Director: Bob Kelljan
Year: 1971
Country: USA
Alternate Titles: N/A
Genre: Vampire
Plot:
Arriving at a secluded orphanage, the bloodthirsty count appears to offer a form of assistance to those running it yet when they soon learn that both he and his assistants are actually vampires looking to use those around the area as parts of their family and must stop their deadly plans.
This ended up being quite the enjoyable improvement over the original. One of the better elements featured here is the fact that there's quite a pronounced sense of action here through the inclusion of more vampire activity. As the beginning of the film features the resurrection of the female vampire horde from their graveyard in the woods which starts this off nicely with a stellar Gothic-influenced sequence, there are plenty of later scenes here having fun with the other vampire action involving the count or the brood under his control. With some fine attacks in the later half here featuring the attack on the boat, the fine series of disorienting hallucinations she has while locked inside the castle as the vampires are shown to torment her mentally and finally the big finale where the swarms of vampires are involved in the action within the mansion tackling the swarming of the invading officers and the big final confrontation in the pit where the last battle occurs.
Alongside this fine action, the film's Gothic semblances are still present here and become part of the film's charm. With the count still living in the large mansion that contains the usual stone artiface, rocky crypt and general feeling of opulence that had undertaken the previous effort in the series, this one still feels like a rather older film than it really is while providing some semblance of modern-day timeframe which gives this a fine connection to the previous film. The Count's old-school charm is quite fun to witness as well with the fine counterpoint to the last remaining remnants of the mod look featured in the first film as that works even more within the atmosphere of the film as it works nicely with the old-school tone and mythology setup to be employed here.
The cast here isn't bad and definitely has as much good as the original. Robert Quarry is still somewhat intimidating and menacing in the title role as that debonair attitude for the vampire count returns again with a touch of class yet is still ferocious and feral when he needs to be and he's good enough in the role to give this a credible threat. Mariette Hartley as Cynthia Nelson is a rather enjoyable lead, with her sweetness and innocent charm really holding her throughout the film. She does lose a little here in the fact that being held captive doesn't allow much but she does good with both the hallucinations and seduction angles being displayed and is overall a fine lead. Her sister Jennifer, played by Yvonne Wilder, offers a different look with her being deaf and forced into being treated with sign language that offers a sense of sympathy that goes well with how she's treated by the others around her. The one who discovers the vampires' activities, Dr. David Baldwin played by Roger Parry in a different character but essentially the same role from the original, does exactly that same type of figure here with his Van Helsing style of authority figure on the subject forcing him to defend the creatures' actions and folklore to the others which makes him a fun if somewhat repetitious character. Alongside the few fine gore pieces shown throughout here, these here hold it up over it's few minor issues.
The biggest problem with this one is the fact that there's just not a whole lot of action overall in this one. The film starts off nicely with the Counts' appearance at the orphanage but then that completely disappears and settles into the series of debates and conversations from the group about the nature of the beast rather than anything else which just doesn't make this all that enjoyable. The slow, dull pacing is continued throughout here with this one keeping the motivations of just about everything in obscurity while not offering the kind of action required to really sell the threat of this one at all, giving a rather bland feel. A large part of this is due to the utterly forced need to sell the rest of the group on the existence of vampires in general which is a carryover from the original film and doesn't have any reason to be included once again since the resurrection has already occurred. That is the final issue with this one, as it makes no sense why they've both returned and not once is mention made of why, how or for what purpose. Despite being killed at the end of the first one, here they just show up and it's rather frustrating to have this plotpoint repeated yet again. Otherwise, this one is quite fun.
Overview: ***/5
With a bit more to like about it than what was in the original, this one offers up some solid Gothic-based vampire fun where it counts. Definitely give this a shot if you're into the previous entry or even somewhat enjoy Gothic vampire efforts while those not swayed by these types of films should heed caution.
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