BLACULA is everything the very boring COUNT YORGA, VAMPIRE tried to be but wasn't. But BLACULA adds many more twists, many of which you have pointed out so I don't need to go over them.
Here are the things I thought were great.
Unlike Yorga, Blacula was not a carbon copy of Dracula. He was in love with someone, even as he needed to feed on the blood of others. In contrast, there's no way Dracula would have allowed any of his "brides" to stay human.
Apart from a seance scene, Yorga was in his home (or on his home ground) virtually all the time. Blacula, in contrast mingled with people and adapted to the 1970s society. The scenes where he appears to be stalking someone were very atmospheric and well done in my view.
COUNT YORGA, VAMPIRE was a real chore to sit through with a very slow pace. In contrast, the first half of BLACULA is so incredibly fast-paced I couldn't believe it.
Finally, the supporting characters of BLACULA are interesting, have emotions, and when necessary summon up the determination to do what they must do. The supporting characters in COUNT YORGA, VAMPIRE on the other hand were amongst the blandest I have seen. Poor Robert Quarry was left to carry an entire flick on his own.
The bottom line - BLACULA is underrated and COUNT YORGA, VAMPIRE is overrated.
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Flywiththeowl
12 years ago
Lol! I have to admit, I *do* like the "Yorga" films a lot, but your reply made me laugh in agreement with much of what you wrote. Yorga's supporting cast was pretty lousy next to those in Blacula.
But Quarry, (imo), was one creepy vampire. The director/producers really should've ditched the Lugosi cape & other cliche gear, but Quarry really did put his own stamp on it with his suave, "aristocratic" approach.
Funny though- have you heard many horror fans call Yorga the best, or great, etc? All these years, I had the impression they were pretty *underrated* films. But I don't spend really any time on horror forums & whatnot, so I'm not sure.
But bottomline, Blacula is *definitely* the more fun of the 2 that I'm pretty sure had far broader appeal.
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dr-strangeno24
12 years ago
I haven't even seen Blacula yet; came to this board to read some buzz about it. However, in defense of "Yorga's" filmmakers, the sequel is an improvement.
In spite of being even less socially aware/"hip" than the original, the characters in The Return of Count Yorga are more distinct (including Yorga himself), the suspense is palpable, and the story is just a bit more innovative. All those small virtues work together to create one of my favorite vampire films.
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http://oi46.tinypic.com/nbf5w1.jpg
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missgangsmashers
12 years ago
This was a very well made MOVIE with an excellent story line. It was about LOVE. U can't get any better than that!
NINA MAE MCKINNEY IS MAGNIFICENT
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