Celebrating the tale end of the era of TV horror movie hosts, Shout Factory has just released six titles (all available as single or double disc sets) hosted by "Elvira, Mistress of the Dark" during her 1980s heyday. Elvira (aka Cassandra Peterson) hosted the late night LA-based “Movie Macabre” program, which aired a variety of creature feature flicks, some good and some “turkeys.” With her exaggerated bouffant wig, low cut black shroud and ample cleavage, the leggy Elvira soon became a household name and something of a Halloween icon. Here, Elvira displays her usual brand of humor with quick quips and harmless sexual innuendos during the broadcast of this Paul Naschy favorite, and she also does a cooking show spoof, as well as a letter-reading segment concerning reasons not to trust men! Elvira’s segments are intertwined with the movie the same way they would have been when this was originally shown (without the commercials of course), or you can watch the movie without her altogether. Surprisingly, what is represented here on this DVD is the uncut version of COUNT DRACULA’S GREAT LOVE.

One of the most interesting directors to work with Spanish horror legend Paul Naschy was Javier Aquirre. Together they made EL GRAN AMOR DEL CONDE DRACULA (COUNT DRACULA'S GREAT LOVE) and EL JORBADO DE LA MORGUE (THE HUNCHBACK OF THE MORGUE), both of which many fans consider to be his best work. The idea of having Naschy play Dracula seems ludicrous, but somehow with the help of some nice added attractions, it all works rather well.

Two scoundrels (one whose dubbed voice sounds amazingly like Mel Blanc) deliver a coffin to a smoke filled ex-sanitarium. After foolishly wandering around for items to steal, they encounter what appears to be the Count. One is given the ax in the head and the other is turned into an ugly imbecile vampire. Later, Imre (macho man Vic Winner) arrives with a bevy of beauties (Haydee Politoff, Rossana Yanni, Ingrid Garbo, and Mirta Miller), when their carriage breaks down. They are greeted by one Dr. Wendell (Naschy), who is really Dracula in disguise. For most of the first half, Wendell appears to be the hero, as the vampirizing of the guests is commenced by the imbecile scoundrel. After combing his hair back, sporting some fangs, and donning a black cape, he is revealed to be Dracula (made up to look like Christopher Lee), and has designs on reviving his long dead daughter. To do this, he must find true love and almost succeeds (with Politoff), but she refuses his wishes and he resolves to suicide.

Aquirre's vampire film is filled with enticing eroticism that pads out the film to good effect. Like Leon Klimovsky's vampire endeavors, it's a sex film, and is openly content with the fact. There are lesbian vampires who slowly caress and seduce each other and attack their victims with a grin of gratified lust (the scene where two vampire women feast on Rossana Yanni is particularly outrageous). Less impressive, but somewhat amusing is Naschy's Dracula. His awkward-looking Wendell is later redeemed by his tolerable vampire persona. Dracula's role is not all that demanding, as he hardly ever uses his mouth to speak (most of his words are heard as narration interpreted as thoughts). Dracula is essentially limited to these thoughts, as well as acts of sex and sadism, but two of his scenes stand out; Dracula embracing his lover, casting only her passionate reflection in the mirror, and the close-up of tears on Dracula's face as he departs with his dead daughter. On the whole, Aquirre's sole vampire contribution is a credit to the genre, yet it is highly underrated within its confines.

The video source for the film appears to be the same as the one released a few years ago by Eclectic, but without the faux letterboxing during the first nine minutes. It has all the sex and gore that was present in the U.S. theatrical release, and splices can be heard where these steamy scenes are inserted (many Spanish horror films had alternative "clothed" versions that removed much of the meat and potatoes). Culled from what seems to be a 16mm print source, the transfer is far from perfect. Colors are OK, but blacks are too dark and sometimes the image bleeds or becomes soft. The original widescreen image is cropped, causing the loss of much picture information on the sides. The English dubbed audio is pretty scratchy. Sometimes clips from the film are shown during Elvira’s bits, and they are obviously taken from a different source, most likely what was originally shown on TV during the broadcast. But the clips are so brief, it’s difficult to asses them or compare them to the quality of the feature as a whole.