Deathmaster aka The Deathmaster is a 1972 American vampire horror film starring Robert Quarry.
Background 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.The Horror Film Handbook, By Alan G. Frank · 1982 - - Page 43 The Deathmaster
With the Manson Murders being quite recent, Quarry wanted to make a Charles Manson-type vampire.Screening the Undead Vampires and Zombies in Film and Television, Edited by Leon Hunt, Sharon Lockyer and Milly Williamson, 2014 - - Page 26 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.Rue Morgue, February 24, 2019 - RETROSPECTIVE: PEACE, LOVE & THE UNDEAD – THE HIPPIE VAMPIRES OF "DEATHMASTER" (1972)
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.What's His Name? John Fiedler, The Man the Face the Voice, By Elizabeth Messina · 2012 - - Pages 98 - 99 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.
This film also was the feature film debut for television actress Brenda Dickson.American Film Institute - The Deathmaster (1972) Both Bobby Pickett who played Kirkwood and LeSesne Hilton who played BarbadoAmerican Film Institute - The Deathmaster (1972), CREDITS were musicians.Behind the Screams at Spookyworld, By David Bertolino · 2026 - - Page 71Colnect - Musikoptagelser katalog : Musikoptagelse › Le Sesne Hilton: Alone in a Crowded Room / Goodbye Love Pickett was known for the hit "Monster Mash",Billboard, 10/30/2018 - Rock, How Bobby 'Boris' Pickett Turned 'Monster Mash' Into a Graveyard Smash By Fred Bronson as well as a lesser hit "Graduation Day".Billboard Hot 100 and Billboard 200 chart archives - Single – Billboard Hot 100, Graduation Day, Bobby Pickett Hilton, sometimes referred to as Le Sesne Hilton or LaSesne Hilton,1980 Excelsior High School Yearbook, 1980 - Page 196 Faculty, 6 Le Sesne Hilton Air ConditioningArt! Trash! Terror!, Adventures in Strange Cinema, By Chris Alexander · 2025 - - THE DEATHMASTER (1972) had been one of the featured performers at the 1963 Pasadena Folk FestivalBruno Ceriotti Rock Historian - Sunday, August 18, 1963: 'Pasadena 1st Annual Folk Festival and had provided music for Robert M. Quittner's 1966 film, Dropouts Anonymous.Film Composers in America A Filmography 1911 - 1970 Second Edition, Clifford McCarty - - Page 138 Hilton, Lesesne 1965 Dropouts Anonymous (doc. short) Robert M. QuittnerBibliography on the Urban Crisis, By Jon K. Meyer, M.D. 1969 - Public Health Service Publication No. 1948 - Page 56 Audio-visual, 1366 Dropouts Anonymous 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.Deathmaster DVD, Retromedia, UPC 0802993103894, 2002, Commentry 1:01 - 1:41
According to Psychotronic Video, the film cost $120,000 and was completed two days ahead of time.Psychotronic Video, 33 - Page 35 Sadoff and Danton shot Deathmaster for $120,000
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.Art! Trash! Terror!, By Chris Alexander · 2025 - - The Deathmaster 1972
According to the book Horror Film Stars, 3d Ed. by Michael R. Pitts, the film was originally called Khorda.Horror Film Stars, 3d Ed., By Michael R. Pitts · 2024 - - Page 386
Story 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 The film was given one out of four stars by reviewer Roger Ebert.Roger Ebert.com - Reviews, The Deathmaster
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.VideoHound's Groovy Movies: Far-out Films of the Psychedelic Era, By Irv Slifkin - 2004 - - Page 145
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.Kitley's Krypt, April 30, 2016 - Movie Review: Deathmaster By John Kitley
The film was given two-and-a-half stars by Moria Reviews in May 2016.Moira Reviews, 18 May 2016 - Deathmaster Deathmaster (1972)
The reviewer for Horror and Sons wasn't positive but wrote "It's a harmless way to kill 90 minutes".Horror and Sons, February 1, 2017 - 70's, Movie Review, The Deathmaster (1972) Movie Review
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.Rue Morgue, Saturday, February 23, 2019 - Retrospective: Peace, Love & the Undead – the Hippie Vampires of "Deathmaster" (1972)
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.American International Pictures A Comprehensive Filmography, By Rob Craig · 2019 - - Pages 115-116 The Deathmaster
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.".Art! Trash! Terror!, By Chris Alexander · 2025 - - The Deathmaster 1972
Issues 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.Vampire Films of the 1970s Dracula to Blacula and Every Fang Between , By Gary A. Smith · 2017 - - Page 39 The Deathmaster
Later years 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.Art! Trash! Terror!, By Chris Alexander · 2025 - - The Deathmaster 1972 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.The American International Pictures Video Guide, By Gary A. Smith · 2009 - - Page 48 It is presented in 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen and has a Dolby Digital 5.1 option.Blu-ray Authority, January 28, 2012 - The DeathmasterThe bonus feature includes commentary by himself and Robert Quarry.Art! Trash! Terror!, By Chris Alexander · 2025 - - The Deathmaster 1972
Cast 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 American Film Institute - The Deathmaster (1972), Cast
References
External links
SudioMars channel on YouTube, Oct 4, 2025 - Deathmaster (1972) Official Trailer HD (video) Rotten Tomatoes - The Deathmaster Horror & Sci-Fi Fun Facts channel, Aug 31, 2025 - Deathmaster 1972 Production Facts You Won't Believe!