THE
VAMPIRE'S NIGHT ORGY (1973)Director: Leon Klimovsky
Eclectic DVD
THE
VAMPIRE'S NIGHT ORGY (1973)Argentinean-born director Leon Klimovsky was no stranger to vampires, having done Paul Naschy's WEREWOLF VS. THE VAMPIRE WOMAN (aka THE WEREWOLF SHADOW) (1970) and SAGA OF THE DRACULAS (1972). Eclectic and Sinema Diable have released a widescreen disc of Klimovsky's third vampiric effort, THE VAMPIRE'S NIGHT ORGY. While not his best work, it's still a considerable slice of Spanish horror, and it still evokes a chill or two. This is the third DVD release of this title, as Pagan in the U.K. released it as a Pal disc, and here in the U.S., the budget label Alpha recently released it as well. But if you live in the States, Eclectic's is the one to stick with.
A bus carrying a group of new
employees winds up in a small village after their driver has a sudden heart
attack. 
The
passengers stay at an old inn where the food, drink and service all seem great
until strange things begin to occur. When there's not enough meat to keep the
guests' appetite satiated, various extremities are axed from locals by a massive
woodsman (Fernando Bilbao, an immense actor who played the Frankenstein monster
in several Jess Franco films). The cuisine turns out to be leg of man, and one
hapless woman (Dianik Zurakowska) finds a finger on her plate! A sexy Countess
(Helga Line) appears to be the village matriarch and she bribes the visitors
with cash for their inconvenience, as their bus is stranded. She seduces a young
tutor, and then puts the bite on him as we discover the monster that she really
is. In the meantime, others quickly become vampirized while trying to escape
from the ghoul-infested community.
Klimovsky here gives us a minor
endeavor, not the classic that his two previous vampire films were. Stagy shocks
and silly antics replace the usual eroticism (when one character unknowingly
eats human meat and says, "I've never tasted anything like it," 
another
knowingly replies, "If it's one thing I'm sure of, it's that"), but
it still manages to be fairly eerie.
Eclectic's DVD of THE VAMPIRE'S
NIGHT ORGY presents an alternate "clothed" version as opposed to the
one previously released on VHS by Sinister Cinema. Several nude scenes are now
replaced, including Dianik Zurakowska's undressing for Jack Taylor--the film's
hero, a peeping tom who spies through a tiny hole. In this version, she appears
in a rather see-through blue nighty, while Sinister's displays her fully nude.
Her second stripping fares better in the this version, allowing for more onscreen
nudity not visible in the Sinister tape.
Another altered scene occurs when the Countess (Line, no stranger to nudity) seduces the pretty boy tutor. In Sinister's version, she is topless and there is some extended petting, while the Eclectic cut has her in a black nightgown. It's also worthy to note that this scene on the Sinister tape is accompanied by different music; a pop tune containing a female singer moaning and groaning on the soundtrack ("kiss me!"). Eclectic's disc represents the original Spanish cut (with the original Spanish credits), while Sinister's tape is the more extreme import version which played at American drive-ins in the mid-70s on a double-bill with Naschy's erotic-charged COUNT DRACULA'S GREAT LOVE.
Eclectic's DVD transfer is a vast
improvement over the old Sinister cassette rendering, and seems to be using
the same source print as the Pagan U.K. release. The Sinister print was taken
from a rather beaten, slightly faded 35mm print, filled with jump cuts, 
scratches
and water damage marks, and although it was slightly letterboxed, the image
was still noticeably squeezed and not in its proper ratio. This DVD presents
the film in its original 2.35:1 aspect ratio (non-anamorphic), and the composition
is very complimentary. The print source is in nearly flawless shape, but the
colors are slightly dull and darker scenes look a little too dark. The English-dubbed
audio, with its pop/jazz music score is a bit flat sounding, but not bad.
There are no extras on the disc. Note that Alpha's recent budget DVD of THE VAMPIRE'S NIGHT ORGY includes the same widescreen print source. Although it's about half the price, the transfer has terrible resolution (lots of picture noise in faces), as well as some artifacting issues. Of the two U.S. versions of this title, Eclectic's wins hands down. (George R. Reis)