Count Yorga continues to prey on the local community while living by a nearby orphanage. One of the most disappointing aspects for me is that Tommy doesn't get his just desserts he richly deserved, but that's all I'll spoil for you. 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! This one caused a few sleepless nights for me as a kid.

Return is nowhere near as frightening as its predecessor, nor does it boast a clever story, suggestive acting and passable dialogue. The lack of invention is shown best by the way that a bumbling police force has been thrown in. Cool horror bits, add up to a strange mix, but a fun film, Superb Re-Imagining of Count Yorga, Vampire, Uneven but well-directed; undermined by cliches, So how does Yorga come back?

Writer/director Bob Kelljan doesn't forget to focus on creepiness and the disturbing, which are liberally present. A couple invites a Count from Hungary, who recently immigrated to America, to conduct a seance for the woman's recently deceased mother, oblivious to the fact that he is actually a vampire. And not that you would notice it, the director of photography on this film was Bill butler, who's later go on to film "Jaws" and several "Rocky" pictures.

And that even when the summertime comes, they're locked inside (for the gates close at 5 p.m.) with little to do except make rubbings of Victorian headstones. This is actually the best part of the movie! An ancient African prince, turned into a vampire by Dracula himself, finds himself in modern Los Angeles. Seriously, I was pleasantly surprised to see that a handful of sequences were genuinely macabre and dark! A solid and worthwhile horror bloodsucker romp. Screen veteran George MacCready has a very small role as a professor, but his short screen time is a joy to behold as he adds comic relief to this somewhat black comedic film, verbally confusing Yorga to yoga. Anyway, Robert Quarry returns in the role that made him, and once again has fun and does well with it. For instance, there is no explanation for Yorga's resurrection, or his relocating to Northern California. The ever-suave and charismatic Bulgarian vampire Count Yorga (the wonderful Robert Quarry in peak sardonic and sinister form) returns to continue his campaign of terror at a nearby orphanage. In 17th-century Hungary, elderly widow Countess Elisabeth Nádasdy maintains her misleading youthful appearance by bathing in the blood of virgins regularly supplied to her by faithful servant Captain Dobi. Three beers and two mojitos into the film, my notes and memory are illegible, but the conclusion involves a lot of vampire converts. His army of female undead are fairly frightening, at one point going "Manson Family" style, during a rather -for its time- shocking massacre scene. Looking for some great streaming picks? Even the trash had class. Directed by Bob Kelljan. 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. | A tragic event leads persons from the orphanage to contact the local police, and together, they end up investigating Count Yorga. Count Yorga is the "Shaft" of vampire movies. The Count is back, without any apparent explanation of how he survived the events of the first film. Because of this, it doesn't really matter which film you see first. Mute coworker Yvonne Wilder finds the bodies; when the police arrive, however, they've mysteriously disappeared and frustrated Wilder can't locate a pen to inscribe what she witnessed. Yorga replies "Where are your manners?" Robert Quarry is great as Count Yorga and is a powerful presence that is equally sophisticated and intelligent as he is evil. Robert Quarry reprises the role that established him as a horror film star of the 1970s. October is packed with great movies and several new and returning TV series. Virtual Ebert Symposium 2020 Will Kick off October 8th, Explore the Evolving Media Landscape, Emily in Paris is a Bland Sex and the City Imitation with No Identity of Its Own, Six Books That Raise A Five-Alarm Warning Against the President. When a little boy witnesses a mob hit, he is kidnapped by two professional assassins who are not what they seem. An overall gloomy, effective follow-up to the first film, it plays more like a stand-alone movie than a true sequel. Was there no advocate for the count's point of view? There is one really distressing scene with a mute housekeeper who is unable to scream upon discovery of multiple murder. Rather than showing them peace and love, he has more sinister plans for them, as he is a ... See full summary ». FAQ Quarry truly excels in the lead role as Yorga; he receives fine support from the ravishing Mariette Hartley as sweet, sympathetic heroine Cynthia Nelson, Roger Perry as intrepid psychiatrist Dr. David Baldwin, Yvonne Wilder as fragile deaf mute Jennifer, Edward Walsh as Yorga's hulking, fearsome manservant Brudah, Tom Toner as hearty priest Reverand Thomas, Rudy De Luca as the skeptical Lieutenant Madden, Craig T. Nelson as the gallant Sergeant O'Connor, Philip Frame as bratty little boy Tommy, and a bearded Michael Pataki as hipster Joe. "The Return of Count Yorga," then, is perhaps the first humanistic (one almost says humanitarian) vampire movie - the story of the exquisite pain of love which stirs even within the breast of he who men call monster. If all of this movie were as good as its best parts, it would be a minor classic, but the plot is very thin -- a lot of time is marked by people wandering through corridors -- and the ending is a serious letdown, since it simply repeats that of the first Count Yorga movie. Robert Quarry, back as Yorga, makes his reappearance at a masquerade at the local orphanage put together by kind-hearted if unimpressive Mariette Hartley. Quarry is a mysterious, articulate stranger who draws a cult like following of local hippies. I found the video in the Horror Comedy section of the video store but did no laughing with, only at. . More Count Yorga...only not as good this time, Sequel has a better cast and is equal the original, "Why are we running?"

In THE RETURN OF COUNT YORGA, Robert Quarry reprises his suave vampire role. | If you should find yourself one day in London when the sky hangs an inch above the trees and the fog has the chill of the crypt, pull on a warm sweater and make your way to Highgate Village.

I enjoyed this quite a bit. 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. In my opinion, Quarry was the best version of the classic European (here a Bulgarian) "nobleman" vampire, better, smoother, more eloquent, more vicious and sadistic than Lugosi, Lee, Lederer, Palance, Elliot, Carradine and all the rest. Be sure to get out of the cemetery before 5, by the way.

It isn't really any better or worse than it's predecessor, but the fact that it doesn't do anything new either prompts me to give it a lower rating. A Victorian scientist tests a serum that transforms him into a sensuous murderess. Count Yorga, Vampire left him decidedly dead, yet he shows up here with little explanation. The acting aside from Quarry is first-rate this time around. Metacritic Reviews. I picked this up by chance and I like it a lot. 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.
. The sheer desperation... Well, to make a long story short, vampires must surely be the most put upon minority group on Earth. Yorga would offer the innocent Cynthia an opportunity to … Ably directed by Robert Kelljan (who also co-wrote the clever script), with slick, vibrant cinematography by Bill Butler and an eerie, shivery score by Bill Marx, this sequel to the immensely enjoyable original is in some ways even better: the production values are more polished, the pace much snappier, there's a greater atmosphere of skin-crawling dread, an amusingly dry sense of spot-on sarcastic humor, several well-mounted shock set pieces (a sequence with a whole family getting slaughtered by a horde of vicious vampire women is positively harrowing), and a stirring conclusion complete with a jolting surprise bummer ending.

Consider his feelings as a man, after 200 years without a woman. This time, he sets up shop in an abandoned orphanage near San Francisco. His buddy Brudah is back, inexplicably alive and well. This sequel is even jocular than the original but any laughter soon becomes forced as director Kelljan seems to have an unnerving understanding of evil, creating a disquieting atmosphere which borders on verite and never relaxes it's disturbing grip. 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). While Yorga featured a symphony of shades of brown contrasted with the occasional burst of red, Return's understated color scheme includes some extremely well placed shots, including a sequence with some striking purple. Unfortunately, the former far outnumber the latter, which makes Yorga look less goofy but makes the whole movie slow down to a crawl. View production, box office, & company info, Horror Highlights: The Count Yorga Collection UK Blu-ray / DVD, Dead Vengeance Hardcover, Scars DVD, Sliff 2015 Interview: Rosemary Rodriguez – Director of Silver Skies, Scary Seventies! Roger Ebert was the film critic of the Chicago Sun-Times from 1967 until his death in 2013. Romeo and Juliet only DIED in a tomb; consider the grief they avoided. Did the mother of the Nelson family turn into a vampire. 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.

Not coming across as dated and awkward as some of the later Dracula films.

The film also features Mariette Hartley, an actress who was once tipped for the top but never quite managed it, through no fault of her own. Cheered! The opener with the kid running through the graveyard and the hands coming up out of the ground also creeped me out. While Quarry's out on the town, Hartley has some pretty intense vampire hallucinations that provide some distraction from the mundane story.
The funniest part of the movie to me is that the co-writer Wilder didn't give herself any lines in the movie, preferring instead to hop around, point and gesture than to pronounce any of her clunky dialogue. It's a great performance. How to improve upon a man who has spent two centuries on his back? | In this one, the pale faced fiend falls in love. Sheesh, this is slow and drawn out. Check out some of the IMDb editors' favorites movies and shows to round out your Watchlist. He likes what he sees, so he has his harem of decaying ladies abduct her and bite many members of her good-natured family.

With Robert Quarry, Mariette Hartley, Roger Perry, Yvonne Wilder. Equally scary revision of the Count Yorga story finds the debonair Count (Quarry) and his henchman Bruder (Walsh) up to no good at a children's orphanage where the lovely Cynthia (Hartley) works as a carer. While this may seem like a negative review, there's things that I did like, such as Robert Quarry's performance, and the creepy mansion in which he resides, with a bunch of slick dark rooms, and skinny stairs.