still remind him 37 years later of his immortal words- "I wished we had gone and seen Willie Wonka". (It was on in the next theatre).

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[–] JustPassingTime 14 years ago

That's great! I also saw it when I was 12 at the drive-in, and yes it scared the [insert vulgar explicative here] out of me. Those were great times -- it's a damn shame that drive-ins are a thing of the past.

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[–] evilbastard9 14 years ago

I remember seeing the trailer for it and it scared the crap out of me. Saw it in the theater as a double with when the Sequel came out.

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[–] smithsj 11 years ago

No theory, but I was 11 when I saw this, and 12 when I saw Return.

I think part of it is that that is a good age to see this kind of film, and that for much of the previous decade we had been seeing Hammer films.

Now, they were (& still are) fine, but were largely period pieces. Still they were an improvement on the Universal films that they took the genre from.

I think moving the stories to (what at the time was) current times made them feel more relevant and realistic. Also moving away from an orchestra playing the soundtrack, and using a small chamber ensemble, playing a more modern style of music also gave them a fresh feeling.

So I think it is a combination of the age we were at, and the fact that both the setting and soundtrack were updated made them very effective at that time.

I wonder how others view it...

Good question!

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[–] smithsj 11 years ago

No theory, but I was 11 when I saw this, and 12 when I saw Return.

I think part of it is that that is a good age to see this kind of film, and that for much of the previous decade we had been seeing Hammer films.

Now, they were (& still are) fine, but were largely period pieces. Still they were an improvement on the Universal films that they took the genre from.

I think moving the stories to (what at the time was) current times made them feel more relevant and realistic. Also moving away from an orchestra playing the soundtrack, and using a small chamber ensemble, playing a more modern style of music also gave them a fresh feeling.

So I think it is a combination of the age we were at, and the fact that both the setting and soundtrack were updated made them very effective at that time.

I wonder how others view it...

Good question!

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[–] Ace_Moonshot 13 years ago

Funny. I came here for the same reason. My Ma was a big one for taking me to the movies. We'd pretty much watch whatever was showing. I was 7 years old and at some point it became apparent I could not handle it and I seem to recall her asking me if I wanted to go. I sure as hell did. I was a terrified wreck as she helped me out of the theater.

Don't trust reality. After all, it's only a collective hunch.

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[–] amolad-1 12 years ago

Oh, yeah. Saw this when it first came out in theaters. I was nine or so. I went with my cousin who was the same age. I must have left the theater five or six times just to stand in the lobby. He wasn't as scared as I was.
The crazy thing was that it was on a double bill with the Disney movie "The Boatnicks."

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[–] anubis-45 10 years ago

Well, I was almost 20 when I saw "Count Yorga, Vampire" at the local cinema with a couple of mates.

We thought it was pretty far out, too!

At that time I owned a VW Commercial - an earlier model to the one in the film - and I scared the beejezus out of my mates on the way home. We pulled off the road into a quiet side track for a 'comfort stop' and after we all piled back in, I pretended that I couldn't get the 'bus to start, and after a bit of coaxing, I got her running. Then I pretended that we were getting bogged - in an otherwise dry track....just like in the film. Talk about a freak-out. I even scared myself!

My mates and I still laugh about that night.

Kids!

^_^

"The Opener of the Way is Waiting"

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[–] ElectricWarlock 9 years ago

I watched it for the first time today and loved it. It felt like it could've been one of the later Hammer Dracula movies except with Robert Quarry playing the vampire instead of Christopher Lee which is a great compliment coming from me. I really loved the characters and atmosphere.

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[–] sumankey13 7 years ago

hmmm....enjoying it so far on Comet t.v. just now...i'll look out for those scary scenes

th'one that scared the piss outta me as a kid (and scared me for life!) was Salem's Lot! the creature/ vampire in that creepy-ass movie--i can't even look at that face anymore!  lol

*Sometimes I doubt your commitment to Sparkle Motion!*

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[–] millsey72 (9527) 2 years ago

You should check out Billy the Kid vs Dracula. Thats probably the scariest vampire movie ever

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