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Deathmaster

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Deathmaster
Directed byRay Danton
Written byR.L. Grove
Produced byFred Sadoff
James H. Nicholson
Robert Quarry
StarringRobert Quarry
Bill Ewing
Brenda Dickson
John Fiedler
Betty Ann Rees
William Jordan
Le Sesne Hilton
John Lassell
CinematographyWilmer C. Butler
Edited byHarold Lime
Music byBill Marx
Distributed byAmerican International Pictures
Release date
  • 1972 (1972)
Running time
88 mins
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$120,000

Deathmaster aka The Deathmaster is a 1972 American vampire horror film starring Robert Quarry.

Background

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Deathmaster was directed by Ray Danton and produced by Fred Sadoff. Robert Quarry and James H. Nicholson were also involved in the production. It stars Robert Quarry as Khorda, Bill Ewing as Pico, Brenda Dickson as Rona, John Fiedler as Pop, Betty Ann Rees as Esslin, William Jordan as Monk Reynolds, Le Sesne Hilton as Barbado and John Lassell as the Detective.[1]

With the Manson Murders being quite recent, Quarry wanted to make a Charles Manson-type vampire.[2] Prior to this film, Quarry had played a vampire in Count Yorga, Vampire, released in 1970 and The Return of Count Yorga, released in 1970.[3]

Part of the film was shot in a house on the Hollywood Hills. In many of the film's scenes, real hippies were used and according to the book, What's His Name? John Fiedler by Elizabeth Messina, many of the hippies were on drugs.[4] The film shows a period in time of the Topanga Canyon hippie counterculture community. Gary A. Smith suggests in his book, Vampire Films of the 1970s that this may be the only filmed document of the scene in that period.[5]

This film also was the feature film debut for television actress Brenda Dickson.[6] Both Bobby Pickett who played Kirkwood and LeSesne Hilton who played Barbado[7] were musicians.[8][9] Pickett was known for the hit "Monster Mash",[10] as well as a lesser hit "Graduation Day".[11] Hilton, sometimes referred to as Le Sesne Hilton or LaSesne Hilton,[12][13] had been one of the featured performers at the 1963 Pasadena Folk Festival[14] and had provided music for Robert M. Quittner's 1966 film, Dropouts Anonymous.[15][16] According to Robert Quarry, Hilton was the easiest to cast. They were looking for someone to play his mysterious and evil servant. They put out a casting call but didn't get a lot of people coming in due to them paying the bare minimum wage. Hilton walked through the door, and Quarry said "there's the first casting". Quarry said that Hilton was a nice fellow, very mysterious looking and very tall.[17]

According to Psychotronic Video, the film cost $120,000 and was completed two days ahead of time.[18]

The film had a run in the theaters but due to lack of promotion, it was brief, and it was licensed for television quite quickly, ending up in the late-night slot.[19]

According to the book Horror Film Stars, 3d Ed. by Michael R. Pitts, the film was originally called Khorda.[20]

Story

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A coffin washes ashore and it is retrieved by Barbado, a mute manservant. Inside the coffin is Khorda, a vampire. He soon positions himself as a charismatic guru-like figure amongst a community of hippies, where he manages to exert an influence over them. Little do they suspect that his motives are sinister.

Reception

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The film was given one out of four stars by reviewer Roger Ebert.[21]

In Irv Slifkin's VideoHound's Groovy Movies : Far-Out Films of the Psychedelic Era, the character Barbado is described as an irresistibly strange touch with his playing of the Zamfir-like tunes on a flute whenever the evil one appears.[22]

In Jon Kitley's 30 April 2016 review, Robert Quarry's character Khorda was described as a kind of cross between Yorga and Charles Manson with long hair and a goatee, and Quarry was said to be excellent in his role as a vampire. He also wrote that while the rest of the cast weren't that great, it was worth mentioning that John Fiedler who everyone would recognize, was in the film as well as Betty Anne Rees and Bobby Boris Pickett of "The Monster Mash" fame in an uncredited role as a hippie. On the visual quality of the film, he wrote that it was excellent and mentioned the extras; the 35mm theatrical trailer, trailers for Yorga, Vampire and Sugar Hill, as well as four different still galleries, radio spots, TV commercials. And there was also the audio commentary by Quarry himself, along with Fred Olen Ray, with a lot of interesting information about making the film.[23]

The film was given two-and-a-half stars by Moria Reviews in May 2016.[24]

The reviewer for Horror and Sons wasn't positive but wrote "It’s a harmless way to kill 90 minutes".[25]

The reviewer for Rue Morgue (pub. 23 Feb. 2019) wrote that the film carries over from the Yorga movies in an eerie and effective way of portraying vampires on screen. The reviewer also wrote that the end image in the film seemed to be a deliberate nod to the psychedelic film, The Trip by Roger Corman.[26]

In the 2019 book, American International Pictures, A Comprehensive Filmography by Rob Craig, there was said to be more than a passing similarity between the hypnotic appeal of Khorda and the charisma of Charles Manson.[27]

In his 2025 book, Art! Trash! Terror!, Chris Alexander writes that the film is "beautiful, arch, lyrical and weird and Quarry is simply amazing in it.".[28]

Issues

[edit]

According to Vampire Films of the 1970s by Gary A. Smith, the title of the film was to be Guru Vampire. Following the completion of the film which was made without any issues, Robert Quarry invited Michael Macready, the producer of Count Yorga to a screening. Macready then got in contact with Samuel Z. Arkoff and told him that the film Quarry made had plagiarized Count Yorga. Quarry and co. were then threatened with legal action by Zarkoff if they didn't agree to sell AIP the distribution rights to the film. The film was sold for a very small amount and ended up being shelved for nearly two years. It was poorly released as Deathmaster in August of 1972.[29]

Later years

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For decades the film was almost forgotten until one day filmmaker Fred Olen Ray who was a fan of the film got hold of the 35mm negative and released it on DVD via his own Retromdedia label.[30] The negative obtained was the original camera negative and the transfer was excellent. And at the time, it was one of the best-looking DVD's that Retromedia had done.[31] It is presented in 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen and has a Dolby Digital 5.1 option.[32]The bonus feature includes commentary by himself and Robert Quarry.[33]

Cast

[edit]

[34]

References

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  1. ↑ The Horror Film Handbook, By Alan G. Frank · 1982 - ISBN 978-0-389-20260-8 - Page 43 The Deathmaster
  2. ↑ Screening the Undead
    Vampires and Zombies in Film and Television, Edited by Leon Hunt, Sharon Lockyer and Milly Williamson, 2014 - ISBN 978-1-84885-924-1 - Page 26
  3. ↑ Rue Morgue, February 24, 2019 - RETROSPECTIVE: PEACE, LOVE & THE UNDEAD – THE HIPPIE VAMPIRES OF “DEATHMASTER” (1972)
  4. ↑ What's His Name? John Fiedler, The Man the Face the Voice, By Elizabeth Messina · 2012 - ISBN 978-1-4685-5857-9 - Pages 98 - 99
  5. ↑ Smith, Gary A. (2017). Vampire films of the 1970s: Dracula to Blacula and every fang between. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers. p. 39. ISBN 978-1-4766-2559-1.
  6. ↑ American Film Institute - The Deathmaster (1972)
  7. ↑ American Film Institute - The Deathmaster (1972), CREDITS
  8. ↑ Behind the Screams at Spookyworld, By David Bertolino · 2026 - ISBN 978-1-57715-917-9 - Page 71
  9. ↑ Colnect - Musikoptagelser katalog : Musikoptagelse › Le Sesne Hilton: Alone In A Crowded Room / Goodbye Love
  10. ↑ Billboard, 10/30/2018 - Rock, How Bobby ‘Boris’ Pickett Turned ‘Monster Mash’ Into a Graveyard Smash By Fred Bronson
  11. ↑ Billboard Hot 100 and Billboard 200 chart archives - Single — Billboard Hot 100, Graduation Day, Bobby Pickett
  12. ↑ 1980 Excelsior High School Yearbook, 1980 - Page 196 Faculty, 6 Le Sesne Hilton Air Conditioning
  13. ↑ Art! Trash! Terror!, Adventures in Strange Cinema, By Chris Alexander · 2025 - ISBN 978-1-915316-44-8 - THE DEATHMASTER (1972)
  14. ↑ Bruno Ceriotti Rock Historian - Sunday, August 18, 1963: ‘Pasadena 1st Annual Folk Festival
  15. ↑ Film Composers in America A Filmography 1911 - 1970 Second Edition, Clifford McCarty - ISBN 978-0-19-511473-7 - Page 138 Hilton, Lesesne 1965 Dropouts Anonymous (doc. short) Robert M. Quittner
  16. ↑ Bibliography on the Urban Crisis, By Jon K. Meyer, M.D. 1969 - Public Health Service Publication No. 1948 - Page 56 Audio-visual, 1366 Dropouts Anonymous
  17. ↑ Deathmaster DVD, Retromedia, UPC 0802993103894, 2002, Commentry 1:01 - 1:41
  18. ↑ Psychotronic Video, 33 - Page 35 Sadoff and Danton shot Deathmaster for $120,000
  19. ↑ Art! Trash! Terror!, By Chris Alexander · 2025 - ISBN 978-1-915316-44-8 - The Deathmaster 1972
  20. ↑ Horror Film Stars, 3d Ed., By Michael R. Pitts · 2024 - ISBN 978-1-4766-1034-4 - Page 386
  21. ↑ Roger Ebert.com - Reviews, The Deathmaster
  22. ↑ VideoHound's Groovy Movies: Far-out Films of the Psychedelic Era, By Irv Slifkin - 2004 - ISBN 978-1-57859-155-8 - Page 145
  23. ↑ Kitley's Krypt, April 30, 2016 - Movie Review: Deathmaster By John Kitley
  24. ↑ Moira Reviews, 18 May 2016 - Deathmaster Deathmaster (1972)
  25. ↑ Horror and Sons, February 1, 2017 - 70's, Movie Review, The Deathmaster (1972) Movie Review
  26. ↑ Rue Morgue, Saturday, February 23, 2019 - Retrospective: Peace, Love & the Undead – the Hippie Vampires of "Deathmaster" (1972)
  27. ↑ American International Pictures
    A Comprehensive Filmography, By Rob Craig · 2019 - ISBN 978-1-4766-6631-0 - Pages 115-116 The Deathmaster
  28. ↑ Art! Trash! Terror!, By Chris Alexander · 2025 - ISBN 978-1-915316-44-8 - The Deathmaster 1972
  29. ↑ Vampire Films of the 1970s
    Dracula to Blacula and Every Fang Between
    , By Gary A. Smith · 2017 - ISBN: 9781476625591 - Page 39 The Deathmaster
  30. ↑ Art! Trash! Terror!, By Chris Alexander · 2025 - ISBN 978-1-915316-44-8 - The Deathmaster 1972
  31. ↑ The American International Pictures Video Guide, By Gary A. Smith · 2009 - ISBN: 9780786433094 - Page 48
  32. ↑ Blu-ray Authority, January 28, 2012 - The Deathmaster
  33. ↑ Art! Trash! Terror!, By Chris Alexander · 2025 - ISBN 978-1-915316-44-8 - The Deathmaster 1972
  34. ↑ American Film Institute - The Deathmaster (1972), Cast


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