AnhartLinkin This story has more twists and turns than a second-rate soap opera.

Kirandeep Yoder The joyful confection is coated in a sparkly gloss, bright enough to gleam from the darkest, most cynical corners.

Blake Rivera If you like to be scared, if you like to laugh, and if you like to learn a thing or two at the movies, this absolutely cannot be missed.

Haven Kaycee It is encouraging that the film ends so strongly.Otherwise, it wouldn't have been a particularly memorable film

Michael_Elliott 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.

capkronos Director / writer Bob Kelljan, producer Michael Macready and star Robert Quarry as well as some of the supporting cast all return for this immediate follow-up to the very successful COUNT YORGA, VAMPIRE from the previous year. If you recall at the end of the first, Yorga had been staked through the heart and his manservant Brudah had been stabbed in the chest. This sequel pretty much asks us to forget about all that and just concentrate on what's essentially a brand new story where the vampire is somehow resurrected by the "Santa Ana Wind" (don't ask - it didn't make much sense to me either). Yorga takes up residence in the nearby Gateway Mansion along with his facially-scarred half wit sidekick Brudah (again played by Edward Walsh) and a stable of lethal vampire brides dressed in nightgowns, who all miraculously rise from a nearby cemetery to do his bidding. I suppose the wind did that, too. The mansion is near the Westwood Orphanage, so there's a lot of female flesh for the evil Count to sink his fangs into.Pretty orphanage worker Cynthia Nelson (Mariette Hartley) is tops on the love-struck vampire's list. Yorga sends his brides to massacre her parents and transform her sister Ellen (Karen Ericson) into a vamp. He then kidnaps Cynthia and uses his mesmeric powers to hypnotize her into forgetting the event and believing she's had a car accident (though she still frequently has flashbacks that threaten to knock her out of her trance). After several other ladies disappear and a few dead bodies turn up, Cynthia's psychiatrist fiancé (Roger Perry, in a role similar to the one he played in the first film) attempts to convince the police (Rudy De Luca and a young Craig T. Nelson in his film debut) to accept the possibility there's a vampire on the loose.In many ways, this is exactly the type of sequel one would expect to a modestly-produced original film that went on to become a hit. The budget is clearly larger, the photography is cleaner, the camera-work is more imaginative and fluid, the sound design is more intricate, there are a few more recognizable names in the cast and the film delivers 'more' in nearly every regard. There's more Quarry (always a good thing), more victims, more bloodshed (enough to earn it an R rating as opposed to the original's PG-13), more vampires and slightly more plot this time out. There are also many more characters added to the works to complicate matters. The most interesting of these is a little orphan boy named Tommy (Philip Frame), who is put under the count's spell early on and from then on helps to cover up his activities and even lures people to their deaths (or just kills them himself).Other characters of note are a witch consultant of sorts living inside Yorga's mansion, a priest who runs the orphanage and is later tricked into a quicksand bog and Cynthia's mute sister (played by Yvonne Wilder, who also co-scripted the film), who hauls off and slaps the s*** out of little Tommy after he lies to the police. In addition to them, Michael Pataki (who went on to play an excellent bloodsucker himself in the following year's GRAVE OF THE VAMPIRE) shows up long enough to get strangled and there are special guest appearances from character actors Walter Brooke and George Macready (father of producer Michael); the latter getting to ham it up as a half-senile vampire expert in his final film appearance.The debonair Quarry does about as well here as he did in the first film, gets plenty of amusingly pompous dialogue and is especially creepy wearing white makeup and rushing toward the camera in slow motion, though the character is not quite as intriguing and mysterious this time out. Though the plot meanders a bit in the middle, the lively finale - featuring numerous characters trapped inside Yorga's manor where they face off against the count and numerous other vampires while doors automatically close or open to either reveal the vampires or trap victims - really comes through. While less direct and focused than the first, "Return" still does what any worthwhile sequel SHOULD do by retaining the best qualities of the first film while also giving audiences something new. At one point there were even plans for a third "Yorga" film, which would have paired up the vampire with Vincent Price's "Dr. Phibes" character. Unfortunately, that idea got scrapped after the second "Phibes" outing disappointed at the box office. Too bad. I for one would have liked to have seen more!

Prichards12345 I hadn't seen this movie for years until last weekend. Having recently perused Count Yorga, Vampire, which I enjoyed very much, I found this sequel stately and atmospheric, and though perhaps lacking a compelling central plot, to be at least as good, and perhaps marginally better, than the first movie.Robert Quarry is again excellent as the vampire, giving him an old-world nonchalance that makes for a highly effective member of the Undead. This time Count Yorga (mysteriously resurrected after his death in the first movie) infiltrates a local children's orphanage. With his bevy of female vampires and the same comedy manservant from the first film he makes a formidable opponent, indeed. Although this was Yorga's final appearance he nearly made it into Dr. Phibes Rises Again, although ultimately Robert Quarry played a different character.There's some splendid San Franciscan Spanish architecture on display here - notably Yorga's home, which reminded me a little of the building used in Hitchock's Vertigo. And a truly chilling sequence in which Mariette Hartley's character is haunted by the mocking voices of Yorga's vampire menagerie. The pacing is a little slow at times, but regardless this is an extremely effective, well-directed vampire movie. 5.5/10? I think not!

Brandt Sponseller Count Yorga (Robert Quarry) is living in a small town outside of San Francisco, where he becomes involved with an Orphanage, primarily as a source of victims. A tragic event leads persons from the orphanage to contact the local police, and together, they end up investigating Count Yorga.Ostensibly a sequel to Count Yorga, Vampire (1970), this film really plays more like a re-imagining, similar to the relationship between Evil Dead (1981) and Evil Dead II (1987). Because of this, it doesn't really matter which film you see first. This also explains why there is no explanation given of Count Yorga's sudden appearance in the San Francisco area. The first film didn't necessarily happen in this film's world. This is more another version of the same story, told in an "alternate universe".And at that, I liked it just as well. This film is also a 10 out of 10 for me. The extensive hand-held cinematography of the first film, which gave it a Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974)-like feel, is gone for the most part, but cinematography that is just as interesting has taken its place. This time around, we get very strong contrasts, from near black night scenes--but wherein we can still see the action, to very bright, strong contrast shots of the orphanage during the day. Bright greens often show up in the night shots, as well. But the film wouldn't receive a 10 just for cinematography. The story works well, and although less dialogue-intensive than the first film, the dialogue is just as intriguing here. A lot of it, like the first film, is carried by Roger Perry, who is present in both films as a doctor, although a different character in each, lending further evidence to this being more of a re-imagining than a sequel. Whereas the vampires of the first film were more sensual, partially due to the fact that early conceptions of Count Yorga, Vampire had it as a sexploitation vampire film, the vampires here are more a combination of Night Of The Living Dead (1968)-like zombies and vampires. At that, they're still somewhat sensual, but a more literal idea of vampires as a kind of living dead is invoked beautifully here. It's too bad the idea has been so little used in later films.Also like the first film, The Return of Count Yorga knows that it is somewhat absurd, and although this one is more conspicuously humorous, that aspect is not dominant. Writer/director Bob Kelljan doesn't forget to focus on creepiness and the disturbing, which are liberally present. In fact, this film contains one of my favorite "massacre" scenes. It is the centerpiece of at least the first half of the film, and propels the plot.Quarry is one of my favorite "Draculas", and the creepiest "Renfield" makes a return here, too, in the guise of Brudah (Edward Walsh). The new home is as good if not better than the home in the first Count Yorga, Vampire, and the climax may be better here as well.Don't miss either Count Yorga film. They're both underrated.