THE COUNT YORGA COLLECTION (1970-1971)
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.
COUNT YORGA, VAMPIRE (1970)
Label: Arrow Video
Region Code: A,B
Duration: 93 Minutes
Rating: PG-13
Video: 1080p HD Widescreen (1.85:1)
Audio: English DTS-HD MA 1.0 Mono with Optional English Subtitles
Director: Bob Kelljan
Cast: Robert Quarry, Roger Perry, Michael Murphy, Michael Macready, Donna Anders
Centuries old vampire Count Yorga (Robert Quarry, Dr. Phibes Rises Again) has set-up himself in sun-drenched early 70's Southern California, where he has established himself as something of a Bulgarian mystic who performs séances for the wealthy. We are introduced to him at a get-together hosted by Donna (Donna Anders, Dream No Evil), whom has brought in Yorga to her home in hopes of contacting her deceased mother from beyond the grave, it's a fun set-up and quickly establishes Yorga's place in contemporary California society. At the party a young woman named Erica (Judy Lang, The Psycho Lover) catches the eye of Count Yorga, a familiar vampire trope with a young contemporary woman who reminds the centuries old blood-sucker of a past love. After the séance Yorga catches a ride home with Erica and her wise-cracking boyfriend Paul (Michael Murphy, Dead Kids aka Strange Behavior), a sort of hippie-type couple who drive a VW bus. The image of a ancient vampire sitting shotgun in a VW bus is one you might want to ponder for a while, it's not something you see too often.
After the couple drop the Count off at his home the young couple become stranded on a remote stretch of dirt road when the VW get bogged down in the mud, which is strange as it has not rained and was not there on the way in. They choose to spend the night in the back of van, and in the dark night they hear wolves howl, with Yorga appearing as his animalistic blood-sucking self knocking-out Paul and drinking the blood of Erica, infecting her with the vampire-virus.
The next day Erica visits Dr. Hayes (Roger Perry, The Thing with Two Heads) about the strange puncture wounds she's found on her neck. While examining her and running some tests the doc notices she has lost quite a bit of blood but cannot diagnose what the cause of her injury or illness might be. It's definitely having an adverse affect on her, and the next day when Paul comes home he is startled to discover Erica drinking blood from her dead kitten - animal lovers might want to avoid this scene, it's still a shocker!
Meanwhile Donna's boyfriend Paul and Dr. Hayes begin to discuss what could be the cause of Erica's worsening state, joking about the notion of vampirism, but not actually suspecting that something supernatural could be afoot. Eventually the crazy notion of bloodsuckers becomes the most plausible explanation, and when Erica goes missing Paul and his cohorts launch an assault on the Yorga mansion on a mission to stake the undead blood-suckerand save Erica.
I have such a soft spot for these early '70s horror movies, there's always a certain amount of kitsch to them, what with the vintage clothing, tacky ornate wallpaper, and such, I just love to watch them, even when they're bad. But take note, this is no bad film, not sir, while some horror films of this era are slower and take awhile to build Count Yorga, Vampire is not slow at all, in fact it has a brisk pace and some terrific low-budget atmosphere. It might be a drive-in cheapie but the movie craft is solid, it's well-made, and the cast - especially Quarry, are keen on the material, and it shows.
Add to that a wonderfully suave and dapper portrayal by veteran actor Robert Quarry as Yorga who exudes a centuries old charm. He's a very smooth vampire who could talk a woman right off her feet, even without having to hypnotize them, but he does that, too. The actor has mesmerizing eyes which are light colored which I think sets him apart from other cinematic vampires. He can also turn from elegant to animalistic blood-thirsty vampire on a dime, and when he bares his fangs he is straight-up threatening, it really is Quarry that makes the Yorga movies a success.
Count Yorga, Vampire holds up forty-five years later, and not on a kitschy level either, you might read some campy humor into it but it's not onscreen, it's just in your mind, because it's a relic of the seventies and you expect it - but Quarry raises the material quite, this is just a great vampire entry.
Audio/Video: Count Yorga, Vampire receives a brand new 2K restorations by Arrow Films from a new 4K scan of the original 35mm camera negatives, the vintage colors are strong and robust with solid blacks and shadow detail. It's low-budget and the night scenes can be on the grainy side but grain is well-managed and tight throughout, there are some nominal issues with dirt and a few scratches but overall this is quite a pleasing presentation. Compared to the 2015 Twilight Time release depth there's a definite uptick in fine detail, texture are better resolved, grain feels tighter and color are slightly punchier and white are crisper. It's not a huge leap but it's finer points are noticeable and more nuanced, the image slightly sharper. See a comparison directly below comparing it to the Twilight Time release, and more screenshots from the Arrow Blu-ray at the bottom of the review.
Screenshot Comparison:
Top: Twilight Time Blu-ray (2015)
Bottom: Arrow Video: Blu-ray (2022)
The English DTS-HD MA 1.0 Mono audio is nicely balanced with the dialogue, Bill Marx (Scream Blacula Scream) score, and special effects coming through clean and crisp. It sounds it's vintage but the presentation offers great fidelity.
Arrow offer a bevy of extras, including a brand new Audio commentary by film critic Tim Lucas - which alone should make this worth the double-dip. Other new extras include the 10-min The Count in California, a brand new appreciation by Heather Drain and Chris O’Neill, the 14-min I Remember Yorga, a brand new interview with Frank Darabont in which the award-winning filmmaker talks about his love for Count Yorga, Vampire, and the 10-min A Vampire in L.A., a brand new interview with actor Michael Murphy. These are terrific, I loved hearing Darabont nerd-out about his love of the Yorga film - I wish we had more extras with contemporary filmmakers fan-boying over these vintage terrors, and Murphy is humorous in his recounting of the making of the first film.
Archival extras include the 46-min audio-only Fangirl Radio Tribute to Robert Quarry, an archival episode of the podcast featuring host Jessica Dwyer in conversation with Tim Sullivan filmmaker, a huge Yorga fan and friend of Robert Quarry, as well as an archival Audio Commentary with Film Historians David Del Valle and Tim Sullivan. It's a lively and informed discussion from both men who not only love horror, and love the Yorga movies, but were friends with the late Robert Quarry. The disc one extras are buttoned-up with a Theatrical Trailer, Radio Spots, and two galleries featuring various posters and behind-the-scene shots and promotional pics, then we have the Tim Sullivan archives featuring images from the 2003 Rue Morgue interview session, from screenings of the Yorga films and various pics of Sullivan and Quarry hanging out together, a few with Quarry flipping the bird. Double-dipper and bonus junk nerd alert; if you own the previous now OOP Blu-ray from Twilight Time you might want to hang onto it, a couple of items not carried over here include the Isolated Music Score, and My Dinner with Yorga: The Robert Quarry Rue Morgue Interview, a reading by David Del Valle and Tim Sullivan, and the Collector Booklet with Julie Kirgo essay.
Special Features:
- NEW! Audio commentary by film critic Tim Lucas
- Archival audio commentary by film critics David Del Valle & C. Courtney Joyner
- NEW! The Count in California, a brand new appreciation by Heather Drain and Chris O’Neill (10 min)
- NEW! I Remember Yorga, an interview with Frank Darabont in which the award-winning filmmaker talks about his love for Count Yorga, Vampire (14 min)
- NEW! A Vampire in L.A., an interview with actor Michael Murphy (10 min)
- 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 (46 min)
- Theatrical trailer (2 min)
- Radio Spots (2 min)
- Image Galleries: posters and Stills (83 Images), Tim Sullivan Archive (25 Images)
THE RETURN OF COUNT YORGA (1971)
Label: Arrow Video
Region Code: A,B
Duration: 97 Minutes
Rating: R
Audio: English DTS-HD MA 1.0 Mono
Video: 1080p HD Widescreen (1.85:1)
Director: Bob Kelljan
Cast: Edward Walsh, Mariette Hartley, Robert Quarry, Roger Perry, Yvonne Wilder
Count Yorga (Robert Quarry, Rollercoaster) returns after his seeming demise in the first film, resurrected by the supernatural forces of the Santa Ana winds of Northern California. This time Yorga takes up residence in a very fine looking manor conveniently located right next to an orphanage for children, which promises a steady flow of fresh blood for himself and his harem of vampire-brides. Yorga and his brides are introduced when a young boy from the orphanage finds himself in a most unfortunate place, a forgotten cemetery after dark. As we all know, nothing good happens at the cemetery after dark. Yorga's vampire brides rise up from their graves and Tommy becomes a victim to Yorga, and is turned into one of his evil minions. Later that evening Yorga attends a Halloween masquerade ball at the orphanage where he meets Tommy's older sister Cynthia Nelson (Mariette Hartley, of the made-for-TV movie Genesis II), and the vampire become instantly infatuated with the young woman, hoping to make her one of his undead vampire-brides. This one has a pretty great Night of the Living Dead style siege scenario with the vampire brides attacking a Cynthia's family, it's pretty great stuff, and makes for an amped up start to things.
Something that separated Robert Quarry from the Hammer films with Christopher Lee movies was that he played the undead Count as a suave and dapper gentleman, a well spoken and elegant man draped in a velvet cape and vintage clothing in a contemporary setting, he was just a cooler dude. The way that Quarry goes from smooth gentleman to baring his fangs for some pumped up frightful moments can be a lot of fun. His sinister brides comes across as more zombie-like than blood-sucking vamps a lot of the time here, but when they attack in a horde there's some solid vamp-terror to be had. Whilew it can be a bit of slog at times there's some humor that breaks things up, this comes by way of a pair of somewhat inept police detectives played by Craig T. Nelson (Poltergeist) and Rudy De Luca (Transylvania 6-5000), who are at first vampire-scoffers but who soon enough find themselves on the run from the horde of vampire-brides at Yorga's manor, fighting off not just the blood-sucking brides but Yorga's disfigured henchman Brudda (Edward Walsh, Hard Times), who also returns for the sequel. Of course, every vampire movie needs a Van Helsing type character, and here we have one by way of the elderly Professor Rightstat (George Macready, Paths of Glory).
Count Yorga was one of the first vampire franchises to place a vampire in a contemporary setting that I can remember, followed shortly after by the Blacula films with William Marshall a few years later - it's old hat these days but at the time it was something pretty original. The San Francisco coastal location makes for a cool backdrop to the movie, it's a contemporary movie but with a hint of the Gothic origins in the architecture of the orphanage and Yorga's manor, it adds an effective layer of atmosphere of creepiness. Compared to the first film I think this is a tad campier, but it's still played very straight-faced, and qwhile I might detract points for it being a slower-burn it is punctuated with some fun moments, including numerous scenes of blood-draining and the horde of vampire brides descending upon a home in a way that echoes the Manson murders, by design I am sure. There's also a fun scene of a priest being humorously lured to his death by Yorga into a pit of quicksand - which if you grew up watching TV in the 60's/70's seemed to be a serious threat!
Audio/Video: The Return of Count Yorga also gets a brand new 2K restoration by Arrow Films from a new 4K scan of the original 35mm camera negatives. Like the first film the vintage colors are strong and looks natural with solid blacks and strong contrast and some nice depth of field and fine detail. It's low-budget and the night scenes can be on the grainy side but grain looks natural and uniform throughout. Comparing it to the 2015 Scream Factory Blu-ray it's not a night and day difference but the Arrow release does not have the green infusion of the SF release, grain is better resolved, and depth and clarity are more refined. Audio comes by way of English DTS-HD MA 1.0 Mono audio is well-balanced with the dialogue, score, and special sounds appropriately vintage.
Screenshot Comparison:
Top: Scream Factory (2015)
Bottom: Arrow Video: Blu-ray (2022)
Arrow offer up a treasure of archival and new extras, starting off with a new Audio commentary by film critic Stephen R. Bissette that is laid back but quite astute, I only sampled it throughout, saving it for my next housecleaning, but it's solid. We also get a new 18-min The Count and the Counterculture, an interview with film critic Maitland McDonagh which talks about these films in context of the counter-culture. It was great to see McDonagh again, she was a constant presence on the Old Anchor Bay DVD special editions but I feel like she has not been very present in the age of HD, or maybe I've just missed the releases she's on. The last of the new stuff is the 35-min Chamber-music of Horrors, a brand new interview with David Huckvale who talks about the Harold Brix scores for both films in addition to playing on piano, as he usually does, excerpts from key themes. I am used to seeing Huckvale talk about Hammer Films mostly, he's shown up on quite a few Scream Factory and Second Sight releases, and I loved hearing him deep-dive into this pair of film.
Onto the archival extras we get an Audio Commentary With Film Historian Steve Haberman And Actor Rudy De Luca with Haberman taking the lead with a wealth of information about the production of the franchise, the cast and crew, and American International Pictures. Listed as archival but new to me was the 33-min Count Yorga an Appreciate ion by Kim Newman, as usual seated on his basement couch chatting about both films with all the charm of a drunk grandpa spinning tales of his youth. Disc two extras are buttoned-up with the 2-min Theatrical Trailer, 2-min of Radio Spots and a pair of over-stuffed Galleries featuring stills, posters and promotional images used to advertise the movie. If you own the 2015 Blu-ray edition this carries over all the extras, so feel free to trade it in, your not losing anything aside from the reversible artwork, which admittedly is pretty cool, and is why I will be hanging onto mine.
Special Features:
- NEW! Audio commentary by film critic Stephen R. Bissette
- Archival audio commentary by David Del Valle & C. Courtney Joyner
- NEW! The Count and the Counterculture, an interview with film critic Maitland McDonagh (18 min)
- NEW! Chamber-music of Horrors, a brand new interview with David Huckvale about the scores for both films (35 min)
- Archival interview with film critic Kim Newman (33 .in)
- Theatrical Trailer (2 min)
- Radio Spots (2 min)
- Image Galleries: Still (149 Images), Lobby Cards and Poster (13 Images)
Limited Edition Contents:
- 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 art cards
- Reproduction pressbook for Count Yorga, Vampire
I love the Count Yorga movies, I think they might be a little slow for a modern youth audience (their loss!) but for us old timers who can enjoy a proper slow-burn with a decent payoff there's a lot to love here. The Arrow Video release of the films is excellent, with fantastic A/V presentations and a wealth of new and archival extras, there's not much else you could ask for for, this is the most definitive edition of both films.
Screenshots from the Arrow Video Blu-ray:
Count Yorga, Vampire (1970)
The Return of Count Yorga (1971)
Extras:
