There is no sign of an orgy in The Vampires Night Orgy, that snippet of trivia on the IMDb does not lie. Nor is there very much in the way of vampires. Which leaves the Night bit of the title with quite a bit to do.
This horror movie, no surprise, from Spain was made in 1973, when sex, horror and arthouse cohabited in a lot of European movies. It’s hideously dubbed, as was also often the case, and it was originally served up in two forms: the tame one for domestic consumption and the “nude export version”, which is the one you are likely to find, especially if it’s flying by its English title, rather than the original La orgía nocturna de los vampiros.
The story is about a busload of average people forced to seek refuge in a tiny out-of-the-way village when their driver takes ill and dies. They arrive at night and are surprised to find no one there, though there are signs of habitation. Bedding down in the local inn, they are even more surprised the next morning when they find themselves surrounded by the normal bustle of a busy little hamlet.
Even stranger, the body of their dead driver has now disappeared, the first in what becomes a chain of mysterious disappearances. They have wandered into a village of vampires, it seems, though for a while the plucky travellers carry on regardless, dining on fine meats, unaware they are the limbs of various villagers, who have been forced to sacrifice bits of themselves at the command of a mysterious “Countess”.
So, yes, a vampire countess, though we don’t see very much of her. Apart from one key scene when she seduces the most handsome man of the group, César (David Aller), and gratifyingly (if that’s what you’re here for) gives the camera a good look at her breasts. Apart from pouting, snarling and disrobing, cult actor Helga Liné does not have very much to do.
Nearly as underused, but also required to take her clothes off a couple of times, is Dyanik Zurakowska, who plays female heroine Alma. She is caught naked as she gets undressed each night, spied on by fellow traveller Luis (Jack Taylor), as near as this strange film has to a hero. Clearly, the demands of the “nude export version” have transformed Luis into a peeping tom, though no one has considered the effect this has on his “hero” status.
This illogicality is all meat and drink for the fanboys and cultists, who love this sort of inconsistency and lap up every mistake, acting fluff and logical non-sequitur as if it were all part of the plan.
Director León Klimovsky gets the mood right, though, his nervy camera, dynamic framing and use of close-ups and quick cuts establishing some sort of coherence. There is meat in the plot too (and not just the cannibalistic sort). The man known only as Giant (Gigante in Spanish), who prowls the town with an axe to remove a limb from the latest unlucky local. The little girl on the bus who strikes up a friendship with a young villager who is probably a vampire.
At bottom it’s a tale of urban individuals being undone by a rural cooperative, rather than of vampirism. But it is spooky, and the distinctive colour palette of reds and purples and browns give it a visual unity, while the abrupt jumps in musical genre – woo woo sounds, ghostly chants, tape loops, freak-out rock guitar, Herb Alpert trumpet parps and so on – keep everything off-kilter and build atmosphere.
If you’re watching an old copy, as I was, then the colour has shifted even further towards the purple thanks to the deterioration of the negative. The Vinegar Syndrome – who specialise in rehabilitating cult items like this – claim they have done a full 4K restoration on the film. I have not seen it, but the reviews on their site are full of praise. So that’s probably the way to go if you’re interested. You probably get a better eyeful of bosom that way too.
The Vampires Night Orgy – Watch it/buy it at Amazon
I am an Amazon affiliate
© Steve Morrissey 2025
