Deathmaster (1972)

User Rating:

4.7/10   

Director:

Ray Danton

Writer:

R.L. Grove (writer)

Release Date:

August 1972 (USA)

Genre:

Horror

Tagline:

Eyes Like Hot Coals...Fangs Like Razors! Khorda the Deathmaster Has Left His Tomb!

Plot:

Quarry is a mysterious stranger with cult like following of hippies. Rather than showing them peace and love...

Plot Keywords:

Vampire | Beach | Mansion | Marijuana | Coffin

Cast

Robert Quarry	...	Khorda
John Fiedler	...	Pop
Bill Ewing	...	Pico
William Jordan	...	Monk Reynolds
Betty Anne Rees	...	Esslin
Brenda Dickson	...	Rona Ashby (as Brenda Dickson-Weinberg)
LaSesne Hilton	...	Barbado
John Lasell	...	Detective
Freda T. Vanterpool	...	Dancer
Tari Tabakin	...	Mavis
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Michael Cronin	...	Mike
Charles Hornsby	...	Charles
Ted Lynn	...	Surfer
Olympia Silvers	...	Olympia
Kitty Vallacher	...	Bridey
Bob Woods	...	Policeman

Runtime:

88 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Australia:M | Finland:(Banned) (1974) | USA:PG

Movie Connections:

Featured in Nightmare Theatre's Late Night Chill-o-Rama Horror Show Vol. 1 (1996) (V)

The 70's had the most bizarre movies ever. . .

Great early 70's clothing, a philosophizing folk song (wow, man, it's like, so deep), unspoken drug references, and the undead! What more could you possibly ask for? Deathmaster really is Quarry's movie. His Mansonesque portrayal of Khorda infiltrating and taking over a commune of lost hippies is eerie. The movie's effectiveness really lies in the context that people can be so easily controlled and fall victim to cults, rather than the fact that Khorda possesses their minds because he is a vampire. That Quarry is made up to resemble Charles Manson is a not-so-subtle hint to the movie's theme.

Terribly dated, this little gem is really only for the 60's and 70's horror movie freaks like myself. I love this movie. I found it at a convention and watching it brought back a lot fond memories of the Saturday afternoon Chiller Theater flicks like Deathmaster, Lemora, Children Shouldn't Play With Dead Things, as well as a ton of bizarre British horror movies and even some old giallo that semi-independent stations like Channels 5, 9, and 11 out of NYC used to run constantly in the late 70's through the mid eighties. If you're in to old trippy horror, this is one to own.