While lounging topless on the Spanish coast, Rachel (Rachel Sheppard) catches the eye of seductive Countess Irina (Analía Ivars), a vampire prone to hugging trees, dancing behind huge glass bottles, and fondling herself through pink boas. Tormented by dreams of the devilish countess, Rachel is further puzzled when she sees the woman's likeness on a T-shirt peddled by a souvenir salesman (played by Franco, of course). She then takes in a nightclub show where the main attraction, psychic gypsy Magda (Linda Romay, who stays mostly clothed for once) proclaims, "Yew arrrre from New Errrk, New Jeerrsey!" Rachel, her slip-sliding accent notwithstanding, naturally replies, "If you mean Newark, New Jersey, yes." Magda then reveals she knows all about Rachel's visions and has even visited the girl herself in dreams. Furthermore, she knows how to stop the bloodsucker, thanks to the most unorthodox vampire "staking" in movie history.

As with his other shot on video projects like Tender Flesh and Mari-Cookie and the Killer Tarantula, Vampire Blues is saddled with a nonexistent budget and amateurish sound recording, which doesn't help much with the actors' already thick accents. Of course, none of this will matter to Franco fans, who could probably bear anything after wading through sludge like Lust for Frankenstein, from which this is definitely several steps up. Fortunately Franco mostly plays to his strengths here and focuses on long, non-dialogue passages scored with funky lounge, jazz, and blues riffs, while the actresses do their thing. It's odd to think that this director once splashed his kinky visions across international cinema screens in lush scope and Technicolor, but at least he's still cranking 'em out well into his days as a senior citizen. As usual Romay is intriguing to watch (especially in her freaky gypsy make-up) and Ivars makes a slinky vampire, but Sheppard gives a clumsy non-performance that would make porn actors wince. She's almost enough to make one pine for Amber Newman.

As with other later Franco titles, Vampire Blues is presented in both a streamlined American cut (67 minutes) and a longer European version (90 minutes), the latter basically containing more langorous camerawork and extended crotch shots. Video quality is wholly dependent on how much visual distortion Franco cranks into the picture; scenes are often suffused with chroma effects which turn the screen into a riot of tropical colors. The surround audio sounds fine when the music's playing, at least. The disc also includes a dupey-looking "Vampire Blues" music video by The Ubangis, a candid photo gallery, and the usual Sub Rosa promo reel. The packaging indicates a "behind the scenes," which may have been left off unless it's an exceptionally well-hidden Easter egg.