One of the things that makes these such good horror movies is how subtly scary the undead in the movies can be.
Count Yorga, Vampire
From fun-loving perk girl to a undead bride.
- At the beginning of the film, not long after the seance. Donna mentions in conversation with her friends that Yorga was her mother's boyfriend. Naturally it won't take much for the audience to put two and two together, especially when Donna reveals her mother died not long after Yorga and she were dating. And that Yorga was insistent on her body not being cremated as her mother had originally intended. From the way she talks about it, it's obvious he used his powers to "convince" her of this option so he could easily retrieve the body after she was buried. What makes it scary is the fact no one could actually tell what really killed her unless Yorga managed to hypnotize the couriers as well.
- Yorga's first attack on Erica and Paul. Dated or not, seeing Yorga's glowing face standing out in the darkness like that is spine-chilling.
- Yorga may seem like a charming gentleman...at least until he reveals his Game Face. The charm's just a façade that only hides the real monster within. And at the very end, despite being killed (even in the second movie), he manages to troll the protagonists before and after death, and technically win, as anyone afflicted with his vampirism is permanently stuck with it — and always evil.
- Erica going through her vampire changes after she's bitten the first time. Before she was pretty silly yet fun loving. But after she becomes despondent and listless, then the bloodlust kicks in and she can't even be aware of her surroundings. Turning her apartment into a mess in pursuit of her kitten. By the time Paul and Micheal reach her. She's succeeded in catching it and eating chucks of it out of it. When she's discovered, she screams like a banshee. But then her attitude does a 180 and she talks in a seductive voice beckoning Paul to come to her...before coming to her senses. She promptly breaks down in his arms, crying. What's worse? This is the last bit of humanity we see from her, Yorga claims her shortly after and completely turns her into a vampire.
- Before Yorga even does, after Erica breaks down, the men realize she suddenly lost blood out of the blue. They try for a transfusion to which during so Erica babbles inconsistently, begging Paul to "Not to hate her", "Not let it happen" and "To forgive her". But when asked what she's talking about, Erica can't remember. It's like the human part of her knows she's being corrupted but can't fight against it and is preventing her from telling the men. She ends it by begging the three to "Let her die!". Sadly however, she gets her wish...when Yorga finishes draining her and robbing her of her morality, leaving her as an undead under his command.
- How Paul is easily dispatched. He doesn't even stand a chance against Yorga, who, not only was expecting him, but easily kills him by simply choking him. Then letting his servant, Brudah, deliver the final blow via breaking his back.
- The worst thing is he was invading Yorga's home to save Erica, but his cause was already lost as she had been completely drained before he discovered she was gone. Even if he reached her, her undead form probably would've killed him herself.
- Donna's rape by Brudah, Yorga's barbarous manservant. It isn't shown, but that hideous scarred face lowering to the camera tells enough.
- While it wasn't shown, Hayes's girlfriend describes how a baby was found in the swamps drained of it's blood with it's neck chewed up. There was meant to be a scene of Donna's mother feeding on said baby (holding it from a leg and head, as if it was a chicken wing) and the red-headed bride trying to get her share, but was not used most likely because the filmmakers found it too disturbing. Heck the cat scene alone got them into a bit of trouble with the MPAA (this was the 70's at a time when scene like that were not looked on favorably), one could only imagine they would have a heart attack if that scene was added.
- Hayes's death: starting off with him being shown the brides' quarters where he finds Erica among them but far too late to be of any help. Yorga starts mocking him and laughing in his face. Even though Hayes came prepared, he's at a loss what to do as he hold Yorga a bay with a cross and stake. However he's so fixated on Yorga, that he fails to notice the brides awaken and close in on him from behind. They quickly gang up on him, force him to the floor and feed on him, where we hear Hayes' anguished yells amid their slurping sounds. Yorga looking on with a total lack of empathy before hiding upstairs really completes the dark mood of the scene.
- Paul's mutilated body in the crypts of the manor. More then likely Yorga has also fed him to the brides. And since Erica was among then at that point, she probably ate her boyfriend but didn't care in the slightest about it due to the monster she's now become.
- Erica's vampire form: Pale skin, sunken eyes, her cheekbones become a lot more noticable, messy hair and of course the row of fangs in her mouth. A very sharp (pardon the pun) contrast to how she started the movie.
- Speaking of Erica, there's a scene shortly after where Micheal comes across Hayes's dying body. He tells her where Donna is only for Erica and another vampire bride to come rushing into room, apparently still hungry even after feeding on Hayes (they could've been the one who even set the trap). Their growling and hissing really emphasis how inhuman they've become. Michael manages to hold his ground and scare off the unnamed bride. But Erica just stands there, as if a small bit of her old self is still in there somewhere and wants Micheal to kill the creature she's now become. He hesitates and tried to bring himself to do it but ultimately can't and runs off. Whatever what was pausing her now gone reverting her back to a bloodthristy being.
- Yorga's death is pretty chilling too, especially considering it was caused by his own hand. Gasping in shock as the stake punctures his midsection then letting out a death wail followed by quick cuts of the camera before he finally succumbs. What's more when Micheal and Donna see him again, he's turned completely into sand with empty eye holes and the impression of teeth where his face once was. It's a very chilling image.
- If you see the whole thing from Micheal's perspective it's pretty nightmarish, three of his friends go missing. He invades a compound he knows nothing about to fight a creature he only only aware of in movies. Then once in the place, he finds Paul's body mutilated, tries to reach Hayes only to get to him too late and can do nothing but watch him die as he uses his last breath to tell him where Donna is. Shortly after he's force to confront Erica, no longer his bubbly friend he once knew, but now a vampire ready to kill him. She does give him the chance to stake her and he knows he should as she nothing more then a walking corpse. But he can't do it and leaves. And then of course he finally reaches Donna, Yorga, and Donna's mother. It's pretty clear he's in over his head and not really sure what to do other then try to call Donna over him. Luckily Yorga's own actions do him in, but even with his death it's not over yet.
- The final bit of the movie, starting with Erica and the unnamed bride coming after Micheal and Donna. Even with Yorga dead, the vampirism is permanent so there's no saving Erica. Unlike last time, she doesn't pause either, meaning she's fully embraced her new evil lifestyle. Micheal and Donna run down the opposite staircase with the brides doubling back to meet them in the middle. Micheal manages to hold them back with a cross and the two women are forced back. However Erica gives a odd glance at Donna, The two are soon forced into a cellar where Micheal locks the door, dropping the cross in the process. He leans against the wall, panting, thinking is over. Just as he catches his breath and turns to Donna she rushes at him, fangs bared and hissing loudly. But no thats not the kicker, we get some final dialogue from the narrator who laughs at the notion of vampires being "superstition" before cutting to a still shot of a dead Micheal, bite marks all over his face.
The Return of Count Yorga
- The beginning of the movie where, after the Santa Anna Winds are explained. We go to one of the orphans, Tommy, playing in the local cemetery, he barely makes out a voice in the wind saying "Rise, It is time." But pays it no mind and continues on, as he passed by a few graves, hands suddenly break through the ground. Tommy remains unaware as he stops to rest while bodies of undead women pull themselves from their graves behind him. And unlike like the last movie where there was only three vampire brides, there's a whole group of them here implying that Yorga's been busy in the area. Tommy finally realizes he's not alone and sees them, making a run for it as the women stalk him. Just when it seems he'll outrun them, he runs right into Yorga in vamp mode who looks ready to feed on him and promptly screams before the movie cuts to the orphanage fund raiser.
- Yorga encountering and biting Mitzi before he reaches the fund raiser party. It isn't till he interacts with everyone then makes to leave that she finally stumbles into the party and everyone rushes to treat her.
- Some of the appearances of the brides who have discolored or disfigured skin. Apparently before the vampirism took hold. Their bodies decay normally while underground.
- The whole attack on Cynthia's family, the brides just break in and, without any hint of emotion, overrun the family and kill them.
- The lead up to the attack does a good job of being unsettling. After Yorga has seen that all his subjects have gather. He sends the brides out, we see a short scene of them leaving the manor in a zombie like manner. We then cute to the Nelsons home with all the family members awake and at unease, knowing something wrong, but just can't explain what. They gather in the living room and try to comfort each other. And then another cut to outside as we see the brides now outside their house. One more cut inside the house has the family unawares what's about to happen. The mother notes Cynthia isn't with them and asks where she is. We see Cynthia has walked near the glass door leading outside. And then one of the brides suddenly breaks through the glass to grab her with virtually no warning.
- Poor Ellen gets the worst of this as every exit she runs to is a vampire bride waiting before one manages to wrestle her to the ground and feed on her. So much so that we get two shots of the bride rising off her body after feeding on her.
- The mother's death is likewise horrifying. She's mostly screaming her head off before a rather elderly looking vampire bride approaches and proceeds to choke her while another bride joins in and, after some struggle, manages to get a clear bite at her neck. Cynthia notices and gives out a Big "NO!", rushing over to try and pry them off. But is yanked back by the other brides and eventually forced into unconsciousness.
- The way the screams all die down as the camera lingers on the fireplace for a bit. Eventually all goes quit before we cut back to the brides, all rising off their targets with Ellen, the mother and the father dead while Cynthia is knocked out on the floor
- Cynthia waking up in Yorga's mansion and learning she was the "only survivor in a car crash" that claimed her sister and parents. Granted, it's Yorga memory wiping her just so he can court her into willingly becoming a bride. But the thought alone is terrifying. Then of course she finds that she can't leave the manor and her memories of the attack on her family slowly start coming back to her. The scene ending with the brides carrying Cynthia back to Yorga's manor as he watches before heading back in.
- At one point she explores the house and her memories keep trying to resurface. She hears women (one of whom is her now vamped sister) calling to her. It starts off sweet at first but then becomes more mocking with them laughing at her for good measure. She's eventually able to follow the voices but only to barely catch a glance of the brides going into another room before before they lock the door behind them and prevent her from following, leading into a very minor breakdown.
- Yorga attacking Mitzi and her fiance in a call back to the Paul and Erica in the first movie. Only this time Yorga kills the fiance in a very chilling scene as he's looking over his boat (that reflection in the water, burrr) before going into the boat and biting Mitzi for the second and final time. Next we see her, Mitzi is one of the newer additions to Yorga's brides.
- In the middle of the film, Tommy goes to Jason and claims he knows where Ellen is. He instantly follows him (and, in true horror movie fashion, doesn't even bother to tell anyone else of this) to which Tommy leads him into Yorga's manor and a dark room. Indeed he finds Ellen, only obviously she's completely undead now. She tells him stoically "You're frighten, you don't love your Ellen anymore" which, given how she's looking and acting, it's not surprising he finds something off. Ellen then starts cackling evilly as three of Yorga's brides try to jump Jason. The way the camera cuts to him trying to fight them off and her continuing to laugh is utterly jarring as her vampire features become more pronounced (especially the fangs) to emphasize that Ellen is indeed dead and corrupted into an evil monster now. Eventually Jason manages to evade the women and flees out the room into a hall—-only for Yorga to come charging down it in full vamp mode (Pale skin, fangs bared, even giving out a loud hiss). The whole sequence is shot in a very slow motion as Jason tries to run from and escape into another room. But alas, the door is locked, Yorga catches up and instantly chokes him to death. Afterward, Brudah carries Jason's body into the brides chamber and dumps his body onto the floor. It cuts briefly to Ellen who, seemingly, does show a bit of remorse in killing her boyfriend. But ultimately the vampire in her wins out and she joins her fellow brides in surrounding Jason's body and going to feed on him. What make this scene more chilling is we don't see the feeding, just the brides wordlessly bending over his body and starting to grasp at him before one of them obscures the camera before we go to the next scene. Subtle and horrifying.
- When Hayes and the cops come to search the manor for Donna. Yorga, as before when Jason had came to the manor, opens the throne chambers for his brides to go hunt for them. The way it's shot is chilling, the brides all lined up and march in unison in a zombie like manner, blank expressions on their faces as they go to do their master's bidding. Their complexion a reminder their no longer human but Yorga's personal army of walking corpses.
