The film begins by showing us a coffin being removed from a ship, then trucked out to an estate in modern day (circa 1970) Los Angeles. On top of this, we hear narration telling us a bit about vampire legends. Soon after, we meet Count Yorga (Robert Quarry), as he conducts a séance to try to contact Donna’s (Donna Anders) deceased mother. The séance turns slightly chaotic, and Donna’s friends begin to suspect that there’s something odd about the Count, especially when they learn that he had been dating Donna’s mother, requested that she not be cremated, as her earlier wishes had it, but didn’t turn up at the funeral. The film consists of Donna’s friends trying to learn more about, and subsequently finding themselves further and further into trouble with, Count Yorga. It is no mystery, due to the title of the film, that he is a vampire.

Although Count Yorga, Vampire is a bit talky in the beginning, the dialogue is good, and it gets even better as the film progresses. For viewers eager for more action than dialogue, they do not have to wait long. By the end of the séance scene, which comes maybe 10 minutes into the film, they should be interested, and by the end of the van scene, maybe 15 minutes in, they should be satisfied. The rest of the film is a very effective mixture of action and clever, dialogue-heavy scenes.

Count Yorga, Vampire is one of the earlier attempts to place a Dracula-like figure in a modern setting. We certainly couldn’t say that the film has no flaws, but for many viewers, including me, there are qualities to this film that enable it to rise above the flaws, and it ends up as a 10 out of 10 for me.

One of the most effective elements of the film is the extensive hand-held camera work, which in combination with early 1970s film stocks and processing techniques gives Count Yorga, Vampire an atmosphere akin to the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974). The difference is that the focus here is a suave, debonair vampire living in a beautiful mansion, surrounded by beautiful vampire-women.

For my money, Quarry is as good a “Dracula” as anyone who has played the role, including Bela Lugosi and Christopher Lee. There is also a Renfield-like character here in Brudah (Edward Walsh). Although I love Dwight Frye (Renfield in the 1931 Dracula) as much as anyone else, Brudah may be the creepiest henchman in any vampire film.

Writer/director Bob Kelljan seemed to be aware that there was a campy element to the film, and it is acknowledged, but it remains very understated. For most of the film, Kelljan is going for creepiness and shocks, and he gets them.