Undoubtedly a "B" movie, and it's not altogether surprising that it was originally intended as soft porn. But it rises above its origins, in large part due to Robert Quarry.
It's been a long time since I've seen this movie - it doesn't seem to have made the transition to cable in Australia - but I saw it quite a few times in the seventies, and even on third or fourth viewing, it was still scary stuff. And that's what vampire films need to be. For me, Robert Quarry's attractiveness and over-smooth charm made it instantly understandable why so many young girls would find him appealing enough to willingly accompany him to his home, without the benefit of hypnotism. Most vampire films don't portray vampires as sexy creatures at all, and I thought the casting of Quarry, even with a slightly campy edge, added an extra dimension to the character.
I liked the slow initial pace of the film - you know something is going to happen, and waiting for it to eventuate can be scarier than the action when it does, and I thought the slow pace made it all the more credible. The final scenes, with vampire girls all over the house, and one lone guy left to fight the Count to the death, were some of the scariest scenes ever in any vampire film.
The direction, for a B film, was good, but most of all it was Robert Quarry's film. I never could understand why he didn't do more quality work after this.
It's been a long time since I've seen this movie - it doesn't seem to have made the transition to cable in Australia - but I saw it quite a few times in the seventies, and even on third or fourth viewing, it was still scary stuff. And that's what vampire films need to be. For me, Robert Quarry's attractiveness and over-smooth charm made it instantly understandable why so many young girls would find him appealing enough to willingly accompany him to his home, without the benefit of hypnotism. Most vampire films don't portray vampires as sexy creatures at all, and I thought the casting of Quarry, even with a slightly campy edge, added an extra dimension to the character.
I liked the slow initial pace of the film - you know something is going to happen, and waiting for it to eventuate can be scarier than the action when it does, and I thought the slow pace made it all the more credible. The final scenes, with vampire girls all over the house, and one lone guy left to fight the Count to the death, were some of the scariest scenes ever in any vampire film.
The direction, for a B film, was good, but most of all it was Robert Quarry's film. I never could understand why he didn't do more quality work after this.