Plot: What’s it about?
Lord Ruthven (Arthur Roberts) is an insatiable vampire, no amount of blood seems to quench his undead thirst. So with the help of his gorgeous sister Diana (Glori Anne Gilbert), Ruthven leads a constant line of new victims to their doom. The bloodsucking is vicious and seductive, as Diana seduces young women and then plunges in her sharp teeth, to satisfy her vampiric lust, once her human lusts have been satisfied. But the horrific actions of the siblings does not go unnoticed, as Padre Jacinto (Paul Naschy) has been hunting down the vampires. With the help of a vampire hunter, he storms the home of the two, where a new victim has just been devoured. Soon enough, both brother and sister have been staked, Lord Ruthven with a silver blade. As time passes, Count Dracula (Tony Clay) learns that Lord Ruthven was once in California, which sparks a resurrection of the undead siblings. The two soon return to their undead existence, though Lord Ruthven faces a problem, thanks to his silver staked past. He is unable to drink the blood of mortals, instead he must drink blood that has been purified through the veins of a fellow vampire. This leads to a series of complications, though none as intense as a brush with the past. Will the two fare better this time around, or are more stakes en route?
This is how a low rent softcore porn horror movie should be made, with a gorgeous lead, a genre legend in a cameo, and tons of sex and blood. We’ll discuss the elements in that order, so let’s start with the movie’s sex symbol, the beautiful Glori Anne Gilbert. This is one hot woman and in this movie, she cuts loose with an unabashed performance. She takes on the sex like a trooper, never hesitates to showcase her ample bosom, and doesn’t seem uncomfortable when the blood flies, all signs of a potential scream queen. Gilbert is not the best actress out there, but she takes on the material with enthusiasm and is quite fun to watch. The genre legend is werewolf master Paul Naschy, who makes his American debut here. His time on screen is limited, but it is a nice tribute to an often overlooked genre star, one who deserves more attention. Now we move into the realm of sex and blood, both of which are in no short supply here. You’ll see numerous naked women, often in graphic lesbian love scenes, a nice touch. The gore is tame by most standards, but the special effects look good, given the film’s low rent roots. Once again, Donald F. Glut has given one of his movies more polish than the budget allowed, so fans will be pleased. Retromedia’s disc is solid in all respects too, so this one is more than recommended.
Video: How does it look?
Countess Dracula’s Orgy of Blood is presented in 1.85:1 widescreen, which is not enhanced for widescreen televisions. On the whole, this is a cut above the usual modern B movie transfer, but I’m not sure if this is due to the transfer process or if better cameras were used in production. The image seems sharper and looks more like a digital picture, as opposed to the video look of some of the other releases. I found the colors to be rich and full of life here, while black levels seem razor sharp and accurate, so detail is always high and shadows never murky in the least. All in all, a much better treatment than I expected.
Audio: How does it sound?
A Dolby Digital 5.1 option is found here, but the mix isn’t that dynamic, more like juiced up stereo at best. I found no real volume errors of any kind, as the materials were well recorded and ported, not a bad treatment at all. The dialogue is sharp and never gets drowned out by moans or the like, which is good news, of course. Speaking of moans and other assorted pleasure noises, they all come through in fine form and the music also sounds good, so no serious problems to report in this department. I do think a little more time and effort could have yielded more depth here, but the audio sounds more than passable as it stands.
Supplements: What are the extras?
An audio commentary is provided by director Donald F. Glut and star Glori Anne Gilbert, who are joined by Dean McKendrick. The session is brisk, but has a lot of good behind the scenes chatter, so the time is not wasted. You can tell Glut has a passion for movies, a trait which doesn’t seem to be lost in the realm of B movies. This disc also includes an interview with Glut, some outtakes, and the film’s promotional trailer.
