Good name, not so good of a movie. If you were wondering what Robert Quarry (aka Count Yorga, Vampire) would look like as a hippie/Jesusy vampire instead of a suave/classy one, Deathmaster will give you that answer. Instead of debonair Yorga, Quarry's Khorda here is more of a new-agey guru who more or less takes over a group of hippies living in an old, rundown house. There's no doubt he's a smooth talker and telling them what they want to hear... "he's FAR OUT, MAN!" And they aren't even *that* nervous when he disappears into thin air. No one is really that concerned about this stranger except for Pico... most of his friends are easily swayed by the charismatic vampire. But when Pico notices his friends behaving oddly and a little zombie-like, he tries to get his girlfriend Rona out of there before they become a part of Khorda's undead crew.
I have to assume Deathmaster exists because Quarry's previous forays into vampirism were so successful (Yorga in 1970 and its 1971 sequel The Return of Count Yorga). So it's hard not to compare the two. (In fact, the art for the the two Yorga films have claims of "Mistresses of the Deathmaster" and "The Deathmaster is back from beyond the grave!") Other than some groovy music and the occasional silly hippie moment, Deathmaster is never really all that effective or even that fun. The victims all come across as being weak-minded goofs - even considering Khorda's "charisma" (in quotes, because it's clearly intended but never comes across) the hippies are taken over way too easily - all it takes is a dance, apparently.
Quarry never seems all that comfortable in the hip-Christ robe he gets here - and it's not that flattering on him either. And his facial hair makes him look like a creep. His dialogue is usually pretty corny ("The thing to do is to break away - to find a purpose... perhaps you need a spark, something to ignite the fuel within.") Not that a vampire is ever really "believable," but it just isn't happening for Quarry here.
It's hard to know what to say about Pico (Bill Ewing) - the hero of the film. His character isn't all that bad. (Other than the fact that he seemingly forgets how to do Kung Fu over the course of the film. It's oddly brought up early on in the film... and then doesn't come into play when he's vampire fighting.) But there are two things made it pretty difficult to get into his character. One, he's got a really bad wig (or at least really bad hair), and two - he's named after a condiment. I just couldn't shake it whenever someone would say his name. You never really get much of a reason as to why Pico is immune to Khorda's trickery, but I guess the film needs a hero, so Pico it is.
Horror-wise? Eh, it's PG, so you know going in that you're not going to be getting anything crazy. Khorda looks better when he's a full-fledged bloodsucker - apparently Quarry used his prosthetic teeth from Yorga for this film too (thanks imdb!) But the attacks are mostly bloodless, and are not shot in a way that brings about any scares or tension.
Honestly, other than the occasional funky music, there isn't much style to the film. I feel like most vampire films depend on a sense of something - gloom, or moodiness, or sexiness... at least *some* kind of vibe. But Deathmaster feels pretty flat. Even once the whole group is turned, there isn't much there. They just kind of raise their arms and hiss at Pico, but they never feel like a real threat. Also, about half-way through I posited that PG-rated vampire films pretty much have to be the types where once the vampire gets killed, everyone turns back. You can't just go around killing a bunch of hippies indiscriminately in a PG film. And I was *kind of* right... despite not getting too amped about most of the film, I thought the ending was pretty well done.
And it feels kind of sloppy at times. The filmmakers just don't do the little things well. I've already mentioned Pico's Kung Fu forgetfulness, and there is a point early on where a guy just opens Khorda's coffin in the sun. (Khorda got to LA by floating across the ocean it seems.) And you get a black-mass scene with chanting where it's very clear that *no one* is saying anything. Deathmaster has the feel of a film where the people involved just didn't care all that much, like they just thought the "hippie/vampire" concept would sell itself.
So ultimately I was not too into The Deathmaster. I was legitimately surprised at how good of a rating it has on both imdb (5.2/10) and Amazon (3.7/5). So maybe I'm just being an old stick in the mud, but I thought it was a pretty dull watch. It did remind me that I have to watch The Return of Count Yorga though.
I would not recommend this film.
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