Villain(s)  Vampire

Actor(s):  Robert Quarry, Roger Perry, Michael Murphy, Michael Macready

Brief Description  Count Yorga, Vampire is a landmark 1970 American vampire horror film written and directed by Bob Kelljan that modernized the stagnant vampire genre by moving the classic Dracula-style dynamic into contemporary Southern California. Starring Robert Quarry as the titular Count Yorga, the film was released by independent studio American International Pictures (AIP) and originally conceived as a softcore exploitation film before being reworked into a serious, highly successful horror thriller.

Plot:
The film opens with a European freighter unloading a large crate containing a coffin at the Port of Los Angeles. The cargo is transported via local freeways to a secluded, vine-covered mansion in the Southern California hills. Donna Anders hosts a séance at a friend's house to contact her recently deceased mother. Count Yorga, a suave Bulgarian mystic who was dating Donna's mother before her mysterious death, conducts the event. When Donna becomes hysterical, Yorga uses hypnosis to calm her. After the party, Erica Landers and her boyfriend Paul drive Yorga home. On their way back, their van gets stuck in mud near Yorga's estate. While they sleep, Yorga attacks, knocking Paul unconscious and biting Erica.

The next day, Erica displays erratic behavior, blood loss, and a strange craving for raw meat (including a infamous scene where she eats a kitten). Her friends consult Dr. James Hayes, a blood specialist, who discovers puncture wounds on her neck and suspects vampirism. Erica is eventually fully turned and killed. Dr. Hayes, Paul, and Donna's boyfriend Michael launch a raid on Yorga's manor using makeshift wooden stakes. They discover Yorga's harem of undead brides and his hulking, disfigured manservant, Brudah. The film ends on a bleak, shocking twist involving a freeze-frame cut.