COLLECTOR'S CRYPT - THE COUNT YORGA COLLECTION (ARROW BLU RAY)

Vampires are one of the most iconic monsters across the entire horror landscape. Ones that have reached across the genre aisle and earned the admiration of audiences throughout history, whether they fancy themselves horror fans or not. My wife, for example, loves films like UNDERWORLD, INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE, and TWILIGHT, but she doesn’t take to the 30 DAYS OF NIGHT or even THE LOST BOYS versions as much. The pervasive acceptance of vampires in pop culture has yielded as many distinctions as similarities, despite the mythology not changing vastly. One staple of the vampire genre is Dracula. The story has been told for generations and across many mediums, especially film. While everyone has their favorite interpretation the core story is essentially the same just adapted. The problem with this is that over time, the story becomes a bit stale and it can be hard to appreciate what came before when you’ve been inundated with abundance as a default. Enter ARROW’s recently released North American box set of a pair of early 70s vampire films, THE COUNT YORGA COLLECTION. This is the 2nd time ARROW has released these films, albeit the first here in North America. Should you count this box set as part of your collection or would you be best served to quench your vampiric thirst elsewhere?

WHAT’S IT ABOUT?

COUNT YORGA, VAMPIRE (1970)

A couple invites a Count from Hungary, who recently immigrated to America, to conduct a seance for the woman's recently deceased mother, oblivious to the fact that he is actually a vampire.

THE RETURN OF COUNT YORGA (1971)

Count Yorga continues to prey on the local community while living by a nearby orphanage. He also intends to take a new wife, while feeding his bevy of female vampires.

Count Yorga, Vampire (1970)

HOW IS IT?

COUNT YORGA, VAMPIRE (1970)

This duology of films is one of those instances where the first film is inferior to the second one. Depending on how fanatical vampire films you are will definitely change how much you like these movies, in particular the first one. For all intents and purposes, COUNT YORGA, VAMPIRE plays out in a similar plotting and narrative fashion as “Bram Stoker's Dracula”, albeit with an updated (for the time) take on the count placing him in Southern California by way of Hungary, except he actually says Bulgarian in the movie. Given that this shares so much in common with Stoker, the main differences here are largely place and time. Count Yorga is not presented as the most threatening vampire on screen and comes off as more aristocratic than aggressive. In this way, this version plays more into the seduction aspect of the vampire/Dracula mythos while doing away with almost none of the traditional conventions or creating new ones. 

While there are occasional scenes that grab your attention, the film's biggest flaw is that it is just flat-out boring. The middle section drags with seemingly little happening aside from exposition and bumbling attempts to thwart the Count and his bevy of vampire brides. While things do pick up in the very end, it all comes too little too late. The great production design, costumes, and sensuality are wasted since the film doesn’t keep one’s attention enough to grab you and not let you go. Thankfully, quite a few of the issues here are corrected in the second film.

Count Yorga, Vampire (1970)

THE RETURN OF COUNT YORGA (1971)

My hesitance going into this one was high given just how lackluster the first film was. To my delight the second one seems to correct many of the problems the first one was plagued with to offer something much funnier, and scarier, than before. While the general story is the same as the first, the location has once again changed to being close to an orphanage which immediately ups the stakes involved. While THE RETURN OF COUNT YORGA never fully embraces the more horrific potential, it is still miles better than before. The most notable difference here is largely the tone. Whereas the first one was more concerned with telling a straight horror/romance story, this one is there to have fun and wink at you while it does it. Almost right away we see the same Count Yorga, but he is spicier and sassier than before.

The Count is introduced at the orphanage's talent show and starts immediately showing his displeasure with the entire thing, in spite of it being a necessary evil for him to farm for his vampiric brides. Humor and wit replace sternness and self-seriousness to great effect as the Count rips on the kid playing the piano while another woman asks him where his fangs are, to which he quickly replies “where are your manners?”. The line is delivered so naturally and it immediately got a chuckle out of me. So much of the film is concerned with just these small jokes that show you that they know how silly this all is, but they don’t make it any less dangerous. Now, the vampire brides are more menacing with a fantastically creepy scene at the start involving a kid, a graveyard, and a lost ball. This film eclipses the first in almost every conceivable way and brings the entire set from “alright” to “awesome”.

The Return of Count Yorga (1971)

HOW DOES IT LOOK?

Both films in this set came out within a year of each other and generally look the same visually. ARROW, as par for the course, has once again lovingly restored these (again) from the original 35mm negatives for a new 2K restoration. The previous release was a Region B-only one, and it does not indicate whether it was a 2K restoration rather that it was just “high definition digital transfers from original film elements by MGM”. I would presume that ARROW is using the same elements for this, and I’ve done a comparison of the two side by side in the four photos below only. Screenshots from this release are used throughout the rest of the review.

Count Yorga, Vampire

Count Yorga, Vampire

The Return of Count Yorga (1971)

The Return of Count Yorga (1971)

HOW DOES IT SOUND?

Both films feature the original lossless mono soundtrack and it serves the needs of the film just fine. Given that they are light on action and heavy on dialogue and music there is little need for a more surround sound-focused track to accompany the release. The same tracks seem to have been used for the Region B release ARROW put out in 2016.

The Return of Count Yorga (1971)

ANYTHING SPECIAL?

With regards to special features, this release has far more than the previous 2016 Region B one. So if you fancy yourself a fan of the Count, this set should fulfill your bloodthirst for more. Both the previous audio commentaries have been brought over, along with some new ones, as well as the interview with Kim Newman. Aside from that, the rest of the supplemental material is new for this 2022 release. On the COUNT YORGA, VAMPIRE disc I checked out two of the new featurettes. The first was The Count in California, a brand new appreciation by Heather Drain and Chris O'Neill. This 9-minute visual essay is a love letter to the two films and about their place within film vampires. While both films are covered, it does seem as if they favored the second film over the first much as I did. The other feature I checked out was I Remember Yorga, a brand new interview with Frank Darabont in which the award-winning filmmaker talks about his love for Count Yorga, Vampire. I wish that I got as frightened by the first film as Darabont did, but it is nice to see why he loves it so much and why it has such an impact on him. Even if I don’t see the same thing he does, I enjoy seeing someone gush over something they enjoy.

On the second disc for THE RETURN OF COUNT YORGA, I checked out The Count and the Counterculture, a brand new interview with film critic Maitland McDonagh. This 19-minute academic reading of the film looks at a broader reading of the films to consider what was going on within the world at the time and how that shows up in both films. Like any academic reading there are some connections that are more obvious than others, and much like Darabont’s expose of his affection for the film I can enjoy someone else’s reading without agreeing with it entirely. I still think that what sets ARROW above the rest when it comes to special features is its investment in these academic supplements to unpack the theory and subtext. 

A full list of special features for this release is listed below. Features that appeared on the 2016 Region B release are underlined:

THE COUNT YORGA COLLECTION

• 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

LAST RITES

THE COUNT YORGA COLLECTION is a must for vampire enthusiasts and even more so for the second film over the first. If you don’t fancy yourself the biggest fan of the fanged fiends you may not get as much out of this release as others, but if you’re daring to sink your teeth in there is a lot to enjoy from the films to the features.

THE GORY DETAILS

Thank you to the fine fiends at MVD ENTERTAINMENT for providing a review copy for the crypt, and you can purchase THE COUNT YORGA COLLECTION now via ARROW DIRECT!

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