Overview: By the end of the 1960s the boom in Old World gothic horror had begun to wane in the face of present day terrors like the Vietnam war. In response, American filmmakers brought horror out of the past and into the present, and the classic movie monsters packed their bags and headed for the New World.

Count Yorga, Vampire was among the first to successfully transpose the classic vampire, cloak and all, to a modern day setting as the Count – played unforgettably by Robert Quarry – arrives in the United States and settles in a Southern California mansion with his mysterious “brides”.

A drive-in favorite from the moment it was released, a sequel soon followed. The Return of Count Yorga ups the ante and sees the sardonic Count on the streets of San Francisco, his sights set on an orphanage as a potential source of sustenance.

Blu-ray Verdict: Director Bob Kelljan (Scream Blacula Scream) delivers a one-two punch of classic cult cinema mixing chills, thrills, style, and suspense with a knowing wit that revels in the genre trappings!

Presented in all new restorations by Arrow Films from new scans of the original camera negative, The Count Yorga Collection is a full blooded feast to die for!

We open on Count Yorga, Vampire (1970), the story of a set of Sixties couples, Michael and Donna and Paul and Erica who become involved with the intense Count Yorga at a Los Angeles séance; the Count having latterly been involved with Donna’s just-dead mother.

After taking the Count home, Paul and Erica are waylaid, and next day a listless Erica is diagnosed by their doctor as having lost a lot of blood. When she is later found feasting on the family cat the doctor becomes convinced vampirism is at work, and that its focus is Count Yorga and his large isolated house.

Count Yorga was something of a departure for vampire films in the seventies due to the fact that its star isn’t a bloodthirsty maniac, but rather a dapper and respectable rich bachelor, who happens to be a vampire.

Really, the film is an update of the classic Dracula story, only with more of a seventies horror swing to it. Most of the clichés of the vampire sub-genre are here, and it’s only really the setting that has been changed.

Seeing Dracula in seventies Los Angeles makes for a rather different atmosphere surrounding the tale, but it’s definitely a welcome one and one that has influenced many films since the release of this one.

The film is very talky at the start, which can be a little bit annoying as the pace is very slow, although what Yorga is actually saying is interesting, and it really isn’t long before the film starts properly.

The story is classic vampire stuff, where we follow Count Yorga as he involves himself with various other members of high-class society. The story starts properly once he has bitten one of the young women, who is later found with massive blood loss ... and feasting on the family cat!

Robert Quarry stars as the enigmatic count, and does an excellent job of it. This is the role that made him and the fact that he hasn’t had another role in this kind of volume since shows that fact quite clearly. His voice and his mannerisms aptly reflect the character he is portraying, and it’s really easy to believe that this man is a vampire!

The actual horror of the film takes something of a backseat to Yorga’s account of being a vampire; but the way that the film does this differently from other vampire movies helps it to retain it’s element of originality.

The film looks lovely throughout, and while the color scheme isn’t as robust as some of Hammer’s vampire films, the style isn’t out of place, and it helps to reflect the title character himself.

Personally, I loved the way that the film placed the vampire in with the top class of Los Angeles’ people meaning, to my mind, the film isn’t too far away from being one of Woody Allen’s films; just with a vampire in it!

Up next is the sequel, The Return of Count Yorga (1971), where Count Yorga continues to prey on the local community while living by a nearby orphanage. Oh, and he also intends to take a new wife, while feeding his bevy of female vampires!

This sequel to Count Yorga, Vampire finds Count Yorga (once again, Robert Quarry) and his five vampire brides stalking out an orphanage where there are plenty of victims, but along the way Yorga decides to try and take a wife.

When AIP released Count Yorga, Vampire they obviously had no idea that it would turn out to be such a huge hit. Obviously with the film making so much money a sequel was bound to follow and The Return of Count Yorga didn’t take long to materialize. If you’re a fan of the first film then you’ll probably also appreciate this sequel, which was made for much more money, but in many ways it’s more of a remake than anything else.

I say that because this one follows a very similar story and in fact the biggest difference is obviously in the budget, which was a lot higher here. The film manages to be quite entertaining on a number of levels even with a story that’s less than good in certain areas.

The highlight, of course, are the vampire brides who I thought looked quite excellent and especially in their slow-walking ways. The slow pacing of them was a major plus and I thought the look of the brides were terrific.

As with the original, it all starts off slowly, but the action picks up a lot more during the finale and there are actually some very good attack scenes. The supporting players are nice, but it’s Quarry who again steals the film as Count Yorga. This is a Widescreen Presentation (1.85:1) enhanced for 16x9 TVs and comes with the Special Features of:

Brand new 2K restorations by Arrow Films of Count Yorga, Vampire and The Return of Count Yorga from new 4K scans of the original 35mm camera negatives
High Definition Blu-Ray (1080p) presentations of both films
Original lossless mono audio
Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
Illustrated perfect bound collector’s book featuring new writing by film critic Kat Ellinger and horror author Stephen Laws, plus archive contributions by critic Frank Collins and filmmaker Tim Sullivan
Limited edition packaging with reversible sleeves featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Heather Vaughan
Fold-out double-sided posters for both films featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Heather Vaughan
Twelve double-sided, postcard-sized lobby card reproduction artcards
Reproduction pressbook for Count Yorga, Vampire

DISC ONE - COUNT YORGA, VAMPIRE:
Brand new audio commentary by film critic Tim Lucas
Archival audio commentary by film critics David Del Valle & C. Courtney Joyner
The Count in California, a brand new appreciation by Heather Drain and Chris O’Neill
I Remember Yorga, a brand new interview with Frank Darabont in which the award-winning filmmaker talks about his love for Count Yorga, Vampire
A Vampire in L.A., a brand new interview with actor Michael Murphy
Fangirl Radio Tribute to Robert Quarry, an archival episode featuring host Jessica Dwyer in conversation with Tim Sullivan filmmaker, Yorga fan and friend of Robert Quarry
Theatrical trailer
Radio spots
Image galleries

DISC TWO - THE RETURN OF COUNT YORGA:
Brand new audio commentary by film critic Stephen R. Bissette
Archival audio commentary by David Del Valle & C. Courtney Joyner
The Count and the Counterculture, a brand new interview with film critic Maitland McDonagh
Chamber-music of Horrors, a brand new interview with David Huckvale about the scores for both films
Archival interview with film critic Kim Newman
Theatrical trailer
Radio spots
Image gallery