Overrated

I wanted to like it more than I actually did... But much of the humor totally escaped me and I walked out only mildly impressed.

Great example of an old-fashioned, pure-at-heart escapist event movie that doesn't pretend to be anything that it's not and has boat loads of fun being its own ludicrous self.

One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

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.

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!

Unlike the original, this was not so easily accessible to me, so I only got to it now (though I had actually owned the film for some time). As often happens, albeit quite serviceable taken on its own merits, the sequel emerges to be a pale shadow of its prototype. Similarly, the script does not bother to explain the titular figure's revivification, his recruitment of a horde of female disciples, or the change in location of his abode (here situated near an orphanage). The movie actually starts off with a mass rise from the graves (usually a prerogative of the zombies – but, as I wrote in my review of the first film, the two often get confused – yet undeniably effective nonetheless), which also sees a young boy being made a pawn of the Count.This one, then, has an in-jokey feel to it: not only does Yorga attend a costume party at the orphanage where he meets a dopey Count Dracula, but he is shown watching Hammer's first "Carmilla" adaptation THE VAMPIRE LOVERS (1970; co-produced with AIP who were behind the YORGA diptych) on TV (albeit dubbed in Spanish)! While the first entry was commendably self-contained, this incorporates an ample cast of characters which include a priest (the head of the orphanage), a deaf-and-dumb assistant who works there (Yorga amazes everyone by seemingly discerning her condition instantly and being able to communicate with her at the drop of a hat), a couple of bumbling Police officers (especially amusing when having to fend off an entire household of female vampires: by the way, one of them is a young Craig T. Nelson, later co-star of the "Poltergeist" horror franchise), and even a couple of mumbo-jumbo-spouting sorcerers (one advising Yorga himself{!} and the other played – his last role – by George Macready, father of the two films' producer and who had actually lent his services to the original as well, albeit merely vocal in its case)!Indeed, Quarry takes rather a back-seat here (even if his demise is actually more spectacular here), though he is typically imposing at what he has to do (which includes the trademark deranged run towards the camera – albeit repeating it 4 times smacks of overkill to me; with this in mind, the film does tend to reprise elements such as this which seemed to work first time round, others being the long shot boasting expository voice-over and the twist ending where, presumably in the hope of a second follow-up but which was not to be, hero and heroine ultimately succumb themselves to the 'affliction'!). Quarry's leading lady in this case is Mariette Hartley, who actually witnesses her family being attacked by the afore-mentioned vampire women (another definite highlight), but Yorga ostensibly erases her memory of the tragedy and, abducting her, leaves a note to the priest saying the whole family had to leave urgently on a private matter. On the other hand, Roger Perry – the doctor from the first film – graduates to male lead here, but his contribution is otherwise inferior to the original's.The various subplots provide longueurs (most detrimentally, perhaps, the 'possessed' boy and the mute Hispanic maid's butting heads in front of the Police over what really happened to Hartley and her relatives) more readily than the expected added thrills – but the end result is still a worthy horror/vampire effort, not to mention vehicle for Quarry (whose later life was marked by personal misfortune): in fact, on the strength of both YORGA movies, I acquired yet another vampire flick in which he starred i.e. THE DEATHMASTER (1972) but which I did not manage to include in the "Halloween Challenge" for 2011...

Decided I'd watch this film for the simple reason that my favourite genre of film is horror. There are plenty of classic horror movies but this certainly isn't one of them.It really is quite funny but not because it's meant to be, it's funny because it's cheesey in the extreme and the sight of count Yorga arms outstretched making some funny rasping noise will surely have you rolling in the aisles. It's made all the more funnier because there is no tongue in cheek approach by the actors they seem to be taking their appalling performances really quite seriously. What is my motivation darling? Not sure what their motivation was but if you want one to watch this film then I can only advise that it's a really good laugh.