The Return of Count Yorga
Encyclopedia
The Return of Count Yorga is a 1971 vampire
/horror
film starring Robert Quarry
. It was the sequel to the 1970 film Count Yorga, Vampire.
The film features Robert Quarry returning as the infamous vampire Count Yorga, along with his servant Brudah. No explanation is given for the return of either character, both of whom died in the previous film.
). Yorga sends his undead brides to her house to kill her family (save for Cynthia's sister, who becomes one of Yorga's vampire brides, and the orphan Tommy, whom Yorga now controls). The brides then bring Cynthia to Yorga's residence, where he makes her believe that her parents & sister were in a car accident and she was left in his care while their recovering. Yorga then tries to charm the young woman into willingly becoming his bride. Meanwhile Jennifer, the Nelson's mute maid, happens upon the massacre scene the next morning and calls the police. By the time the police arrive though, all of the evidence has mysteriously been cleared away, and Tommy lies, claiming nothing has happened. However Baldwin, Cynthia's fiancee, is suspicious about the Nelsons disappearance. He comes to realize the Count's true nature and manages to convince the police to join him in a disastrously unsuccessful raid on Yorga's lair.
The ending is a flip of the first film. In the original Count Yorga, Vampire, the hero rescues his girlfriend who then turns on him after Yorga's defeat, revealing herself as having become a vampire. In this film, it is the hero himself who, after defeating Yorga, turns on the woman he rescued and bites her, presumably turned by Yorga's brides during his rescue mission.
's sewers and creating an army of undead street people, never materialised.
in 1971.
The film was released on VHS home video (full screen format) in 1993 by Orion Home Video, which once held home video distribution rights to many titles in the American International Pictures
catalogue.
The film was given a second VHS
release by MGM Home Entertainment
in September 2000.
The film was released on DVD
by MGM in 2005 as part of their Midnite Movies
series. The disc was a double feature release, pairing the film alongside Count Yorga, Vampire.
Vampire
Vampires are mythological or folkloric beings who subsist by feeding on the life essence of living creatures, regardless of whether they are undead or a living person...
/horror
Horror film
Horror films seek to elicit a negative emotional reaction from viewers by playing on the audience's most primal fears. They often feature scenes that startle the viewer through the means of macabre and the supernatural, thus frequently overlapping with the fantasy and science fiction genres...
film starring Robert Quarry
Robert Quarry
Robert Walter Quarry was an American actor, known for several prominent horror film roles.Quarry was born in Santa Rosa, California, the son of Mable and Paul Quarry, a doctor. His films include Count Yorga, Vampire , its sequel The Return of Count Yorga , and Dr...
. It was the sequel to the 1970 film Count Yorga, Vampire.
The film features Robert Quarry returning as the infamous vampire Count Yorga, along with his servant Brudah. No explanation is given for the return of either character, both of whom died in the previous film.
Plot
The film focuses around Count Yorga buying property next to an orphanage where he and his brides begin to feed on the children and the local vixens. The vampire falls in love with one of the orphanage's teachers, Cynthia Nelson (Mariette HartleyMariette Hartley
Mary Loretta "Mariette" Hartley is an American character actress.-Personal life:Hartley was born in Weston, Connecticut, the daughter of Mary Ickes “Polly” , a manager and saleswoman, and Paul Hembree Hartley, an account executive. Her maternal grandfather was psychologist John B...
). Yorga sends his undead brides to her house to kill her family (save for Cynthia's sister, who becomes one of Yorga's vampire brides, and the orphan Tommy, whom Yorga now controls). The brides then bring Cynthia to Yorga's residence, where he makes her believe that her parents & sister were in a car accident and she was left in his care while their recovering. Yorga then tries to charm the young woman into willingly becoming his bride. Meanwhile Jennifer, the Nelson's mute maid, happens upon the massacre scene the next morning and calls the police. By the time the police arrive though, all of the evidence has mysteriously been cleared away, and Tommy lies, claiming nothing has happened. However Baldwin, Cynthia's fiancee, is suspicious about the Nelsons disappearance. He comes to realize the Count's true nature and manages to convince the police to join him in a disastrously unsuccessful raid on Yorga's lair.
The ending is a flip of the first film. In the original Count Yorga, Vampire, the hero rescues his girlfriend who then turns on him after Yorga's defeat, revealing herself as having become a vampire. In this film, it is the hero himself who, after defeating Yorga, turns on the woman he rescued and bites her, presumably turned by Yorga's brides during his rescue mission.
Sequel
A third Yorga film, which would have featured a broken Count living in Los AngelesLos Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
's sewers and creating an army of undead street people, never materialised.
Release
The film was released theatrically in the US by American International PicturesAmerican International Pictures
American International Pictures was a film production company formed in April 1956 from American Releasing Corporation by James H. Nicholson, former Sales Manager of Realart Pictures, and Samuel Z. Arkoff, an entertainment lawyer...
in 1971.
The film was released on VHS home video (full screen format) in 1993 by Orion Home Video, which once held home video distribution rights to many titles in the American International Pictures
American International Pictures
American International Pictures was a film production company formed in April 1956 from American Releasing Corporation by James H. Nicholson, former Sales Manager of Realart Pictures, and Samuel Z. Arkoff, an entertainment lawyer...
catalogue.
The film was given a second VHS
VHS
The Video Home System is a consumer-level analog recording videocassette standard developed by Victor Company of Japan ....
release by MGM Home Entertainment
MGM Home Entertainment
MGM Home Entertainment is the home video and DVD arm of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.-History:The home video division of MGM started in 1979 as MGM Home Video, releasing all the movies and TV shows by MGM. In 1980, MGM joined forces with CBS Video Enterprises, the home video division of the CBS television...
in September 2000.
The film was released on DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
by MGM in 2005 as part of their Midnite Movies
Midnite Movies
Midnite Movies is a line of B movies released first on VHS then on DVD by MGM Home Entertainment then later Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. The line was begun by MGM in March 2001 following its acquisition of Orion Pictures, which bought out Filmways, Inc., the owner of American International...
series. The disc was a double feature release, pairing the film alongside Count Yorga, Vampire.