American International Pictures had its finger on the exploitation pulse since it started in the mid-1950s. The plucky independent studio had made its niche in the horror world with its series of Edgar Allen Poe inspired films starring Vincent Price and directed by Roger Corman during the ’60s. But as the ’70s took hold, the horror landscape had changed. The MPAA ratings finally allowed movies to not all be family friendly. The biggest impact came with the release of George Romero’s Night of the Living Dead. George Romero’s film went beyond the usual gore effects found in Hammer Horror imports. The audience ate up that movie as much as his zombies ate the intestines of the living. AIP needed to upgrade their undead game or risk being labeled as “kiddie horror.” Instead of producing their own movie, they acquired a low budget modern film that had plenty of scares for 1970. Count Yorga, Vampire brought a real blood sucker to Los Angeles to prey upon the Me Generation. The film was such a hit, they made The Return of Count Yorga. Both films have been brought together for The Count Yorga Collection.
Count Yorga, Vampire (1970 – 93 minutes) opens with a ship arriving in the docks of Los Angeles. A pickup truck snags a boxed-up coffin and head into the city. Things get spooky when a group of people gather for a seance. Donna (Donna Anders) wants to connect with her recently departed mother. Leading the seance is Count Yorga (Dr. Phibes Rises Again‘s Robert Quarry). The mystical man from Bulgaria had a connection to her since he was mom’s last boyfriend. He’s a count so you know he’s got the ability to speak with the dead. During the seance Donna flips out and Yorga calms her down with hypnosis. Paul and Erica offer to take Count Yorga back to his house. After they drop him off, their van gets stuck in the mud. They decide to just wait until morning and sleep in the back of the microbus. During the middle of the night, they’re attacked. Paul is knocked out and Erica is bitten on the neck. She starts changing in major ways. What could be wrong? Probably something to do with Count Yorga since Donna’s mom is now living in his basement. Can Donna’s friend stop her and Erica from ending up like Donna’s mother?
Count Yorga, Vampire was originally supposed to be a more carnal take on Dracula in order to get booked at some of the scummier cinemas. After AIP got involved, the production cut back on the level of nudity. While AIP wanted to notch up their horror, they still wanted to be able to book the films in the same theaters that enjoyed their double features. AIP was able to get film rated GP (the original PG). The risk paid off as the film was a hit for the distributor. The studio wanted a sequel and gave writer-director Bob Kelljan and actor-producer Michael Macready a normal AIP budget. The Return of Count Yorga (1971 – 97 minutes) looks like it was made for more than $64,000 since they hired Bill Butler (Jaws & Can’t Stop The Music) to be the cinematographer and cast two future stars.
Steely Dan warned us about the Santa Ana winds in “Babylon Sisters.” When the wind kicks up in San Francisco, Count Yorga and his women rise up from their graves near an orphanage. He’s not merely ready for a comeback, but he’s in a marrying mood. Cynthia Nelson (Columbo‘s Mariette Hartley) teaches at orphanage and captures the fancy of Count Yorga. While he doesn’t stop biting the necks of other women, he only wants Cynthia’s heart. Yorga has to keep up his handsome good looks with a steady supply of sweet blood. This also involves getting more women to join his undead harem. Is Cynthia going to kick him to the curb since he can’t be faithful to her O negative? The cops think something is up at the orphanage and among the investigators is Craig T. Nelson (Coach and The Incredibles). Are the San Francisco police ready to take on Yorga, his love and his ladies?
The Return of Count Yorga is even better than the first thanks to a bigger budget. Mariette Hartley is alluring as Yorga’s love interest. You might remember her best from thinking she was James Garner’s wife in all those Polaroid commercials in the ’70s and ’80s. Do you think Yorga was jealous of their chemistry?
Nearly 20 years ago, Count Yorga, Vampire and The Return of Count Yorga were part of the legendary Midnite Movies Double Feature collection. That DVD was lacking any real bonus features so it was hard to properly appreciate the Count Yorga movies. The Count Yorga Collection is full of commentaries and short videos to embrace Yorga. You’ll be able to feel the spirit of Count Yorga without a seance.
The video is 1.85:1 anamorphic for both films. The transfers feature a 2K restoration of Count Yorga, Vampire and a new 4K scan of The Return of Count Yorga‘s original 35mm camera negative. The audio is LCPM mono on both films. You’ll hear a bit of ADR on the first film. The movie is subtitled.
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.
Fold-out double-sided posters for both films has the original artwork and Heather Vaughan’s new designs for the boxset.
Twelve double-sided, postcard-sized lobby cards from the original releases.
Reproduction pressbook for Count Yorga, Vampire.
DISC ONE – COUNT YORGA, VAMPIRE
Audio commentary by film critic Tim Lucas goes into what makes this Count different from Count Dracula.
Archival audio commentary by film critics David Del Valle & C. Courtney Joyner is from a previous Blu-ray release. The two are all about the Yorga magic.
The Count in California (9:44) is an appreciation by Heather Drain and Chris O’Neill. Goes into how Yorga’s character is a bit different from Dracula. She goes into how Count Yorga introduces himself to potential victims at the opening seance.
I Remember Yorga (14:52) is a fresh interview with Frank Darabont (The Walking Dead). He talks about seeing the movie as both an 11-year-old when it came to theaters and decades later as an adult. Frank was scared by the film as a kid since they shot parts of Count Yorga in his part of Los Angeles. I’m extremely curious about Frank’s guitar collection that’s behind him.
A Vampire in L.A. (9:30) is recent interview with actor Michael Murphy. He’s thrilled the film is still beloved and getting re-issued in Blu-ray. He tells how the film came together. Murphy first thought it was an X-rated film and was fearful the producer would use insert shots to make him look like an adult film star. He talks about how they made the film happen for only $64,000. He talks about the various actors and location issues.
Fangirl Radio Tribute to Robert Quarry (45:55) is an episode with host Jessica Dwyer interviewing Tim Sullivan filmmaker, Yorga fan and friend of Robert Quarry. There are photos from the movie running over the audio only interview.
Theatrical trailer (2:25) promises a modern-day vampire tale in Los Angeles and a lot of sensuality.
Radio spots (1:41) has two chilling teasers to lure you to turn into the nearest drive-in. “It could happen to you” is the pull.
Image galleries includes posters and stills, newspaper ads, Count Yorga dolls and home video covers. The Sullivan Archive has a magazine interview and photos of Bob Quarry.
DISC TWO – THE RETURN OF COUNT YORGA
Brand new audio commentary by film critic Stephen R. Bissette has him give the history of the film. He saw it in the theater. He mentions AIP put it on a double feature with Godzilla Vs. The Smog Monster. That was when cinema ruled.
Audio commentary by David Del Valle & C. Courtney Joyner is from a previous release Blu-ray release. They discuss how this isn’t so much a sequel, but a chance to make a fresh Count Yorga with an upgrade in the budget. They even hired Bill Butler as the director of photography before he’d shoot Jaws.
The Count and the Counterculture (18:13) interviews film critic Maitland McDonagh. She talks about how this is a movie of the ’60s that reflect what happened after the Manson Murders.
Chamber-music of Horrors (35:12), a brand new interview with David Huckvale about the scores for both films. He points out how Bill Marx was the adopted son of Harpo Marx.
Archival interview with film critic Kim Newman (33:02) has him talking about how the film became a sleeper hit for AIP. There was talk of Count Yorga Meets Blacula. While that didn’t happen, Yorga’s director ended up helming Scream Blacula, Scream.
Theatrical trailer (1:40) lets us know that Count Yorga is back and calling his followers up from their graves.
Radio spots (1:39) has two commercials that seduce us with the return of the Count over out car stereo. It was rated GP.
Image gallery includes stills, lobby cards and posters.
Arrow Video presents The Count Yorga Collection (Limited Edition). Directed by Bob Kelljan. Screenplay by Bob Kelljan & Yvonne Wilder. Starring Robert Quarry, George Macready, Mariette Hartley and Craig T. Nelson. Rating: Rated GP & R. Boxset Contents: 2 movies on 2 Blu-ray discs. Release Date: October 25, 2022.
