Ah, the early 1970s. If you were a monster
movie fan, this was a fun time to be around. After all, creature features,
which became popular with kids of the late 1950s and continued throughout the
60s, were still all the rage. Classic monster movies like Universal’s Son of Frankenstein (1939) starring
horror icons Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi, The
Wolf Man (1941) starring the immortal Lon Chaney, Jr. and Hammer Films’ amazing
and highly enjoyable Christopher Lee Dracula
series were constantly playing on television. The late, great Forrest
Ackerman’s Famous Monsters of Filmland magazine
was required reading for all 70s monster-kids, and Aurora plastics put out a
wonderful line of glow-in-the-dark monster model kits which happily kept fans
busy for hours. The local drive-ins and hard top theaters also rode the
creature feature wave as, every week it seemed, movie houses were filled with
outstanding, atmospheric delights starring horror kings Vincent Price, Peter
Cushing and Sir Lee. Monster enthusiasts couldn’t get enough.
Meanwhile, legendary film studio American
International Pictures, who for almost two decades had specialized in producing
fun, low-budget, youth-oriented films such as 1957’s I Was a Teenage Werewolf as well as the Beach Party, Edgar Allan Poeand Biker film cycles of the 1960s,
decided to create a new creature feature. Most likely due to both the huge
popularity of monster films and the Hammer vampire movies of the time, AIP
created their own Dracula-like villain; a modern-day bloodsucker named Count
Yorga. Benefitting from a solid script, above average direction and an amazing
performance by star Robert Quarry (Dr.
Phibes Rises Again) as Yorga, Count
Yorga, Vampire (1970) did very well at the box office. It’s no surprise
that AIP almost immediately started work on a sequel titled, appropriately
enough, The Return of Count Yorga.
After crumbling to dust in Count Yorga, Vampire, the evil Count is resurrected
when the world famous and supposedly supernatural Santa Ana Winds blow across
an old cemetery. In no time, Yorga, his faithful servant, Brudah, and his horde
of vampire brides put the bite on oblivious locals and cast a spell over little
Billy, younger brother of the beautiful Cynthia who Yorga has developed deep
feelings for. The undead fiend then kills Cynthia’s parents, turns her sister,
Ellen, into a vampire bride and brings an unconscious Cynthia to his home where
he plans to romance the lovely, young woman. Cynthia awakens and is told by
Yorga that her parents were in an accident and that he will be caring for her
until they are well. Meanwhile, Cynthia’s maid, Jennifer, who discovered the dead
bodies, informs the police, but when they arrive, they find that the corpses
have mysteriously disappeared. Cynthia’s fiancé, David, suspects that Yorga may
be behind the grisly goings-on and, with the help of Lieutenant Madden, Sargent
O’Connor and a frightened Reverend, he sneaks into Yorga’s lair in an attempt
to rescue his beloved and stop the wicked Count for good.
Originally titled Yorga Returns, but changed to The
Return of Count Yorga at the time of its release, the very entertaining
sequel contains much of the fun, eerie atmosphere of the first movie and also
uses most of the same cast and crew. The film was solidly directed by Bob
Kelljan (Scream, Blacula, Scream) who
helmed the original, and the engaging and creepy story was written by Kelljan
and newcomer (to the Yorga series)
Yvonne Wilder (Seems Like Old Times)
who also shines in the role of mute maid, Jennifer. Kelljan keeps the film
moving while, all along, building tension and dread; most notably in a terrific
scene where Yorga sends his vampire brides to attack Cynthia’s family in their
home one windy night. The talented director also keeps the film current (for
1971) by having the brides resemble zombies from the 1968 classic Night of the Living Dead as well as
giving their terrifying home invasion sequence a definite Charles Manson feel.
Michael Macready (Terror House), who produced and starred in Count Yorga, Vampire, once again takes on producing chores and
makes a cameo appearance as well. His dad, actor George Macready (Gilda), who narrated the first film, also
appears in a brief, but humorous scene. Talented composer Bill Marx (son of
Harpo) returns and contributes another atmospheric and extremely eerie score
while the likeable Roger Perry (Harrigan
and Son), who played the heroic lead in the first Yorga film, returns in a similar role as Cynthia’s concerned
fiancé, David. Edward Walsh (Another 48
Hrs.) is also back as Brudah and he’s just as intimidating as he was the
first time around. Last, but certainly not least, the late, great Robert Quarry
returns to the role for which he will be forever remembered: Count Yorga. Quarry
once again plays the bloodthirsty Count as suave, sophisticated, cultured and
magnetic. For the first time ever, the lonely Yorga falls in love and Quarry
really makes you believe that he is completely taken with Cynthia. In other
scenes, you can sense his pain at feeling this new and powerful emotion. Of
course Yorga is also an evil, undead fiend and Quarry doesn’t disappoint in
that department either as his vampire can be convincingly cold and extremely
ruthless. Also, for a movie that’s over 40 years-old, you wouldn’t expect the
scares to still work. However, the frightening image of a crazed, bloodthirsty Quarry/Yorga
running out of the darkness in slow motion, fangs bared and arms outstretched
while chasing a terrified victim, is still the stuff of nightmares.
We have plenty of newcomers to the series and
they’re all wonderful. The lovely, talented and Emmy-winning Mariette Hartley (Marnie) is perfect as the goodhearted
Cynthia. Both Rudy De Luca (High Anxiety)
and, in an early appearance, Craig T. Nelson (Poltergeist) are believable, likeable and a bit humorous as the
skeptical cops. Philip Frame (The Little
Ark) is extremely creepy as young Tommy; Tom Toner (Splash) is a bit funny as the Reverend; Karen Houston/Ericson (Night of the Demons) does well as Ellen,
Cynthia’s sister (especially in the scene where she vamps out), and David
Lampson (Silence) is solid as Ellen’s
faithful boyfriend, Jason. Helen Baron (Private
Benjamin) and the highly recognizable Walter Brooke (The Graduate) are seen early on as Cynthia’s parents, Corrine
Conley (Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer)
skulks around as an old witch, and beloved character actor Michael Pataki (Grave of the Vampire) shows up briefly
as a concerned boyfriend whose girl (Jesse Wells from Wizards) has been attacked by Yorga. B-movie aficionados of the 60s
and 70s will be interested to know that the multi-talented Gary Kent, who
appeared in many fun drive-in films such as Schoolgirls
in Chains and Dracula vs.
Frankenstein, was stunt coordinator on this film, and musician Marilynn
Lovell, who provided music for Kelljan’s Scream,
Blacula, Scream, Michael Macready’s Terror
House and Quarry’s Deathmaster,
sings the haunting tune “Think It Over.”
As already stated, the film is scary,
atmospheric, well-directed and well-acted, but as much praise as it gets, I
believe that it is still quite underrated. American International Pictures was
all set to have Count Yorga rise from the grave once more, but, for whatever
reason, a third film was, unfortunately, never made.
(Shout Factory’s Blu-ray special edition of
the film is out of print but the movie is available for streaming rental or
purchase on Amazon).
Real-life crime and corruption seemed to grow
in the United States during the late 1960s and victims felt that, in certain
cases, the law couldn’t always protect them. Thus, by the early 70s, American
cinemas saw the rise of the vigilante/revenge film. Amazingly entertaining and
hard-hitting classics such as Tom Laughlin’s Billy Jack (1971) Don Siegel’s Dirty
Harry (1971), Phil Karlson’s Walking
Tall (1973)and Jack Hill’s Coffy (1973) blazed across movie
screens. These films featured lone, individualistic heroes who, after seeing
the innocent people of their communities (and sometimes their loved ones)
either robbed, beaten, raped or killed, and the law either powerless to help or
itself part of the problem, decide that enough is enough and proceed to take
the imperfect law into their own hands. As entertaining as these movies were,
they were also an outcry against the real-life crime and corruption that was
polluting the streets at the time; not to mention the imperfect legal system.
Also, by viewing the tough, but well-meaning heroes of these fantasy films ridding
their communities of this dangerous and undesired element, audiences
experienced a real catharsis.
Although many more vigilante/revenge movies
would hit theater screens throughout the rest of the decade, the genre reached
its height with the release of Michael Winner’s masterful, if controversial, Death Wish (1974) which starred the
legendary Charles Bronson as a passive architect/family man who, after his wife
and daughter are raped by muggers (which also causes his wife’s death), and the
authorities are powerless to help, decides to hunt criminals by night on the
dangerous urban streets of New York. Death
Wish proved to be highly influential and, in the 1980s, the genre showed no
signs of slowing down as urban-based vigilante/revenge films such as 1980’s
underrated The Exterminator, 1982’s Fighting Back and 1983’s Vigilante exploded into theaters along
with, among many others, three entertaining, but inferior Death Wish sequels. Smack dab in the middle of these two decades, a
modest, solid little urban vigilante/revenge film called Defiance was released.
Directed by John Flynn (Rolling Thunder), Defiance,
which was written by Thomas Michael Donnelly (Quicksilver), produced by Jerry Bruckheimer (Beverly Hills Cop, Top Gun) and released by American International
Pictures, concerns a merchant seaman named Tommy (Jan-Michael Vincent, The Mechanic, Big Wednesday, Airwolf)
who, while waiting for his next ship to sail, takes up residence on New York’s
Lower East Side. While there, he romances pretty, young Marsha (Raging Bull’s Theresa Saldana) and
befriends a boy (Fernando Lopez from Frankie
and Johnny) and an old grocery shop owner named Abe (Academy Award winner
(for Harry and Tonto) Art Carney). He
also discovers that a violent street gang called the Souls is terrorizing the
neighborhood and the entire police force’s hands are tied. After a series of
brutal muggings, beatings and murders, Tommy decides to put a stop to the
violence by taking on the gang himself. But does Tommy alone have what it takes
to put an end to the madness?
Although a very well-done addition to the
urban vigilante genre, Defiance differs
somewhat from films like Death Wish and The Exterminator in that the main hero
doesn’t kill any of the villains. He just fights back and, hopefully, brings
them to justice. Director Flynn delivers a well-balanced combo of drama and
suspense-thriller while giving the film a gritty, realistic feel which is
helped along by the stark cinematography of the talented Ric Waite (48 Hrs.).
Jan-Michael Vincent is extremely convincing as
Tommy. He plays the well-written character as quiet, but tough and also isn’t
afraid to show that, at times, Tommy is scared. He also shows traits such as
humor and heart which further humanizes the character. Overall, it’s an understated
and very believable performance. The
extremely likeable Theresa Saldana brings a nice touch of humor to her role and
the late, great Art Carney is wholly convincing as an aging, kind, but fed up
grocery store owner. We also have a terrific performance by Fernando Lopez as
the kid; not to mention Rudy Ramos (The
Enforcer) exuding icy evil as gang leader Angel Cruz who utters the
immortal line, “Now, we’re gonna make the new dude slow bleed.”
The entertaining and engaging film is loaded
with even more top-notch acting talent; mostly made up of familiar East Coast/Italian-American
faces such as Academy Award nominee Danny Aiello (Do the Right Thing), former AWA Tag Team champion wrestler turned
actor Lenny “Luca Brasi” Montana (The
Godfather), legendary film and television actor Joseph Campanella (The St. Valentine's Day Massacre), The Sopranos’ Tony “Paulie Walnuts”
Sirico and the highly recognizable Frank Pesce (Vigilante). What a freakin’ cast! My only question is where the
hell was Joe Spinell? The movie also features well-known faces like Ernie F.
Orsatti (The Car), Chino “Fats”
Williams (Weird Science) and Santos
Morales (Scarface) as well asvery brief appearances by Fred Lincoln
(The Last House on the Left) and Tony
DiBenedetto (The Exterminator), and
quite a few others whose faces are more familiar than their names.
Defiance has been released on
a region one Blu-ray by Kino Lorber and is presented in its original 1.85:1
aspect ratio. As is usually the case with KL, the beautiful HD transfer boasts
sharp, crystal clear and colorful images as well as perfect sound. The disc
also contains the original theatrical trailer along with the trailer for the
1976, Jan-Michael Vincent actioner Vigilante
Force which is also available on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber. If you’re looking
for a solid entry from the vigilante film heyday, the extremely underrated Defiance won’t disappoint.