Deathmaster

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

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

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.³

This film also was the feature film debut for television actress Brenda Dickson.⁴ Both Bobby Pickett who played Kirkwood and LeSesne Hilton who played Barbado⁵ were musicians.⁶⁷ Pickett was known for the hit "Monster Mash".⁸ Hilton was one of the featured performers at the 1963 Pasadena Folk Festival⁹ and had provided music for Robert M. Quittner's 1966 film, Dropouts Anonymous.¹⁰¹¹ 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.¹²

According to Psychotronic Video, the film cost $120,000 and was completed two days ahead of time.¹³

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.¹⁴

According to the book Horror Film Stars, 3d Ed. by Michael R. Pitts, the film was originally called Khorda.¹⁵

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.

The film was given one out of four stars by reviewer Roger Ebert.¹⁶

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.¹⁷

The film was given two-and-a-half stars by Moria Reviews in May 2016.¹⁸

The reviewer for Horror and Sons wasn't positive but wrote "It’s a harmless way to kill 90 minutes".¹⁹

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.²⁰

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.²¹

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.".²²

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.²³ It is presented in 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen and has a Dolby Digital 5.1 option.²⁴ The bonus feature includes commentary by himself and Robert Quarry.²⁵

• Robert Quarry - Khorda
• Bill Ewing - Pico
• Brenda Dickson - Rona
• John Fiedler - Pop
• Bob Pickett - Kirkwood
• Betty Anne Rees - Esslin
• William Jordan - Monk
• Le Sesne Hilton - Barbado
• John Lasell - Detective
• Freda T. Vanterpool - Dancer

²⁶