The Return of Count Yorga - Plot

Plot

Cynthia Nelson (Mariette Hartley), a teacher at the local orphanage, talks with a pastor while watching the sun set before getting ready for a fund raising costume party. Cynthia mentions the "Santa Ana Winds"; while she thinks nothing of the weather, the pastor sees them as an evil omen. One of the orphans, Tommy, wanders into the nearby cemetery where he faintly hears a voice ordering something "To rise, it is time." Vampire brides rise from their graves and chase Tommy into the clutches of Count Yorga.

Yorga, having been in the area for awhile creating his undead female harem and hiding them in the cemetery, has purchased a manor next to the orphanage with the intent of preying on the children and staff there to satisfy his and his vampire brides' thirst for blood and presumably create an undead army from the community's women (it's mentioned that the bridge to the area has gone out. More then likely that was his doing to isolate the area). In his human guise, he visits the costume party and introduces himself to the people there (though feeds on a guest, Mitzi, before he enters the gym where the party is taking place). He falls in love with Cynthia and, returning back to his manor, sends his undead brides to her house, using mind control to get Cynthia's family into one room before the brides break in and attack them. Cynthia's father and mother are killed outright after being drained of their blood. While Cynhtia's sister, Ellen, likewise is fed upon and transformed into a new vampire bride to serve Yorga. Tommy, however is untouched having fallen under Yorga's power, blankly looking on as the carnage unfolds. Cynthia is subdued (though not bitten) and carried by the brides to Yorga's residence where she awakens with no memory of the attack. Yorga tells Cynthia that her family were in a car accident and she was left in his care during their recovery. Yorga tries to charm the young woman into willingly becoming his bride though he is warned by his live-in witch that Cynthia will bring his end if he doesn't kill her soon.

The next morning, Jennifer, the Nelsons' mute maid, finds 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 claims that nothing has happened. Later that same morning, Bruddah—Yorga's hulking, facially disfigured servant (like Yorga, also returning from an on-screen death in the first film) drags the corpses of Cynthia's mother and father to a quicksand pit on Yorga's property, disposing of the physical evidence.

Despite the confusion, David Baldwin, Cynthia's fiancé, is suspicious about the Nelsons' disappearance. While the memories of the attack on her family slowly start to resurface in Cynthia's mind as she stays within Yorga's manor. Jennifer—still facing doubts about Tommy's involvement with the Nelson's disappearance and visits to Yorga's mansion—loses her patience, slapping Tommy, who later stares at her in a chillingly vengeful manner. Yorga meanwhile goes to claim Mitzi, killing her boyfriend near their boathouse then biting her, draining her blood and making her a new bride.

Hours later, Jason—Ellen's fiancé—is lured to Yorga's mansion by Tommy, on the condition he (Jason) would be reunited with Ellen. Once at the mansion, Tommy disappears, while Jason is reunited with Ellen. However in her vampirized state, she's no longer the girl he knew to which she gleefully taunts Jason over. Distracting him before her fellow brides attack attack him from behind. Jason breaks free, only to run into Count Yorga, who chases Jason down a hall and strangles him. Bruddah tosses Jason's body into the throne/coffin room for the brides—including Ellen and Mitzi—to feed on.

That evening, Reverend Thomas calls Jennifer by phone, but it is revealed she lay dead on her bed with a large knife sticking out of her chest. From her window, Tommy can be seen walking away from the house. After Thomas learns (off camera) of Jennifer's death, David is assured he is correct about the Count's true nature and manages to convince Reverend Thomas and investigating police detectives Lt. Madden and Sgt. O'Connor to join him in a rescue mission at Yorga's mansion. Reverend Thomas is sent to distract Yorga while Baldwin, Madden and O'Connor sneak in elsewhere. However the pastor, falling for Yorga's human guise, lets slip of the plan while speaking to Yorga and is killed when he's tricked into walking into the quicksand pit. Yorga returns to the manor, awakens his brides and unleashes them through the household. Likewise calling Cynthia to him.

Baldwin splits from the detectives to expand the room search, and upon opening one door discovers Jason's corpse, covered in bloody bite marks, with an IV draining remaining blood from his neck and into a glass bottle on the floor beneath him. Later, Baldwin finally finds the half-mind controlled Cynthia, and attempts to escape, however, he is nearly beaten by Bruddah until Baldwin uses a suit of armor's metal mace to knock Bruddah out with a violent blow to the face.

Police detectives Madden and O'Connor—up to this point having balked at Baldwin's vampire claims—are now believers on the run from Count Yorga's brides (while learning numerous point blank pistol shots prove ineffective against the undead), but encounter a revived, vengeful and bloodied Bruddah, who the detectives promptly shoot to death. The officers, desperately trying to find means of escape, cannot, as vampiric power shuts all possible escape routes. The policemen are soon killed: O'Connor is separated in the brides' throne/coffin room, and immediately bitten by the witch (also a vampire) as Madden helplessly listens to O'Connor's death screams. Moments later, Madden hears a whispering voice call his name from a corridor; thinking it is Baldwin, he runs to the source, but yells out, as he is stabbed in the chest—collapsing to his death. Tommy's sneakered feet walk by the body, indicating he was responsible for murdering Madden (in the same way he killed Jennifer).

Baldwin and Cynthia are the only ones left but as they try to escape, Yorga's brides block their every exit. Soon the two are cornered by Yorga and his undead harem. Yorga grabs Cynthia and takes her away to simply transform her into a new bride while leaving his army of brides to finish off Baldwin. Baldwin somehow escapes the brides and gives pursuit (along the way, grabbing an iron battle axe from a wall), chasing the two up to the balcony. The two men fight with Yorga having the advantage until Cynthia regains her memories of Yorga killing her family. She strikes Yorga in the chest with Baldwin's battle axe, and Baldwin then throws Yorga off the balcony. Yorga lays crumpled on the ground, apparently dead.

Cynthia hugs Baldwin, believing the ordeal over. However, she notices something wrong and pulls away. Gasping in horror as she sees that Baldwin now has pale skin and bite marks on his face; Baldwin has become a vampire (presumably bitten by the brides). Cynthia tries to run from him, but Baldwin pulls her back. Cynthia's can only gasp out a "No!" as Baldwin bites her, dooming her to a life as a vampire which he ironically was trying to prevent not moments ago.

The last shot of the movie is Tommy playing with his ball, in front of the manor that the vampires occupy (likely still in their control and acting as a new caretaker) as a haunting rendition of a song the children choir was singing at the beginning plays. Though Yorga is dead with all who know of the vampires dead or the undead themselves. There's no one to stop the vampires from feeding on the orphanage and spreading the curse of vampirism to the rest of the town, just as Yorga intended.