Apparently COUNT YORGA, VAMPIRE was a success, so this sequel followed a year later. Zero concrete explanation is given as to how the Count (Robert Quarry) and his hulking henchman have been resurrected after their quite decisive slayings in the previous film (it's alluded to that it may have something to do with the ominous Santa Ana winds blowing in), nor how they relocated to a labyrinthine mansion in San Francisco that's tricked-out with assorted gadgets controlling its interior doors. All the film is concerned with is getting the vampiric ball rolling as soon as possible by putting Count Yorga on the scent of the lovely Cynthia (Marietta Hartley), a teacher at an orphanage. After placing a young boy under his thrall, the Count sets about killing those around Cynthia, including unleashing his pack of six vampire brides on her family in what is arguably the film's scariest scene.
A diabolical home invasion.
The brides spare Cynthia and bring her to the Count's mansion, where he hypnotizes her into forgetting the massacre of her family and also convinces her that it is in the interest of her health to stay as his guest for a few days. But Cynthia's fiancee, Dr. David Baldwin (Roger Perry), twigs to the fact that vampire is loose and on the rampage, so he launches a hopeless campaign to rescue Cynthia and do away with the Count once and for all. Aided by some unbelieving detectives (including a young Craig T. Nelson in his screen debut), Baldwin invades the Count's compound and must face the Count's henchman, the ever-increasing compliment of vampire brides (seven at last tally), and finally the Count himself, who is hell-bent on having Cynthia as his eternal lover.
I'll give THE RETURN OF COUNT YORGA this much: It moves briskly and it isn't boring, and, like its predecessor, it's a fun entry-level vampire film for beginners. That said, there are numerous plot holes that one cannot help but ponder as the film proceeds, and it's clear that the filmmakers could not have cared less. This time they upped the vampire action and basic shocks at the expense of a tight script. It's not bad, per se, but it comes off as a mostly lazy retread of the first film, with a handful of memorable bits. In fact, if they took the best bits from the first film and this installment, they could have had an all-time classic, but what remains is, while worth seeing, somewhat tepid.
Poster from the theatrical release.
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