L'orgia notturna dei vampiri

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.

I haver to say that I quite liked this film. The story is a mix of Brigadoon, And then there were none and a vampire film. A busload of people off to work in a remote castle have to stop in a small village because their bus driver died. The town is deserted on the first night and the group take rooms in the local Inn which on the next day is normally populated. You may guess it: the inhabitants are vampires. In order to feed their guests they chop off their own limbs which leads to a scene that almost made me throw up although no gore was involved. It is simply showing the "giant" wielding the axe to chop off a leg and then a succulent joint of roast meat in the next scene. we all know what they are eating of course and they keep talking about that delicious special flavour. Amidst nudity the members of the group are then chased one by one. The story in itself is not original but the film is very atmospheric with an isolated mountain village in Spain being a fresh and interesting location. The version I watched was the one that was cut down to about 80 minutes. Unfortunatzely they cut the nudity but 80 minutes is actuall quite a good running time for that fairly thin story. So all in all, this is quite an entertaining film. I just find it amazing how many horror films were produced in Spain duriung the last years of the Franco dictatorship.

Vampire's Night Orgy is one of a number of erotic vampire movies released in Europe in the early 70's. In fairness, this one isn't especially erotic with little nudity on display, which given the title you could be forgiven for expecting quite a bit. The chief strength of this one is in its atmosphere. In it a group of people wind up at a remote village where they are openly welcomed. It becomes clear quite soon though that there is something sinister about these villagers.

Like I say, it's the creepy atmosphere that works best in this one. The gloomy countryside locations are well used. The remote village and its strange inhabitants is a typical horror staple but it's well done here nevertheless. While this one is promoted as being a vampire flick, it more accurately could be described as a film about nocturnal cannibals with a vampire queen. The latter is a Countess perhaps unsurprisingly. The mix works though and I suppose adds to the cult value of the film. It's a movie that should certainly appeal to Eurotrash devotees and is generally a very solid entry in the cycle of continental vampire films from the period.

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.

A group of workers is traveling by bus to the town of Bojoni to work for an aristocratic family. The driver has a fulminating heart attack, and the group decides to drive to the near village of Tolnio instead, to spend the night and follow to Bojoni on the next morning. They find nobody in the apparently ghost city, but in the next morning, they meet the hospitable dwellers. Their bus has a problem in the engine, and they have to stay in Tolnio. Sooner they find that they are trapped in a vampire village.

"La Orgía Nocturna de los Vampiros" is a reasonable vampire movie, having also many funny moments. I particularly liked the scenes where meat is served to the hosts; the death of the little girl; the finger in the food of Alma; the vampires chasing the car with Louis and Alma; and the beautiful breasts of Dyanik Zurakowska, with marks of bikini. The conclusion is ridiculous, with Alma and Louis returning to Tolnio immediately after their scary runaway. Unfortunately, the music score of this film is simply awful, dated and not suitable for a horror film. My vote is five.

Title (Brazil): "A Orgia Noturna dos Vampiros" ("The Vampire's Night Orgy")