Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.0
Overall		3.0

The Return of Count Yorga Blu-ray Movie Review

Fangs for the memories.

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman October 22, 2015

Mention the word “vampire” to just about anyone, and chances are the character who springs instantly and inescapably to mind is, of course, none other than Dracula, though a few “purists” might insist that Nosferatu is the “original”, at least cinematically speaking (in terms of actual premiere date, if not the genesis of the character, which many rightfully point out was obviously based on Bram Stoker’s iconic blood sucker). Through the years there have been innumerable film vampires in entries as disparate as The Twilight Saga Extended Editions Triple Feature and From Dusk Till Dawn, and of course Dracula himself has been (appropriately) immortal in any number of films, including (in no particular order) Dracula 2000, Dracula Has Risen from the Grave, Dracula: Prince of Darkness and the relatively recent (evidently unsuccessful) attempt at a franchise reboot Dracula Untold. With the cinematic landscape littered with so many undead, it may be hard to recall that for a brief moment in the early 1970s, there was another Count operating his own “blood bank”, making him the seeming heir to Dracula. Count Yorga first showed up in 1970’s Count Yorga, Vampire, a film which rather unexpectedly became a major smash for American International Pictures. That in turn led to the 1971 sequel The Return of Count Yorga, which also performed at least relatively well at the box office. A new franchise had apparently been born (or at least awakened), but for whatever reason, a planned third Yorga entry never materialized, and the first two Yorga films became cult items, consigned to occasional showings first on the broadcast networks and then later on various cable channels, and ultimately on to a variety of home video formats. Both Yorga films are perhaps unavoidably derivative, never really venturing very far from a number of traditional vampire tropes, but they’re both handsomely mounted and have scattered chills to offer.

A kind of funny opening sequence involves a little boy named Tommy (Philip Frame), who is playing with a bright yellow ball (the interesting commentary included on this Blu-ray mentions this may have been an intentional cinematic reference). The cute little kid seems blissfully unaware that the minimal cemetery he marauds through seems to be a bit “unstable”, as evidenced by the fact that several pairs of hands and arms suddenly emerge from various graves as the little boy sits blithely by, evidently just waiting for mayhem to ensue. The graves turn out to be the not so final resting places of Yorga’s harem, and once Tommy does notice them, he runs screaming—directly into the arms of Count Yorga (Robert Quarry). The upshot of that interchange isn’t immediately revealed (a gambit the film returns to a couple of other times later in the proceedings), as the film segues to a nearby orphanage, where teacher Cynthia Nelson (Mariette Hartley) and Reverend Thomas (Tom Toner) presage Steely Dan’s Gaucho by discussing the mystical import of the Santa Ana winds.

Count Yorga dispenses with much of a setup beyond the basic premise of a vampire "moving in" next door to a place full of potential victims, with the Count showing up at the orphanage costume party festivities and being greeted as a great "fictional" character, despite the fact that no one is completely certain who he is and that he himself isn't really that circumspect about his vampirism. He instantly charms Cynthia, and it’s clear Yorga has his sights set on making her the latest acquisition to his growing stable of wives. The film soon details the uglier side to the ultra suave Count, in a plot point that has Cynthia his perhaps slightly mesmerized captive.

Meanwhile, Cynthia’s fiancé David (Roger Perry), initially skeptical of Yorga’s “status”, comes to the understandable conclusion that the Count is indeed a vampire, and tries to get the local authorities to take him seriously. While the large scale plot points of The Return of Count Yorga are hardly innovative or revelatory, the film actually has a decidedly sly sense of humor, and it’s also quite stylish at times, including some great slow motion effects of Yorga running directly at the camera like a predator seeing the lens as its prey. There are some interesting if kind of florid touches as well, including a nice turn by Yvonne Wilder as a deaf mute whose affliction keeps her from communicating easily when she stumbles into a crime scene.

There’s a certain irony inherent in The Return of Count Yorga, as it jettisons at least some salient plot points that were part and parcel of its progenitor (not the least of which is Yorga’s fate in the first film, not that a supposed demise in any horror film has ever prevented a sequel from being made). The tone here is essentially nicely balanced between chill inducing kill scenes and some broader, more winking, subtext. Dracula may still get the lion’s share of the attention from the public at large, but Count Yorga may provide a good backup plan for those who have developed iron poor blood when it comes to Transylvanian leeches.

The Return of Count Yorga Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The Return of Count Yorga is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Scream Factory, an imprint of Shout! Factory, with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.84:1. This is one of the nicer, healthier looking transfers from the MGM catalog that Shout! has released recently. While there are some typical age related issues on display, generally speaking elements are in excellent condition, and the palette remains mostly fresh and vivid looking. There's even a kind of "Hammer-esque" patina to the blood scenes, with some nicely saturated reds. Detail is very good to excellent in close-ups, to the point that it's quite easy to spot the powder makeup on Quarry in selected moments. Some midrange shots as well some scenes which I assume may have been handled by a second unit look a bit soft (notably the opening scenes of Tommy in the cemetery and, later, a segue to San Francisco). Grain looks natural and resolves very well throughout the presentation. A lot of the film is shrouded in darkness or shadow, and some of the best news is that there are none of the compression issues that sometimes attend Shout! releases.

The Return of Count Yorga Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The Return of Count Yorga features a lossless DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 mono track that is a bit narrow sounding, but which still offers good support for some isolated startle effects and Bill Marx's score. Dialogue is rendered very cleanly and is always well prioritized on this problem free track.

The Return of Count Yorga Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Theatrical Trailer (480i; 1:38)


• TV Spot (480p; 00:22)


• Radio Spots (1:36)


• Photo Gallery (1080i; 3:24)


• Commentary with Steve Haberman and Rudy De Luca. This is a really fun and interesting commentary that combines both a wealth of production data and some great anecdotes (the little bon mot involving Vincent Price's "assessment" of Quarry's acting skills is, well, priceless).

The Return of Count Yorga Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The Return of Count Yorga probably isn't the greatest vampire film ever made, but it's a diverting attempt when taken on its own perhaps unambitious merits. Quarry is a lot of fun as the Count, and Mariette Hartley is rather winsome and sweet as the put upon heroine. A couple of the attack scenes are rather viscerally exciting, and the film also benefits from some nicely done humor. Technical merits are generally strong, and The Return of Count Yorga comes Recommended.