unexpected guest new to the neighborhood. Shortly after the conclusion of the costume festivi- ties, the sequel’s overt allusions to the Manson Family murders play out, as referenced by Tim Sullivan on the Fangirl Radio supplement of the Twilight Time disc. A nightmarish home inva- sion wipes out a family, whereby Yorga takes a special interest in the attractive Cynthia. In a scene that continues the invasion sequence’s ties to the Manson murders, Cynthia becomes a forced resident at the Yorga es- tate, where she is brainwashed via hypnosis. When the police arrive at the kill floor, the murder scene has been sanitized and no one wants to believe that the grisly event actually occurred. Given the average person’s distrust of outsiders, Yorga prob- ably would be arrested without much delay in a real-world sce- nario. But this is not the real world, and such treatment would deprive the viewer of the social commentary embedded within the narrative. In one of my favor- ite moments of either Yorga film, the Count generously pledges $20,000 to the work of Westwood Orphanage, but withdrawals that support when Reverend Thomas (Tom Toner) suffers a slow death in a human disposal scene that validates one of the vampire film’s central sociological assumptions about wealthy aristocrats. Yet the most horrifying character of the film is not Yorga, but one of his minions. The evil youth Tommy anticipates characters who would share in the advancement of “evil child” themes that resonated in cinema of the 1970s (THE OTHER, THE EXORCIST, DEVIL TIMES FIVE, WHO CAN KILL A CHILD?). The main reason the truth regarding the home invasion is kept hidden is Tommy. He does not corroborate the account of the incident explained by Jennifer
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Nelson (co-screenwriter Yvonne Wilder), a deaf and dumb woman who eventually becomes Tommy’s first victim. Later Tommy lures Jason (David Lampson) to Ellen Nelson (Karen Ericson) after her conversion to the dark side. The police force pays for its doubt of the evil embodied by Yorga and those like the possessed boy un- der Yorga’s influence (the great- est danger of the vampire is his [or her] power over others). Ser- geant O’Connor (POLTERGEIST’s Craig T. Nelson, debut) laughs at the notion of a vampiric menace, but not forever, and Lieutenant Madden (Rudy De Luca) is done in by the lethal child. THE RE- TURN OF COUNT YORGA con- cludes by setting up an alternate family that will live within a com- munity that no doubt will struggle with recognizing them for what they really are. Too bad a sec- ond sequel did not materialize, es- pecially since Quarry had an intriguing concept that emerges in this disc’s supplemental features. In his coverage of the MGM DVD versions of the Yorga films, Richard Harland Smith noted the sequel, “
...lacks the forward momentum of the origi- nal, amounting to little more than a listless collection of arty flourishes” (VW 116:42). I don’t quite agree with that assessment, but I did find THE RETURN OF COUNT YORGA somewhat stagy in comparison with its surprise- hit predecessor. Moments of horror are well rendered and show some evolution since the prior film, especially the charg- ing vampire scenes that en- hance the sequel’s most jolting horrific content. The waterfront attack/seduction is probably the film’s finest achievement, with Yorga showing plenty of aggres- sion. Similarly forceful vampire assaults would inform the most potent moments of horror in Kelljan’s mostly disappointing
SCREAM BLACULA SCREAM (1973).
One blemish that lessens the otherwise technically solid RE- TURN is the annoying fact that the first glimpse of the revitalized Yorga was borrowed from the van attack sequence in the original film. Such patchwork causes the viewer to detach from what is in fact another good outing, if not quite as synergized as was filmed previously. The effective cinema- tography is the work of Bill But- ler, who amassed an impressive credit list after this film, includ- ing THE CONVERSATION, JAWS and DEMON SEED. The score is by Bill Marx, who also provided the music for the prior film. In his final role, George Macready has a cameo role as Professor Rightstat.
“Yorga-nna love this one” ac- cording to Scream Factory’s packaging, and I concur this is a collectible enough release. The feature film is framed at the origi- nal theatrical aspect ratio of 1.85:1 and communicates strong visual clarity, even throughout dimly-illuminated interior sets. Close-ups reveal realistic skin tones. The bonus features include an audio commentary track with film historian Steve Haberman and Rudy De Luca, who portrays Lt. Madden. Probably in recollec- tion of the severely disjointed DRACULA A.D. 1972, Haberman asserts Hammer Films failed to present the vampire in modern times nearly as effectively as was achieved in the Yorga produc- tions. He also prefers THE RE- TURN OF COUNT YORGA to the original, which I do not necessar- ily agree with, but can understand on the grounds of technical merit. At over 150 pages, the meticu- lous screenplay co-written by Kelljan and Wilder accounted for almost every directorial aspect of a film that would clock in at around an hour and a half. (One
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