The Vampires Night Orgy

Reminiscent of Piero Regnoli's THE PLAYGIRLS AND THE VAMPIRE and Jean Brismee's THE DEVIL'S NIGHTMARE, Leon Klimovsky's THE VAMPIRES' NIGHT ORGY finds a busload of disparate characters stranded in the middle of a desolate Carpathian countryside and forced to rely on the kindness of strangers... who turn out to be vampires under the domination of an Anne Ricean queen played by veteran Euro-cult actress Helga Line (the ill-starred foreign agent in Eugenio Martin's HORROR EXPRESS). Eschewing fangwork and the usual Gothic trappings of the vampire mythos, Klimovsky and his screenwriters (Antonio Fos had co-written Eloy de la Iglesia's CANNIBAL MAN and CLOCKWORK TERROR) return to European folklore to present shabby, homely revenants whose attacks, while relatively bloodless, effectively communicate a vibe of disgust and dread.

Rounding out the stellar international cast is American expatriate actor Jack Taylor (recently seen in Roman Polanski's THE NINTH GATE), Dianik Zurakowska (CAULDRON OF BLOOD, THE HANGING WOMAN), Manuel de Blas (ASSIGNMENT: TERROR, THE HUNCHBACK OF THE MORGUE), Luis Ciges (HORROR RISES FROM THE TOMB, VENGEANCE OF THE ZOMBIES and Pedro Almodovar's LABYRINTH OF PASSION) and Fernando Bilbao (FANGS OF THE LIVING DEAD, DRACULA PRISONER OF FRANKENSTEIN).

Known mostly for war films and westerns, the Argentina-born Leon Klimovsky directed THE VAMPIRES' NIGHT ORGY during a period of exclusive horror filmmaking, which included the popular Paul Naschy vehicles THE WEREWOLF VS. THE VAMPIRE WOMAN, DR. JEKYLL AND THE WOLFMAN and the superior THE SAGA OF THE DRACULAS (which also featured Helga Line).

A Euro-cult classic, and well worth seeking out.

Atmospheric and creepy tale of a group of travellers whose coach is diverted to the uncharted Spanish village of Tonia, where the locals disappear at night and emerge later as something other than human. Prolific US-Spanish leading man Jack Taylor is central to the defence, taking the lovely Alma (Zurakowska) under his wing until they can conjure an escape. A mysterious Countess (Line) and her off-sider, the town's unofficial mayor (Guardiola) try to convince the travellers to stay in town and enjoy their hospitality, boasting the best "roast" in the region - as another reviewer remarked, 'finger-lickin' good - the origins of which are somewhat dubious to say the least.

Impressive sets and locations really depict a sense of isolation, and the quaint town and its characters are all effectively drawn in spite of some bizarre sub-plots. There's an axe-wielding giant ("I'm here on behalf of the Countess") who pays visits to unwitting blacksmiths for 'meat' collections, a psychopathic child with a murderous streak, and of course the aforementioned sultry Countess, the alluring and strikingly attractive German beauty Helga Line. The scene in which she passively seduces one of the weary travellers is great erotic-horror.

Plenty of little oddities to capture the imagination, despite the ungainly title, Klimovsky's film is well-paced, intelligently scripted and very entertaining. Only the conclusion is somewhat disappointing. I didn't expect much, and was pleasantly surprised.

Fairly obscure Spanish horror flick starring Jack Taylor (best known for his collaborations with Jess Franco) and Belgian Eurohottie Dyanik Zurakowska.

A coachload of workers on their way to start new positions in a Spanish town are forced to spend the night in a small village when their driver dies at the wheel. A village that doesn't appear on any map. Initially they find the place deserted and decide to make themselves comfortable for the night. The next day, however, the population returns. The travellers are made to feel welcome, but as time goes by they find more and more obstacles to their leaving. One-by-one they discover the truth about their hosts - they are all vampires!

It's a pretty standard 'travellers forced to stay in isolated place' plot. The acting is okay but not outstanding, and as with a lot of these Eurohorrors the music *really* doesn't fit with some scenes. However, the film's strength lies in the atmosphere it generates (despite the dodgy music!); it's very creepy and unsettling, and the vampire attacks (including one really nicely set-up in the disabled coach) are genuinely menacing.

Zurakowska is ably supported in the glamour stakes by Helga Liné and Charo Soriano, and there is nudity in the full-length version, although it's nowhere near the skinfest you might expect from the title. And, surprisingly, for a vampire film there's actually very little gore (when you consider Hammer had been splashing blood all over the screens for years and were *very* popular in Europe).

Worth a watch but not one I'll revisit any time soon. 5.5/10.

Ok so there are no orgies, but who cares?

Hey this one isn't bad at all. Bus load of tourists takes a wrong turn and winds up in a town that at first seems un-inhabited but it turns out is filled with cannibalistic creatures who only come out at night. They're not really vampires but attack their victims en-mass and tear them to pieces. They also disable the bus so the stranded tourists can't escape. After all, we wouldn't want 'din-din' to run away, now would we?

Surprisingly, there's not a lot of gore in this considering the theme, but there's enough creepy atmosphere in this setting that it makes it mildly entertaining. The townspeople chasing the car with Jack Taylor and Dyanik Zurakowska reminds me of the chase scene in the recently released DAGON while the "they aren't to be believed" ending is straight out of TWO THOUSAND MANIACS.

You'll have to see all three of them to know what I'm talking about. Still, I recommend this one if you're into 70s Euro horror and want to see some sexy babes in it. Like Helga Line as the local, blood Countess. She was hot.

DVD is ok although the picture quality isn't anything to rave about, plus there are no extras except a trailer.

It's a few steps above anything Jess Franco was putting out at the time. I liked it. Check it out.

6 out of 10

Like so many movies that are dubbed, there is a disjointedness to the dialog that gets in the way sometimes. I'm sure Europeans feel the same way about English language films. When things transpire, it's almost like one character waits for another to say something. It really louses up the suspense. This film begins on a mini-bus and its characters are stunned when a man dies and is put in the back, under a blanket. It gets late and they decide to put off going to their final destination and stop over in a little town. What they don't know is that there is a Vampire subculture living there, who not only feast off the innocent, but give up their own body parts for food if it will lead to more blood for them. There is a mistress of the dark who runs things and makes decisions for them. I won't go through the plot, but there is some humor, some terror, some bad decisions, and a host of pretty scary figures, closing in on innocent victims. It even breaks the movie rule about the killing of a little child. There is some gratuitous imagery, sexual content 70's style, but it's very tame. The movie does make an impression, and is better than many others of its era.