Horror Movie Review: The Vampires Night Orgy (1973)

Despite what the title suggests, there isn’t an orgy in this film, but happily, it makes up for that disappointment with vampire action, some salacious scenes, and a fairly tight story. Which, when you consider Leon Klimovsky was in the director’s chair, is even more impressive. Not to suggest the director is bad, but he has a ‘style’. Thankfully, Gabriel Moreno Burgos and Antonio Fos gave him a screenplay that even he couldn’t miss with.

Though, it shouldn’t come as a surprise to learn that it’s still not a good film. It just so happens to better than expected.

Starring Jack Taylor, Dyanik Zurakowska, José Guardiola, and Helga Liné, the story surrounds a coachload of workers who end up stranded in the small town of Tolnio while on route to their new job. There, they find the townspeople a little strange, but very welcoming, in particular, the Countess.

Some of the group enjoy the attention being given to them, but others are suspicious and anxious to move on. Alas, their bus has a mechanical fault, and it will take a few days to get a new part. Which means they’re stuck here for a bit longer, which is handy for the townspeople of Tolnio seeing as they’re all vampires. It’s hardly a spoiler when its in the title, right?

If there is one other thing that the film gets right, aside from the tight script, it is atmosphere. The town feels like its decaying, everything feels dark and oppressive, and the townspeople do a great job of portraying a desperation that could easily be mistaken for poverty, rather than sinister intentions. How the film looks, warts and all, is memorable and with some interesting twists on the vampire formula, it really does stand out for many positive reasons.

Alas, it also stands out for many negative reasons to. It starts off really slow and quite off-putting thanks to an array of unremarkable acting and dubbing. It has an inherent cheapness that extends to a lot of background environments and effects. Though, the most glaring issue is one that some may never experience because of the different versions that exist. There are some versions of this film that look absolutely awful, near unwatchable, and there are two versions (at least) where the major difference between them is how much female bare skin you see.

Find a good version, you’ll know it when you see it, and you’ll find yourself pleasantly surprised by what The Vampires Night Orgy has to offer.