The Return of Count Yorga (1971) *** (out of 4)This sequel to COUNT YORGA, VAMPIRE finds Count Yorga (Robert Quarry) and his five vampire brides stalking out an orphanage where there are plenty of victims but along the way Yorga decides to try and take a wife.When AIP released COUNT YORGA, VAMPIRE they had no idea that it would turn out to be such a huge hit. Obviously with the film making so much money a sequel was bound to follow and THE RETURN OF COUNT YORGA didn't take long to materialize. If you're a fan of the first film then you'll probably also appreciate this sequel, which was made for much more money but in many ways it's more of a remake than anything else.I say that because this here follows a very similar story and in fact the biggest difference is obviously in the budget, which was a lot higher here. The film manages to be quite entertaining on a number of levels even with a story that's less than good. The highlight of course are the vampire brides who I thought looked quite excellent and especially in their slow-walking ways. The slow pacing of them was a major plus and I thought the look of the brides were terrific.The action picks up a lot more during the finale and there are actually some very good attack scenes. The supporting players are nice but it's Quarry who once again steals the picture as Count Yorga. I really loved the way that the actor played the role and I thought he really delivered a fun and menacing character.THE RETURN OF COUNT YORGA certainly isn't a flawless picture but it's a good one that will keep you entertained.

It's been like a decade or so since I watched the original "Count Yorga, Vampire", and in all honesty I don't remember too much about the plot. What I do recall, however, and quite vividly even, is that the film benefited from a particularly sinister and hypnotizing atmosphere that made it creepy even though not a whole lot was happening. The titular character is quite unique and intriguing as well. Even though he's a vampire count dressed in a typical black and red cloak and surrounded by a coven of white-faced vampire brides, Yorga isn't anything like the legendary Count Vlad Dracula. "The Return of Count Yorga" is a very entertaining and reasonably well-made horror sequel with a very straightforward but solid plot, engaging performances from the ensemble cast and – most of all – many moments of truly tense and unsettling horror! Seriously, I was pleasantly surprised to see that a handful of sequences were genuinely macabre and dark! Early in the beginning, for instance, a little boy drives his bike through the woods and suddenly the brides start emerging from the dirt, guided by the sound of eerie winds. This is quite a scary sight even for experienced genre fanatics. There are many more frightening parts, including the disposal of corpses in sandpits and the crude and relentless butchering of an entire happy family. Count Yorga takes an interest in a beautiful blond teacher who works as a volunteer in a remote orphanage. He does what every avid romanticist would do, namely murder her entire family and take her back to his castle. Yorga tells her that her loved ones died in a horrible car accident and assumes that she will gradually fall for his charms, but he didn't take into account that she also had a boyfriend and he's not planning to let her go that easily. There are few fascinating supportive characters, notably the residents of the orphanage like the deaf-mute girl and the strange boy who appears to be under Yorga's spell, and there's even room for comic relief as well. The count watches Hammer vampire movies on TV and reacts slightly offended when not he but another guy dressed as a vampire wins the price for most original costume at a dress-up party. In case you're a fan of cinematic bloodsuckers, but need a change from the average Dracula adaptation or the Twilight fairies (God forbid…), then I wholeheartedly recommend getting acquainted with Robert Quarry and his vile alter ego Count Yorga!

First of all, the sets and atmosphere are great. An opening grave yard is truly beautiful and spooky. Perhaps the big-haired living dead women crawl their way out of the dirt with too much ease, but style is more important than being realistic. The Count appears to have no reason to be at the boarding school's halloween bash, but he is there, uninvited, clashing with the other guests. The fact that there is a costumed vampire at the party, leads to amusing tension and the viewer knows that the Count will be teaching these people a thing or two about real vampires as the movie continues.Cameras are placed creatively throughout the film. One strangulation scene on a dock is shot from underwater with screaming whale sound effects. Shots in Yorga's mansion utilize quite a bit of framing through doorways. In fact doors are important to the film, the house is rigged with mechanical gates that open to reveal vampires (or close to trap intruders) numerous times. Also in the house, unexplained baby dolls, but they are creepy and so serve their purpose. Sound effects include whispering voices and laughter, perhaps not original, but fun.You could look at this film as a mess, or you could have a good time watching it as I did. I don't need every phenomenon to make perfect sence or for all elements to be resolved. I like mysterious, bizarre, artistic horror.

Count Yorga, "alive" and well (quite a feat considering he was killed off at the end of the first film), inexplicably falls in love with Mariette Hartley, a worker at an isolated orphanage. After his coven attacks and destroys her family (a very scary, brutal sequence) he locks her in his nearby estate and tries to make her love him. Meanwhile, some policeman figure out what's going on and go to save her. But are they any match for Yorga and his female vampires? The vampire makeup here is lousy (like the first film), the FANGS are done wrong, the dialogue is pathetic and there is LOTS of padding--there are endless sequences of people running or walking through Yorga's estate. However, the film isn't a total washout--director Robert Kelljan adds some nice directorial touches, there are a few creepy scenes and it's fun to see Hartley so young and beautiful (her acting is bad but that's more because of the dialogue). Also Craig T. Nelson is on hand as a cop. Robert Quarry as Yorga tries, but (while he was good in the first film), he looks tired and more than a little silly with the fangs. Basically, a sequel that was rushed into production...and it shows. Unless you're a vampire completist, there's really no reason to see this film.