On the night of the annual fundraiser for the Westwood Orphanage near San Francisco, there is a sense of foreboding in the air due to the approach of the supposedly sinister Santa Ana winds. As it turns out, there's much to fear, as Tommy, a young boy from the orphanage, wanders into a cemetery near the old Gateway Mansion while out playing and is cornered by a number of vampire brides who rise from their graves, as well as by their master, the evil Count Yorga. That night, at the fundraiser, Yorga appears and introduces himself to everyone there, being particularly interested in Cynthia Nelson, a teacher at the orphanage. The event is soon in an uproar, however, when the discovery is made of Yorga's latest victim, a young woman named Mitzi. Later, the winds hit full force and the uneasy atmosphere they create leads Cynthia and her family to hole up in the living room in their house, along with Tommy, who's spending the night. As they sit and talk, Yorga's brides burst in and attack, feeding on Cynthia's mother, father, and sister, while she herself is rendered unconscious but otherwise unharmed, the brides then taking her to Yorga. At the mansion, Yorga uses his hypnotic influence to make Cynthia forget about the attack and think that she was in a car accident and that the count is nursing her back to health. Back at the house, Jennifer, the orphanage's organizer, who is mute and lives on the Nelsons' property, is horrified to find the family slaughtered. Grabbing Tommy, she flees the scene and returns with the police, only for them to find that all traces of the carnage have been removed; moreover, Tommy denies any knowledge of the slaughter, insisting the Nelsons left on a trip, corroborating a note, supposedly written by Cynthia, that's found at the scene. However, Dr. David Baldwin, a psychiatrist and Cynthia's fiance, finds the whole thing to be suspicious, and the marks found on Mitzi's throat after she collapsed at the fundraiser prompts him to begin entertaining the possibility that there is a vampire on the loose. Not only is he right, Yorga confesses that he's beginning to feel a twinge of love for Cynthia, whom he isolates within the mansion, despite the warnings of a witch who also lives there that she could bring about his end. As more of his friends fall victim to the evil count, Nelson must try to convince the local authorities of his theory before it's too late.
As with the first one, the movie was directed by actor-turned-director Bob Kelljan, who, also like before, had a hand in writing the screenplay, this time doing so with Yvonne Wilder, who plays a part in the film. Again, as I said in the introduction, his direction is much improved from before, coming off as more polished and capable, both in the editing and cinematography, the latter of which is no doubt thanks to Bill Butler, who would go on to shoot Jaws with Steven Spielberg, as well as Grease, the first three sequels to Rocky, and many other movies. Though there never was a third Count Yorga film (although one was planned), Kelljan wasn't done with vampires, as he went on to direct the Blacula sequel, Scream, Blacula, Scream, and he followed that up with the rape-revenge film, Act of Vengeance, in 1974, and the action/drama, Black Oak Conspiracy, in 1977. Around this time, he started working in television and, after Black Oak Conspiracy, would stay there for the rest of his career, directing episodes of shows like Wonder Woman, Starsky and Hutch, The Dukes of Hazzard, and Charlie's Angels, to name a few. Kelljan died of cancer in 1982, at the age of 52.
Later, as Cynthia comes to realize that she's being kept against her will, Yorga confesses what he is and how he feels to her, telling her: "Cynthia, I have survived many, many years. Now you appear. A most fragile emotion known has entered my life. And I must fear the most, for it will surely threaten my ability to survive. You, Cynthia, have brought to my life a gentle pain I can only define as love. Can you love me?" When it becomes clear that the answer is no, Yorga tells her, "I could destroy you... or turn you into the living dead... or let you go." She asks him to let her go but he simply kisses her instead and puts her back under his spell. The police, headed by Dr. Baldwin, soon come calling, using Reverend Thomas of the orphanage to distract Yorga with talk of making a donation. Whether he was unaware of the danger until Thomas stupidly mentions that there are those who say he's a vampire or if he knew all along and was just toying with the reverend is up to debate (I think it's the latter, given how clever Yorga is and how he likely wouldn't have asked to talk with the reverend out in the garden simply because it was a lovely night, as he said) but, after he lures him to a quicksand trap on the grounds, Yorga heads back to the mansion and unleashes his brides and Brudah on the intruders. The cops are easily dispatched and soon, Baldwin is the only one left to save Cynthia. Not only are Yorga's brides after them but the count repeatedly seals their exits during their attempts to escape and he manages to separate Cynthia from Baldwin, leaving the doctor to his brides. But, just as he's about to give in and bite Cynthia, Baldwin comes to the rescue, armed with a battle-axe, and attacks Yorga, who manages to get the upper hand. It's thanks to Cynthia's intervention that Yorga is finally defeated when she whacks him in the chest with the axe, allowing Baldwin to throw him over the balcony. But, just as in the first film, it's revealed that, while Yorga may have been defeated, his evil is still very much alive...
All of the traditional tropes of vampire stories that were present in the first film again apply to Yorga and his brides. Like before, he has a powerful, telepathic control over both his vampire brides and those he corrupts, such as Tommy; he can go from looking like a normal man to his strong, fast-moving, pale-faced, fanged vampire mode whenever he attacks someone; he must avoid the sunlight; and he can only be killed by a stake through the heart. Though the same vulnerabilities apply to his brides, they don't seem to be able to change their appearance the way he can, as they always look pale, disheveled, and haggard, even in the scene where Jason comes across Ellen in the mansion and quickly realizes there's something wrong with her. In fact, that scene and the earlier one where they subject Cynthia through emotional torture shows that the brides are very sadistic and monstrous in their own right. Also, like Donna at the end of the first film, Baldwin is able to come across like he's perfectly fine, only to reveal at the last minute that he's become a vampire as well, suggesting that the change took a while to take effect after he was attacked by the brides. As in the first film, the vampires are never shown turning into bats, though an offhand remark that Yorga makes when, during their first meeting, Cynthia asks him how he was able to make it to the orphanage, despite the bridge being out, suggests that he may be able to do so. That said, if he could become a bat, he wouldn't need to drive a car, as he's shown doing when he goes after Mitzi. By the way, isn't the image of a vampire getting into a car kind of strange, in and of itself, especially in a movie that's meant to be serious? (Though, to be fair, I don't think anyone, vampire or not, could resist that sweet ride Yorga has.) In the first film, it was shown that Yorga does cast reflections in mirrors but in this one, you find that he can't be photographed, as he doesn't show up when a group photo he got caught up in at the benefit is developed. And like before, when he's not dressed in the traditional vampire suit and cape (which is longer here than it was in the first film), he's rocking a red, evening robe over a tuxedo that makes him look like a real pimp.
Lieutenant Madden (Rudy De Luca) and Sergeant O'Connor (Craig T. Nelson, in his first movie role) first enter the movie when Jennifer reports the slaughter of the Nelsons, only for them to investigate and find no sign of any kind of attack. With no bodies or property damage, the discovery of a note that seems to explain where the family is, and Tommy insisting that he saw them off, the detectives have no choice but to assume that everything is fine. Later, when Joe is found dead outside of Mitzi's houseboat, Dr. Baldwin asks for a blood sample from the body but Madden tells him that he needs to know exactly why he wants it. As usual, Madden is left in disbelief when Baldwin tells him that he's trying to investigate a vampire and refuses to let him have a blood sample based on that. Later, Baldwin shows him Madden and O'Connor the photo that Count Yorga is missing from, despite having been there when it was taken. Again, the detectives are completely skeptical of his claims, with O'Connor unable to take it seriously at all, but with Rev. Thomas also insisting that Yorga should be in the photo, and the subsequent discovery of Jennifer's murder, they join with Baldwin in heading to the Gateway Mansion. By this point, Madden is slow but surely becoming less and less skeptical, taking a pair of sticks that Baldwin gives him in order to form a cross for protection and making O'Connor take a pair as well. Once inside the mansion, they become creeped out by the place's ominous atmosphere and soon realize that vampires are real when they run into Yorga's brides and witness that bullets have no effect on them. They also run into Brudah and see how crazy strong he is when he tears right through a door but manage to gun him down. As they're chased throughout the mansion, they eventually get separated from each other, with O'Connor getting trapped in the room where the brides are kept and getting attacked and bitten from behind by Yorga's witch. Madden is then lured into a nearby hallway by a voice that he thinks is Baldwin, only to get knifed in the chest by Tommy.
Cynthia's family, who mainly appear only near the beginning of the film, is made up of her mother, Marcia (Helen Baron), her father, Bill (Walter Brooke), and her sister, Ellen (Karen Ericson). They're all seen together at the benefit at the orphanage, having fun at the costume party and celebrating Ellen's engagement to Jason, but after they've gone home, the foreboding feeling of the Santa Ana winds has them all downstairs in the living room. The women can all sense that there's something sinister about what's going on, whereas Bill thinks it's simply their imagination, despite some instances where it does kind of get to him as well. Other than one of the windows blowing open and hitting him in the face, Bill doesn't see anything to be concerned about and, a couple of times, tries to go check on something elsewhere but is forced to stay put by the women. Just when it seems like it is all in their mind, Yorga's vampire brides burst into the living room and attack, feeding on Bill, Marcia, and Ellen, while incapacitating Cynthia. After Jennifer discovers the massacre the next morning, Brudah removes Bill and Marcia's body from the house and sinks them in the quicksand on the Gateway Mansion's property, while Ellen becomes a member of Yorga's harem. She appears later as a vampire when Jason is lured to the mansion by Tommy and led into a room with her. She doesn't even attempt to hide her new, sinister nature, as she comments on Jason's frightened expression and how he doesn't love her anymore, before laughing at the look of horror he has, showing him her fangs. After Jason is killed by Yorga when he manages to escape the room, Brudah takes his body into the main room where the harem is kept and the brides, Ellen among them, feed on him. As one of the brides, Ellen can also be seen during the climactic chase through the mansion.
Like in the first film, Count Yorga's deformed servant, Brudah (Edward Walsh), acts as his muscle, doing deeds like removing Marcia and Bill Nelson's bodies from the house after the attack and dumping them in the quicksand on the property, giving Jason's body to the brides after Yorga kills him, and, during the climax, attacking Dr. Baldwin when he tries to save Cynthia and then taking on Lt. Madden and Sgt. O'Connor. Though he was far from a major character in the first film, in this one, Brudah really is nothing more than a goon, as he has no hideous, devious intentions of his own like in the previous film and has one line of dialogue. A more memorable servant to Yorga is Tommy (Philip Frame), the young boy whom the count corrupts at the beginning of the movie. While we don't get much of any idea what kind of kid he was before Yorga put him under his power, one thing's for sure: once he's under Yorga's control, he's a loathsome little monster. He constantly plays innocent, often with a nauseating fake smile, makes poor Jennifer out to be a liar about what happened at the Nelson household and his going over to the Gateway Mansion, he almost kills this one kid he gets into a fight with when he threatens to smash his head with a rock, he lures Jason to his doom at the mansion under the pretense of reuniting her with Ellen, and he actually kills both Jennifer and Madden by stabbing them. Worst of all, because of the movie's downbeat ending, Tommy never gets his comeuppance and it ends with a shot of him playing with his ball on the lawn outside the orphanage. Yorga also has a witch-like, vampire woman (Corrine Conley) living in his mansion, who warns him that Cynthia will be his downfall if he doesn't dispense with her, and she even sneaks into Cynthia's room, likely to kill her, but Yorga stops her. She later joins the brides in the attack on the intruders and is the one who attacks and kills O'Connor.
There are a number of reasons as to why I feel The Return of Count Yorga is a more accomplished movie than the first one. On a technical level, it is definitely an improvement as, for the most part, it's better directed, with much less of the off-angle frame compositions and laughable editing seen in the first one, and it's also shot better, with none of the insane, shaking camerawork during the more action-oriented scenes; instead, those scenes make interesting use of low angles and sudden zoom-ins, along with kinetic editing and bouts of slow motion, long, continuous shots and pans, or sudden, fast movement, to maximize their impact. The scenes that best exemplify the latter effect are when Count Yorga suddenly comes rushing at Joe at a rapid speed on the docks, the memorable, slow-motion bit when he chases Jason down the hallway (it may not be as freaky as a similar moment in Blacula but is still well-done, regardless), and when Baldwin and Cynthia find themselves completely surrounded while trying to escape the mansion. Speaking of the cinematography, it works here to give the movie more of a mood, adding to the less campy quality, with deeper shadows and blacks during the nighttime scenes (day-for-night is still used at times but it doesn't stick out as much), and there's also an undeniable pall hanging over everything during the scenes that take place at sunset, especially in the opening when you can hear the Santa Ana winds, as you faintly hear Yorga's voice telling his brides to rise from their graves. And that's another thing: while there's still plenty of humor in it (though, for me, it's not as awkward and works better), the movie's overall tone is less campy and I think it works really well. Case in point: there's another sequence where two people walk around a city, talking about recent strange events, but it doesn't go on as long as that in the first one and, ergo, doesn't come off as strangely off-putting as that sequence in the first one did.
I also like the setting of this movie more, not just in regards to the orphanage and the mansion Count Yorga dwells in with his brides but also because that the entire area feels rather isolated. While in the first film, it was clear that the characters' homes were fairly far removed from the big city, here, here we know for a fact that we're in a very rural area, as there's little more than woods surrounding and separating the two main locations, and even the Nelson family home feels very isolated. Granted, we do see several times that San Francisco can't be too far away but it's still at a far enough distance to where it doesn't offer much comfort and the feeling of isolation is further compounded by the idea that the Santa Ana winds took out a bridge. Plus, there's also the unsettling notion that there are vampires not too far from an orphanage, the hideous consequences of which are seen near the beginning when Tommy blunders into the cemetery and is trapped by Yorga and his brides, with the boy then being corrupted and made Yorga's servant. Finally, the Gateway Mansion, which you get a nice, detailed montage of during the opening credits, is a more memorable dwelling for Yorga in my opinion than the house he had previously. I find its look, both inside and outside, to be more appealing, with its predominantly white paint scheme, large rooms, its complex, maze-like interior, with all the corridors, hallways, stairways, and claustrophobic rooms filed with all kinds of old junk, an old-fashioned elevator in one part, and the lack of overly Gothic architecture, aside from some pieces and there. I especially like the notion that Yorga is able to control the doors and exits, shutting them to prevent his victims from escaping during the climax and also opening them to let his brides loose. As in the first film, Yorga keeps his harem in a room where he has a throne that he sits on but, instead of a creaky, candle-lit crypt, it's a large chamber that's concealed by a big, wooden door, similar to a modern-day garage door, that rises and lowers and is activated with the push of a button. I don't know why but I really like that concept, especially when he opens the door in order to unleash his brides on unsuspecting victims. The quicksand trap on the grounds outside and the nearby, small cemetery that he raises his brides from are nice, classic touches as well.
Again, while the movie is less campy in tone, there's still humor to be found here, though it doesn't interfere with the mood and I think it works better than the awkward stuff that they gave Roger Perry to play with in the first one. There are some genuinely funny moments to be found here, some of them coming from Count Yorga himself during the costume party and benefit at the orphanage. There's a moment where he walks up to a kid who is playing the piano very poorly and when the kid asks him if he likes that kind of music, Yorga responds, "Only when played well." Another really good one is when, as he's standing around, this woman walks up to him and, referring to his outfit, comments, "Oh, another vampire!" As she fiddles with the front of his suit, she curtly asks, "Where are your fangs?", to which he responds, "Where are your manners?" Incidentally, the other "vampire" at the party, the one who wins the competition, is meant to be dressed up as Count Dracula, confirming that, in this reality, the concept of vampires are not only known but so are the classic images of them seen in the movies, making it doubly interesting and amusing to see Yorga, who nobody knows is a vampire in the traditional mold, applauding his win. For the same reason, it's funny to see Yorga later watching the Hammer film, The Vampire Lovers, especially since both of these films were made during a period when those movies were still going on, as well as that their portrayals of vampires were kind of similar. When Brudah comes in to tell him something, Yorga actually motions for him to wait a moment, he's so wrapped up in the movie! Madden and O'Connor make for a pretty funny pair during the third act, due to the remarks they make as they're being chased ("What are we running for? " "'Cause we're scared!"), and when Baldwin fails to repel Brudah with his makeshift cross, he's so desperate that he makes one with his fingers! Finally, there's that bit with Prof. Rightstat which, like I said, could have easily been removed from the movie, as it serves no narrative purpose whatsoever, but I'd be lying if I didn't admit that I did chuckle a little bit at that.
While AIP really struggled to get Count Yorga, Vampire the desired GP-rating, they had no problem allowing the sequel to be rated R, which is ironic because this could have easily gotten the milder rating. It has virtually none of the sensuality from the first film: no bosoms, women fondling themselves or sex scenes. In fact, the only sensual thing about this movie, aside from the skimpy outfit that Mitzi wears to the costume party, is the scene where Yorga seduces her and completes her conversion into a vampire. There's a sexual feel to that scene, definitely, as there often is with vampire movies, but it's not as steamy as Yorga's seduction of Erica in the first film. Also, the violence is nowhere near as bloody. The really graphic deaths consist of only a couple of bloody stabbings and bullet wounds; other than that, the aftermaths of the vampire attacks aren't as gruesome as what was seen previously, save for maybe the discovery of Jason's body, his blood completely drained and kept in tubes and trays in the room he's in. While the makeups on some of Count Yorga's are more hideous than those that were in the first film, none of them are particularly disturbing, and the same goes for the design of Brudah's deformity, which looks about the same. Heck, there's very mild profanity in this movie too, so why this got an R-rating is a completely mystery to me (there are TV spots that advertise it having a GP-rating but I'm guessing it got changed).
However much of an improvement this movie is over its predecessor, it's still far from perfect. While nicely-paced for the most part, there is one sequence that goes on far too long for me: the scene where Cynthia wanders around the mansion, hearing the sounds of some of Yorga's brides laughing. It's meant to be a quietly creepy sequence, and it is at first, but then, it proceeds to go on and on, as we watch Cynthia blunder around the hallways, try to find a door she can go through, get stuck in one room, eventually manage to get out, only to become trapped in another, and then freak out when she hears the brides calling her name and laughing at her fear. This scene goes on for over six minutes and, in my opinion, quickly loses any feeling of suspense or atmosphere that it had going for it, as I find myself wishing the movie would just get on with it already.
There are also some story issues here, one of which deals with the plot point that Count Yorga is feeling genuine love for Cynthia. It's an interesting attempt to somewhat humanize a character who was just an out and out monster in the first film but, the thing is, little is done with it aside from the warning the witch gives to Yorga about it, some instances where Yorga looks at Cynthia longingly, and the scene where he confesses how he feels to her, only for her to rebuff him. Nothing more is said about it after that and Yorga eventually decides to hell with it and settles on biting her and making her just another part of his harem, so it feels like it was ultimately inane. Another issue for me is the idea that, throughout her stay at Yorga's mansion, Cynthia's memory about his brides attacking and killing her family gradually begins to come back to her. Again, I find that to be really pointless in the long run, given how she starts to realize that Yorga isn't what he appears to be and is holding her against her will, regardless. The ending also suggests that her memory coming back to her completely is the impetus not only for her freeing herself from Yorga's control but also for her taking the initiative and delivering the killing blow to him while he's fighting with Baldwin. I get what they were going for but it comes off like her amnesia was all that was keeping her from gaining the will to act, whereas the sight of a loved one engaged in a deadly fight with Yorga should have been sufficient to break the spell. Plus, you'd think the simple knowledge that Yorga is a vampire or her seeing the brides would have brought her memory back. In fact, it might have added more weight to the amnesia idea if she had totally regained her memory earlier, only for Yorga to then entrance her, only for it to come back while she's watching his and Baldwin's fight, since the implication is that Baldwin's struggling with Yorga reminds her of her family's attack. Either that or it would have been simpler for her to see Yorga about to kill her fiance and have that snap her out of her trance. If my reasoning doesn't make any sense, all I'm trying to say is that I wish the lost memory angle had more of a significant payoff to it. Not that it would have mattered anyway, given how the movie ultimately ends.
Since the first film had a sudden, downbeat ending, the filmmakers probably felt the need to keep with a status quo and do the same here, only this time, it feels mean-spirited, cheap, and unnecessary. The revelation at the end of the first movie, that Donna has already been turned into a vampire by the time Michael manages to rescue her, is a shock but there is a bit of a buildup to it, as the movie goes on for a bit longer after Count Yorga has been defeated, with the pair being chased by his vampire brides, Erica glancing strangely at Donna at one point, and Donna removing her hand from Michael's before the movie ends with her lunging at him. Here, it comes off as more abrupt. Granted, it is slightly hinted at, as we do see that Baldwin has been cornered by the brides and there's no possible way he can escape, only for him to suddenly be after Yorga and Cynthia again, and when he does face Yorga, his face is all cut up, but it still makes you go, "Aw, man," when, after the struggle that ends with Yorga's death, Cynthia embraces Baldwin, only to see that he's now a vampire. It's more mean-spirited because, this time, it's the savior rather than the victim who has been turned, and it's compounded by the notion of how long Cynthia has been held hostage at the mansion, all of the trouble Baldwin went through to make people realize there are vampires, and his struggles to find and rescue her. And if that weren't enough, you have the strong implication that Baldwin turns Cynthia after biting her and that they and the brides are now dwelling at the orphanage (you see the still-corrupted Tommy playing outside the orphanage, enforcing this view) and plan to spread Yorga's curse to the the surrounding countryside. While I'm not at all opposed to downbeat endings, after everything the characters have been through this, this really bums me out and completely negates the excitement and thrills of the climax. It would have been so much more satisfying to have Baldwin escape the brides, the cuts on his face being non-corrupting injuries, he and Cynthia put an end to Yorga, and then escape together, informing the other authorities what happened so they could deal with the brides and Tommy.
Following a nicely atmospheric montage of the exterior and interior of the Gateway Mansion during the opening credits, the movie proper begins with Tommy playing with his yellow ball on the grounds of the Westwood Orphanage and wandering off into the nearby woods. After a moment between Reverend Thomas and Cynthia Nelson outside the orphanage, it cuts back to Tommy, who's shown running through the woods, playing with his ball, when he enters a small cemetery. As the wind blows through the place, the dirt in front of the gravestones begins to buckle and rise. Tommy stops in his tracks, faintly hearing a voice saying, "Rise," and, "It is time." Picking his ball, he runs on a little further, not seeing human arms emerging from the graves behind him, and then sits down on the edge of the graveyard in order to catch his breath. Behind him, more people emerge from their graves, and when he turns around, he gasps at the sight of vampire women approaching him. He gets up and runs for it, but then makes the dumb mistake of going back for his ball. He's able to grab it and run, falling to the ground at one point but managing to stumble back to his feet, but he doesn't far before he runs straight into the clutches of Count Yorga, who glares down at him evilly as he screams (the shot of Yorga's face is actually taken from his nighttime attack on Paul and Erica in the first film).
The movie then cuts back to the orphanage, where a benefit is taking place that consists of a song sung by the children's choir and a costume party, both in the gymnasium. While everyone else sits and listens to the song, with varying degrees of interest, out in the hallway, Mitzi walks along, when she's suddenly cornered by someone who calls her by name. Inside, as everyone listens to the singing (a quick shot shows that Tommy is among the kids, though he seems to be merely mouthing the words rather than actually singing them), Cynthia, who dressed as a princess and sitting next to Dr. David Baldwin, who's dressed like Sherlock Holmes, is shown to be crying, apparently at the small turnout for the benefit. Unable to contain herself, she rushes out in the hall, crying to herself, "Damn it. Damn it. Damn the winds, damn the bridge, damn everything." That's when a voice from the dark tells her, "You're much too attractive to be so bitter," and she looks to see a man emerging from the shadows. Yorga apologizes for startling her and introduces himself, prompting Cynthia to do the same. She asks him how he managed to get to the orphanage with the bridge out and he tells her that he's recently acquired the Gateway Mansion. When she says that she often drives out there when she can't sleep, Yorga admits that he's seen out there, telling her that she's very beautiful in the moonlight. The two of them head back inside the gymnasium, where, by this point, the song has finished and the children are being sent off to bed. While everyone mingles, Yorga walks up to the piano, where a kid is playing very badly, and when asked if he likes that kind of music, he says, "Only when played well." Mitzi's boyfriend, Joe, asks Cynthia if she's seen her but she confesses that she hasn't, while her family is overjoyed at the news that Ellen is marrying Jason. Cynthia then introduces Yorga to Baldwin, as well as Reverend Thomas and Jennifer, with Yorga showing that he knows how to sign to her, explaining, "When you've lived as long as I, you gather a bit of knowledge along the way."
While Jennifer and Baldwin have a small dance, Cynthia and Yorga talk over by the refreshments table, him asking her how long she's been at the orphanage and she admits most of her life, adding that it's the closest she's ever gotten to purity of life. Yorga responds to that, "Unfortunately, I find it difficult to evaluate life and love on the basis of purity. However, truth, cold, unemotional truth, one's loss of innocence holds it." He then apologizes for his cynicism, saying he should continue to tell her how lovely she is. She's so taken by what he's saying to her that she ends up slightly cutting her finger on the glass she's holding. Yorga offers her an "old Bulgarian cure" and sucks the blood from her finger, when Thomas announces that it's time to reveal the winner of the costume contest. Everyone then gathers around to hear, when one woman comments on Yorga's outfit, thinking he's another contest entry dressed as a vampire, much to his annoyance. Just as Thomas is about to announce it, Cynthia stops him momentarily when Tommy walks up to her and tells her that he can't sleep, asking if he could stay with her at her family's house. Cynthia allows it and sends him to get ready, saying that Jennifer will drive him there. With that taken care of, Thomas again gets back to announcing the winner, who turns out to be Michael Farmer, the man who's dressed up as Count Dracula. Upon hearing he's won, Farmer apologizes to Yorga, who's simply smiling and applauding along with everyone else. Everyone then gets into a conversation about whether or not vampires do exist, with Baldwin saying that they do, in some sense, as there are those who feed on blood. Yorga, however, chimes in, asking them why they doubt the existence of a true vampire and admits to being among the many people across the world who have seen one. No one takes him seriously, naturally, but Yorga warns, "Mr. Baldwin, I suggest you seriously anticipate the possibility of anything. One never knows when one might encounter some of the more unusual truths that exist in our world." At that moment, Thomas yells, "Hold it!", as he's about to snap a group photo, but Yorga quickly shields himself with his cape. Suddenly, there's a scream and a woman dressed as a milkmaid comes rushing in. Everyone then follows her out into the hallway to see what's the matter and they come across Mitzi lying on the floor, unconscious. Everyone gathers around, as Baldwin inspects her, and they notice a mark on her throat. Mitzi begins to come to and Yorga takes that as his cue to leave, while everyone asks Mitzi what happened.
Yorga returns to the Gateway Mansion and heads straight for his throne room, where he's greeted by his vampire brides. Walking amongst them, he sits down on his throne, his brides gathering at his feet and with Brudah at his side, ready to do his bidding, as he looks at them intently. Meanwhile, at the Nelson household, the Santa Ana winds have arrived and the uneasy atmosphere they created has awakened Ellen, who comes downstairs to find Cynthia standing by the window. Following a cutaway that shows Yorga's brides heading out of the mansion's main door, Cynthia and Ellen try to explain to their father why they feel uneasy but he simply laughs off of their concerns. Their mother walks in with some hot chocolate for everyone and she admits to Bill that she feels the same way. She tells him to listen and walks to the window, as they listen to the wind. There is a strange sound behind the wind, akin to howling animals and moaning people, but Bill still laughs off their concerns, admitting that the winds can stir up one's imagination. But, he then seems to hear what everyone else is hearing, joining Marcia by the window as they listen to it. Marcia then joins her daughters on the couch, when they hear the sound of a shutter banging. Ellen says that there's something outside, while Bill decides to go upstairs and secure the shutters. Marcia asks him not to leave them and he then notices how scared she is. He asks Ellen to get her a shawl and to bring Jennifer and Tommy down in the room with them. She goes to do so, when Tommy walks in on his own, again saying that he can't sleep. He joins the women on the couch and they give him some hot chocolate. As they sit and listen to the wind some more, Bill admits it's now starting to get to him. He walks over to another window and looks out it, when the window pane blows open and the edge of it hits him in the face. The women rush to his aid and help him into the kitchen in order to wash the cut on his face, as he complains and wonder how it came open. Outside the vampire brides approach, and in the next shot, everyone has gathered back into the living room. Bill says he wishes he knew what it was they got him so paranoid about, when he hears the shutters banging again. He's about to go outside and look around but the women beg him not to go. Cynthia walks past the windows, looking outside, when Marcia suddenly wonders where Jennifer is.
At that very moment, one of the brides smashes her arms through a window and grabs Cynthia by the throat. Everyone panics, with Marcia screaming, while Bill runs up to Cynthia and tries to pry the bride's hand loose. Ellen heads for the door, only for it to open up to reveal two more brides on the other side, and runs to another door on the other side of the room, but it gets blocked by another two brides. She's pushed back and forced to the floor, while another bride breaks through the window from outside. Bill is so intent on helping Cynthia that he doesn't see one bride come up from behind him, and as Ellen is attacked on the floor, Cynthia, who has gotten loose, tries to help her father now that he's being attacked. But, another bride comes in to deal with her, while Marcia is cornered by one that grabs her by the throat and is forced against the couch, as a second bride joins in. Ellen continues to struggle but is ultimately bitten, while Marcia is bitten on the neck. Cynthia runs to help her mother, while Bill is tossed to the floor and Cynthia grabbed from behind, the vampires continuing to feed on Marcia. The brides feed on both Bill and Ellen, with Cynthia continuing to scream until she's the only victim left alive. Her screams soon fade as well, as she collapses to the floor, unconscious, while the brides finish their feeding on her family. The Santa Ana winds can still be heard blowing, as the brides file out of the house, with one leading the group while the others carry Cynthia behind her. Nearby, Count Yorga is waiting and turns to head back to the mansion, his brides following after him with Cynthia.
Yorga now has Cynthia in a bedroom at the mansion. He enters, closing the door behind him, and walks to the foot of the bed, which Cynthia is lying in, tossing her head back and forth, restlessly. Sitting on the edge of the bed, Yorga speaks to Cynthia, telling her to relax, and once she's calmed, he tells her to forget everything that happened at her home, adding that all she's to remember is an automobile accident that occurred outside his home. He also plants into her head the idea that the two of them are friends. Once he's done, he sits in a chair across from the bed and gently calls to her, waking her up. Realizing that the voice she's hearing is Yorga, she thanks him for taking care of her and he says that the "doctor" wants her to remain there for a few days, until she regains her strength. He also says that he notified her family and that they'll be by tomorrow, but turns down her request to call them, saying that it's too late for that. With that, she says good night and settles in for some sleep. Yorga continues sitting across from her and bids her good night as well.
The next morning, Jennifer awakens on her section of the Nelson property and walks around to the front, going through the main gate and then the house's front door. Not hearing anything at all, she walks on to the living room and opens the door. The first thing she sees is the shattered glass on the floor and then, is horrified to find Bill, Marcia, and Ellen's bodies. She becomes hysterical, letting out some silent screams, and then sees Tommy standing nearby, holding his ball. She runs to him and embraces him, before the two of them flee the house. Later, Jennifer returns with the police, as well as Reverend Thomas, Baldwin, and Jason. Once they pull, everyone except for Jennifer, Thomas, and the sleeping Tommy jump out of their cars and rush inside the house. Lt. Madden tells Thomas to stay with them and runs to join the other men, only for Sergeant O'Connor to come outside and speak with him. Thomas and Jennifer are unable to hear what they're saying, but then, Madden motions for Thomas to come outside so he can speak with him. They do and then, Thomas leads the broken, crying woman into the house and to the living room's doorway. Thomas has to force her to look inside the room and when she does, she sees that there's no sign of the carnage whatsoever. Not only are the bodies gone but the window is no longer broken. She tells Thomas in sign about it and he relates to the others, but when O'Connor inspects it, he tells Madden that it's been there for a long time. Shaking her head, Jennifer insists that she's telling the truth and goes on to sign about the mutilated bodies before embracing Thomas. O'Connor then spies a piece of paper and hands it to Madden, saying that it's a letter addressed to Jennifer. Madden starts to read it out loud, the message being about a relative who's become ill, but Jennifer grabs it out of his hands and looks at it herself. Despondent and confused, she tries the note and insists that it's a lie. She then runs outside to the car, as Madden finishes reading it, the message concluding that the family would be back in a few days and ending with a signature supposedly from Cynthia. She comes running back in with Tommy and motions for him to tell the police what they saw. However, Tommy, who seems to be half asleep, corroborates what the note said about them leaving but says he doesn't know where they went or why they didn't take him back to the orphanage. Baldwin then checks Tommy to make sure he's not in shock, and then, when Madden asks him if he saw the family leave, he said he did. Utterly confused and upset about the whole thing, Jennifer desperately embraces Tommy before wandering outside in complete despondency, as Madden says that they have no choice but to assume everything is okay.
Meanwhile, at the Gateway Mansion, Brudah is shown carrying Bill's body to the quicksand trap, where he already has Marcia's. As he works, dragging Marcia's body into the muck after doing the same to Bill's, Cynthia opens up her window and sees him. It's too far for her to make out what he's doing but, as he's forcing the body underneath the muck with a branch, she calls to him and he turns and looks at her. However, he doesn't respond to her greeting and goes back to forcing Marcia's body under the quicksand. Cynthia walks out the mansion's front door and down the steps, only to be taken aback when Brudah approaches with a very vicious German shepherd that snarls and barks at her aggressively. After some pulling on its leash, Brudah manages to get the dog under control and he and Cynthia exchange glances. While she is clearly shocked by his deformed appearance, she still smiles and tells him, "Hello," nevertheless.
While Dr. Baldwin is in San Francisco, trying find out what he can about vampires and having his useless meeting with Prof. Rightstat, at the orphanage, Jennifer is lying in bed, beside herself with being made to look like a liar, when she hears an argument outside her window. Looking out, she sees Tommy and another kid get into a shoving match, with Tommy shoving the kid to the ground. To Jennifer's horror, Tommy then goes for a large rock and is about to smash it over the kid's head, but she throws something out the window to get his attention. He looks up and sees her, prompting him to drop the rock. Grabbing his ball, he heads off into the woods and Jennifer follows him. He walks a great distance and Jennifer loses sight of him at one point but, when she catches back up with him, she sees him walk through the main gate of the Gateway Mansion. Looking through the gate's bars, she sees him heading on towards the mansion, but is unable to follow him further, as the gate is now locked. That turns out to have been a smart move on her part, as the sun is setting, and inside the mansion, Brudah walks over to Yorga's coffin in the crypt, opening it for him. He then speaks with the witch who lives in the house with him, telling her that he wants to see if he can experience the feeling of love, which he hasn't for so long. The witch, however, calls him a fool, saying, "When she discovers what you are, she'll sicken at your name. She will loathe you. Kill her. If you do not, you may never see another moon. You must not allow her to live. Kill her. Kill her." Regardless of her warning, in the next scene, Yorga is having dinner with Cynthia, who's wearing a lovely dress that she found. He tries to discourage her from walking about, as he knows she did that day, but she insists she feels fine and that she was thinking of going home that night, adding that she wanted to call her parents but that she couldn't find a phone. Yorga is clearly not pleased to hear this and stands from his chair, slowly walks over to Cynthia, and, caressing her cheek, kisses her good night. As he does, a flash of what happened at her home the previous night flits through her mind. He plays with her hair a bit before walking out the door. Brudah, watching him go, serves Cynthia another plate of food, as it slowly begins to dawn on her that Yorga isn't what he appears to be. Outside, Yorga walks to his car and drives away in it.
At a club down by the waterfront, Mitzi finishes her musical act and introduces the next one as she walks off the stage, unknowingly passing by Yorga, who's sitting at a table, keeping a watchful eye on her. Mitzi meets up with Joe at the bar and it becomes clear that she's still upset over what happened at the orphanage. Comforting her, Joe puts her coat on her shoulders and walks out with her. Yorga then gets up from her table and walks out after them. Out on the docks, as they to Mitzi's houseboat, Joe stops at one point and looks behind them, apparently feeling like they're being followed. But, when he sees nothing, he tells Mitzi that there's nothing wrong and they walk on. Yorga steps out of the shadows from a spot they've passed, showing that Joe does have reason to be concerned. They reach the houseboat and walk down into it. Joe tells Mitzi he doesn't like the way she looks and opts to help her get to bed, when the lights flash a few times. Joe thinks it may be a lose wire but Mitzi assures him that she'll be alright. He gives her one last kiss, only for the lights to go out and, this time, stay out. Grabbing a flashlight, Joe walks up on the dock to try to find the problem, when Yorga suddenly comes rushing at him, corners him, and grabs him by the throat. Yorga easily overpowers Joe and chokes him until he collapses to the dock. That obstacle out of the way, Yorga makes his way down into the houseboat and, offering Mitzi his hand, which she takes, he sits down in front of her and goes in for the bite. She clearly likes this very much, given the passionate way in which she gasps from it, and pulls him in for more.
Back at the mansion, Cynthia is alone in her bedroom, when she hears the sound of a door unlatching and women giggling in the hallway outside. Walking out there, she hears footsteps nearby and walks to her right to inspect a door there, only to find it locked. She also finds herself unable to open a set of double doors to the left of it and then goes through another door across from it and walks down some stairs to find another hallway down below, with doors on either wall. The first three doors that she tries are locked but the last one opens up into a room filled with suits of armor and old weapons. Walking past the old suits of armor, she finds another door but is unable to open it, and when she turns around, she's startled at the sight of a doll that's missing one of its eyes. She runs back to the door she came in, only to find that it's locked now, and when she tries to open it, she hears the same giggling from before. Again, she runs to the other door but still can't open it, and when she runs back to the main one in a panic, she trips and knocks over one of the suits of armor. When it slams on the floor next to her, it triggers another couple of flashes of memory from the previous night. Sitting up, she lies up against the locked door behind her, when she hears more giggling and then feels the door unlock. She heads into the hall and runs through a previously locked door on the opposite wall, this one filled with a bunch of old junk in crates and boxes, as well as old furniture that's covered in cobwebs. She tries to open another door in the room but it's locked, and then, the door she came through closes, and when she tries to open it, she finds that she can't. Scared and exhausted, Cynthia walks into the middle of the room and spots another doll missing an eye, the sight of which triggers another flash from her memory. She hears the laughing again and scans the room but doesn't see anything. The voices then make cliched ghost sounds, then they start calling her name. Running to a small closet door next to the main one, she says, "Hello," but only gets more laughing, ghost sounds, and name-calling as a response. Walking back to the main door, Cynthia believes she hears Ellen's voice and asks if that's her. She only gets more evil-sounding laughter in response and demands to know who it is. The laughter grows louder and louder, the voices start calling her name in a crazier, more rapid fashion, and they then start to yell at her. They call her name again and again and it all gets to the point where it's unbearable, as she looks around the room, frantically, and more bits of her memory flash in her mind. Running to the door, she screams for whoever is tormenting her to stop it and begins to cry. As she tries to compose herself in the corner next to it, the door suddenly opens on its own. Cynthia steps into the hallway and catches a glimpse of the backs of some women as they disappear into another room, closing the door behind them. She runs to the door and, finding it locked, yells for their help but nothing happens. Backing up along the hall's wall, Cynthia comes to another locked door, and tries the next one in desperation. Turns out, it's open, but Cynthia collapses in the corner and starts to cry, as more of her memory comes back to her and she clearly starts to become concerned about what these visions mean.
At the orphanage, Tommy is being questioned by Reverend Thomas, Jason, and Baldwin over Jennifer saying that she saw him go over to the Gateway Mansion. Like before, Tommy feigns innocence, insisting that he's never been there and that he simply went for a walk, adding that he wishes Jennifer would stop accusing him of things. When asked if she's sure, Jennifer simply walks over to Tommy and, in her frustration, slaps him in the face a couple of times. Jason has to restrain her and, as she writhes around in the seat she's placed in, clearly tortured, Baldwin asks if she's sure she didn't imagine the whole thing. She shakes her hand and signs something to Jason that Thomas translates as, "Your Ellen is dead. They are all dead." Tommy comments that he wish she wouldn't say such "terrible things" and Thomas tells him he'd best go to bed. Before heading on up, he says good night to everyone, including Jennifer, adding, "No hard feelings." While on his way up, Baldwin stops him and asks him if he knows what a vampire is. After a pause, Tommy says he doesn't and heads up to his room. Baldwin decides to go see Lt. Madden but tells Jason to stay at the orphanage to keep watch. Before he leaves, he takes a cross off the wall and tells Jason to keep it with him, which he reluctantly does. Baldwin finds Madden at the waterfront, as Joe's body has been discovered, and he asks for a blood sample. When asked what he wants it for, he says to check for human saliva. Confused, Madden asks him what he's trying to prove exactly and, when he's forced to tell him that he feels it may be the work of a vampire, the lieutenant immediately vetoes his request.
At the mansion, Cynthia is now back in her bedroom and is asleep on the bed. The witch has entered the room and approaches her, only to suddenly hear Yorga, who's sitting in the chair near the bed, growl at her to get out. Back at the orphanage, Jason is sitting down, keeping watch, when he hears a door open upstairs. Tommy comes down and, when asked why he's up, he confesses something to Jason: he was over at the mansion. He also adds that Ellen is there and asks if he wants him to take him. Jason rises up out of the chair and leaves with Tommy, leaving the cross Baldwin gave him on a nearby table. Cutting back to the mansion, Yorga is shown sitting in a chair, watching The Vampire Lovers on TV. Brudah walks in but Yorga motions for him to wait a moment, as he watches a scene where a priest gets brutalized by the vampire women. He then looks up at Brudah, who tells him, "The boy... ready." Yorga gets up and they both leave the room.
Tommy leads Jason into the manor through a back entrance, down a small hallway, and up a short flight of stairs. He stops him from going up another flight of stairs, which lead up to the main part of the house, and instead leads him on down the corridor to some more stairs. Elsewhere in the manor, Yorga opens the door to the room where his brides are kept and they begin heading towards it. Tommy leads Jason down the hall with the doors on the walls and opens one of the doors, leading him into it. Jason takes a few steps into the room before he realizes that the door has closed behind him and that Tommy is no longer following him. He walks to the door and finds that it's locked. After getting no answer from Tommy, Jason walks back into the heart of the room, looking at its contents, which consist of old dresses on stands. He then hears a voice call to him and he turns to see Ellen standing in the shadows. She walks up to him but he can tell that there's something wrong, as he says, "Ellen, my God. What's happened?" Ellen asks if he's missed her but Jason is too taken aback by her appearance to give her a true answer. Noting that he's frightened, she says he doesn't love her anymore and begins laughing evilly, showing her fangs, as he backs away from her, yelling at her to stop. He's then suddenly jumped from behind by a group of the other brides. As Ellen continues cackling, Jason struggles and flails around as the brides grab at him, and manages to escape out into the hall, closing the door behind him. But, no sooner does he make it out there than Yorga comes snarling at him from around the corner. Jason promptly turns around and tries to run for it, but makes the mistake of going for a door and trying to open it. This gives Yorga the opportunity to catch up to him, grab him, and strangle him, dropping him to the floor. Once he's been dealt with, Yorga heads back down the hall and then, Brudah takes Jason's body to the throne room and tosses him on the floor. The brides, including Ellen, then gather around the body, preparing to feed on it. After Brudah, brings Cynthia to meet with Yorga in his study. Once there, Cynthia demands to know why he's holding her prisoner and he confesses what he is and that he's feeling genuine love for her. But, when it becomes clear she's not going to reciprocate his feelings and she asks him to let her go, Yorga merely kisses her instead and, reluctantly, puts her on under his spell again.
The next day, at the orphanage, Baldwin and Thomas show Madden and O'Connor the group photo that was taken at the benefit, Baldwin pointing out to them that Yorga should be in the image but he isn't. Thomas insists the count was there when he took the picture and mentions how, at the moment he took it, Yorga tried to block the shot with his cape; Jennifer and Tommy sit nearby during this conversation, Tommy glaring at Jennifer. Madden is now willing to at least have the photo examined but Baldwin is sick of waiting, saying they should at least go over to the manor and speak with Yorga. Following an eerie cutaway back to the mansion, where there's no sign of life and silence, save for some wind, Thomas, later that evening, notices that Jennifer is nowhere to be found. He dials the Nelson residence number but gets no answer, as it's revealed that Jennifer is dead, lying in her bed, with a knife sticking out of her chest. A panning shot to the window shows Tommy walking away from the house. In the next scene, Baldwin and Thomas are driving to the mansion with Madden and O'Connor. Madden believes they're going there for a simple interrogation but Baldwin insists they can't let Yorga know they're there. He explains his plan: "Let Reverend Thomas go to the door, work his way in. Do something to keep the count occupied. Talk about fundraising or some damn thing, I don't know, anything to distract him, while we find another way in and search the place." Madden is still incredulous but opts to go along with it.
Once at the manor, Brudah leads Thomas in to speak with Yorga and the count politely beckons him to seat. Yorga notices that he seems a little jumpy and suggests they take a stroll in the garden, so they can discuss the matter at hand under more "pleasant circumstances." Elsewhere on the property, Baldwin snaps off a bunch of twigs, explaining to Madden and O'Connor that they'll use them for defense against vampires, instructing them to form the shape of a cross with the twigs should they run into any. Madden, reluctantly, takes a pair and makes O'Connor do the same when he initially refuses. Baldwin suggests they separate to cover more ground and Madden orders that nobody plays hero. In the garden, Thomas is quite surprised and ecstatic when Yorga offers to donate $20,000 to the orphanage, while Baldwin finds himself in the mansion's lower area and the policemen enter it from another entrance. At that moment, Thomas, taken in by the count's charm, foolishly tells him that there are talks about him being a vampire. They walk on through the garden and reach the quicksand trap, which Thomas blunders into. Becoming stuck, he asks Yorga for assistance but the count does nothing but stand there and watch him slowly sink down. As he sinks to his waist, Thomas realizes that Yorga led him to the trap, that he is a vampire, and, most shockingly of all, he never intended to donate the money. Before he's completely swallowed up by the muck, Thomas pulls out a cross, yelling, "How do you like that?!" But, it has no effect at all, and he sinks beneath the quicksand, cross and all, with Yorga then heading back to the mansion.
Baldwin finds the stairs that lead to the main part of the mansion, while Madden and O'Connor find another staircase on their side of the place. Baldwin heads up the stairs to the mansion's upper area and tries a couple of doors on the left wall but they turn out to be locked. He tries a door on the opposite wall but opens it to find the grisly sight of Jason, his body pale and drained of blood, lying on a table, his blood found in various vials and dishes strewn across the room. In their part of the mansion, Madden and O'Connor are checking some doors of their own, unaware that Tommy is watching them as they turn right down a corridor. While Yorga's witch heads up from her chamber to the main part of the mansion, while the count himself lets his brides loose. Up in her room, Cynthia sits up on her bed, while Brudah heads into the mansion himself. Baldwin finds the room where Jason was locked in with the vampires earlier and, finding nothing in there, rushes through the door in there across from him. Madden and O'Connor, after walking down some stairs, spot the brides as they walk away from them. O'Connor calls out to them, getting their attention, and he tells Madden that they might know something. Madden decides to go along with it and they approach the brides, Madden saying they'd like to ask a few questions. But, when they get close to the women and see that they're advancing towards them, Madden realizes they've made a big mistake. Backing away, Madden tries to read them Miranda but O'Connor says he thinks they'd better run for it and they hightail it back up the stairs, the brides slowly following them. Reaching a hallway up top, they slide along the wall, Madden drawing his gun, but when someone emerges from the door along the wall, it turns out to just be Baldwin. He tells them that he can't find Cynthia, when the brides suddenly emerge from all the doors behind them. Baldwin runs, while the policemen stand and draw their guns. They both fire but their bullets do nothing to the vampires. They continue approaching but, while O'Connor's gun is empty, Madden fires some more shots but, again, it has no effect and they decide to just run. Up another flight of stairs, Baldwin finds the door to Cynthia's bedroom. Running to her and embracing her, he asks if her family is there. She flatly says that she doesn't know.
The two of them run out the door and down the stairs, reaching a locked door by a suit of armor. Baldwin tries another door, when he's attacked from behind by Brudah and bashed to the floor. As Brudah looms over him, Baldwin tries the makeshift cross trick but it doesn't work on him, since he's not a vampire. He grabs the sticks and tosses them aside. Baldwin, in desperation, tries to form a cross with his fingers but his hands get slapped down and he's picked up and tossed into the suit of armor. Seeing this causes another piece of Cynthia's memory to return to her. Thinking he's finished, Brudah takes Cynthia and leads her down the hallway, as she continues remembering, but Baldwin grabs the armor's mace and, getting Brudah's attention, clubs him in the gut with it, following that up with a whack to the face. Brudah collapses to the ground and Baldwin rejoins Cynthia, the two of them continuing their escape attempt, but he unknowingly leaves his sticks behind. Elsewhere, Madden and O'Connor blunder into the storeroom Cynthia got locked in earlier and rush to the door on the other side of it, only to run into the bloody but still alive Brudah. Both are horrified at the sight of him and slam the door in his face, only for him to smash through it completely. He lurches toward them and they warn him to stay back, telling him they'll open fire if he doesn't. As they back away from him, they don't notice the brides gathering outside the door behind them, and when they quickly turn around to run, they realize that they're trapped. Turning back around, they see that Brudah is about to bring his fists down on them and they have no recourse but to open fire. To their amazement, it works, as they manage to kill Brudah, and run past him. In the next room, they run down some stairs to a door, only for it close right before they reach it, and they head back up and around the railing to another door. Yorga is seen riding an old-fashioned elevator, and Cynthia and Baldwin continue searching for a way out, while Madden and Baldwin are, unknowingly, being followed by the witch. Rounding a corner, O'Connor runs into the throne room and becomes separated from Madden when the door closes behind him. Neither of them are unable to budge it and Madden says he'll try to find another way into the room, flipping a switch on the wall. But, before he can help, the witch appears behind O'Connor, baring her fangs, and bites into the side of his neck, forcing him to the floor. Madden rushes back upon hearing O'Connor's yells and tries with all of his might to open the door, but he's unable to save his partner, as the witch descends on him. Madden can only listen to O'Connor's screams, when he hears a voice call his name from around a corner down the hall across from him. Thinking it's Baldwin, he rushes around the corner, only to yell and stumble back, a knife sticking out of his chest. He collapses to the floor, as the killer, Tommy, walks on past the body.
Still looking for a way out, Baldwin and Cynthia make it to a large foyer, when they hear Count Yorga's voice echo through the place: "Dr Baldwin, this is Count Yorga. You are going to die. You are going to die a most horrible death! You've been a fool, doctor, and now you are to die!" Yorga then proceeds to laugh like a complete maniac, as Baldwin drags Cynthia with him, desperately searching for a way out. They end up heading down to a corridor where they run into the witch. They try to run back the way they came, only for the door to close on them. They then head around the opposite corner but find several brides waiting for them at the end of that corridor (Yorga is still laughing, at this point), and when they go down some more stairs to their right, more brides are seen coming up. Almost completely surrounded, they have no choice but to head back up and run through the last remaining door on the hall's opposite side. Baldwin closes the door and turns on the light switch, but when he does, he finds that all of the vampires are gathered there, including Yorga, who has Cynthia with him behind all of his brides. The women begin advancing on Baldwin, while Yorga heads through a door behind him with Cynthia, leaving the doctor to his fate. Tommy, who's also there, watches as Baldwin backs away and tries to get through and climb a locked, metal gate behind him. However, he has nowhere to run and it seems like he's completely doomed, as the brides close in on him. Up in his study, Yorga prepares to bite Cynthia and add her to his harem, when he's surprised to hear Baldwin yelling for him to let her go. Yorga pulls Cynthia out the door, down a hall outside, and they run up through the mansion, with Baldwin in pursuit. Baldwin stops at one section and grabs a battleaxe off the wall before continuing the chase. When he reaches the top of some stairs, Yorga kicks him in the face from around the corner, sending him falling back down them. Baldwin, however, is undeterred and follows them up and around another corner, where Yorga comes at him, forces him against the wall, and smacks him to the floor. Yorga takes Cynthia on up another flight of stairs but Baldwin continues the chase, grabbing the battleaxe and running up the same stairs. Getting to the top, he trips and nearly goes over the edge of the balcony up there, dropping his axe in the process.
As a result, he has no time to react when Yorga charges at him again and grabs him by the throat, threatening to send him falling over the edge. As Cynthia watches the struggle, with Yorga swinging Baldwin around and slamming against the wall, her memory returns to her completely. As Yorga manages to overpower Baldwin and is about to send him over the edge again, Cynthia, free of the count's control, yells for him to stop. Yorga ignores her and so, seeing the axe on the floor, Cynthia grabs it, charges at him, and when he turns around upon hearing her yell, she plants it in his chest. Recoiling, Yorga is clearly shocked over what just happened and reaches out to her with a look on his face that says, "But I loved you!" She backs away as he stumbles towards her, trying to get his hands on her, but is so weakened by the blow that he has to lean up against a pillar. Baldwin walks over to him and forces him over the edge behind him. Yorga's body tumbles down to the courtyard below and lands on his back. Relieved that the ordeal is over, Cynthia rushes to Baldwin and embraces him. But, as she does, she realizes that something isn't right and, upon looking at his scarred face, sees that his skin has turned deathly pale, signifying that he's become a vampire himself. Horrified, Cynthia tries to run but Baldwin grabs her, pulls her in, and bites her. The film's last image shows Tommy playing outside of the orphanage, suggesting that the vampires have taken up residence there and will continue to spread their curse throughout the countryside.
Bill Marx did the music, as he did for the first one, and while it's not one of the movie's more memorable aspects, I think it suits it well and does add to the atmosphere whenever it's used, which is actually not that often. There are long stretches with no score at all and, when you do hear the music, it's sometimes very subtle, to the point where it's basically underscoring. Some of the memorable pieces include the nicely Gothic-sounding, moody main theme that plays during the main credits, alternating from being fairly big in how it comes off to being very subtle and atmospheric; a high-pitched, sustained note that you hear whenever Count Yorga comes charging at someone, with special mention going to when he chases after Jason, as that piece comes off as discordant and electronic, building and building until it gets to the moment where Yorga catches Jason and strangles him, becoming warbling in how it sounds at that point; and some of the chase music that plays during the third act. There are also a couple of memorable songs in the film, the most notable of which is simply called This Song, which Marx wrote along with Bob Kelljan and Yvonne Wilder and which is sung by the children during the benefit at the orphanage. It's a typical, saccharin-sounding song about being happy and leaving behind sadness, complete with "tra, la, la, la," lyrics, but it's used again in a more sinister manner at the end of the movie, when you hear it during the final scene that insinuates the vampires have now taken up residence at the orphanage and are going to continue spreading Yorga's evil. Another song, Think It Over, which is sung by Marilyn Lovell at the club Mitzi is shown working at, is also pretty blatant in its significance, as it speaks about things that exist, whether or not people believe in them.
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