Genre: Horror

Rating: NR (TV)

Synopsis:
When a new development is started in San Francisco, the construction disturbs the resting-place of vampire Anton Voytek (Richard Lynch). Rising from his grave, Voytek begins feeding on homeless people while insinuating himself into San Francisco's social scene through lawyer Nicole DeCamp (Jessica Walter). Nicole introduces Voytek to John and Leslie Rawlins (Jason Miller and Kathryn Harrold), two architects that Voytek hires to excavate the cache of treasure he's collected over 8 centuries. During the dig, a cross is found that retired detective Harry Kilcoyne (E. G. Marshall) gave to an old friend who disappeared 40 years earlier. John and Leslie retrieve the treasure but when they discover that most of it was stolen, they notify the authorities and the treasure is confiscated. In retaliation, Voytek seduces and kills Leslie. Despite a lack of evidence and an airtight alibi, John is certain that Voytek murdered Leslie and sets out to prove it. Breaking into Voytek's apartment, John discovers Voytek's coffin but he's locked away in a mental institution when he insists that Voytek is a vampire. Trapped and helpless, John is at the mercy of Voytek, who arrives to kill him too, but Harry, who believes John’s claims about Voytek, rescues him. Harry tells John how his best friend cornered Voytek back in 1939, forcing Voytek to bury them both under tons of rubble. Together, Harry and John develop a plan to trap Voytek by locating and destroying his coffins, leaving him with no place to hide. Worried that Voytek will get to him through his neighbor Andrea (Barrie Youngfellow) and her son Tommy (Adam Starr), Harry convinces Andrea to send Tommy to visit his father but Andrea refuses to leave. Going to the address that Voytek's coffins were delivered to, Harry and John only find one coffin, with Leslie in it, and John is forced to drive a stake through her heart. Unfortunately, while Harry and John are busy with Leslie, Voytek captures Andrea. Fortunately, he doesn't have time to kill her before sunrise, giving Harry and John a day to rescue her. Getting a list of Voytek's real estate holdings from Nicole, Harry and John begin tracking down and 'contaminating' Voytek's coffins with holy water and crosses. Unfortunately, all the coffins are empty. As the sun sets, they locate the last coffin in an old cemetery but it's too late and Voytek is awake. Controlled by Voytek, Andrea begs Harry to leave them alone but Harry is able to hurt Voytek with a vial of holy water, freeing Andrea but allowing Voytek to disappear into the night.

Type of mind control: Vampiric stare

Mind control scenes:
There are two mind control scenes in this movie. The first is when Voytek seduces Leslie before killing her and the second is when Harry and John finally track down Voytek and find Andrea in his thrall.

Subjective Rating: 3 out of 5
The first mind control scene is very subtle, with Voytek using his sexual attraction more than any obvious control to seduce Leslie. The second mind control scene is much more apparent, with Voytek waking Andrea from a deep sleep with just a wave of his hand and making her fawn all over him. Andrea is so deeply under Voytek's spell that she pleads with Harry and John to leave them alone so she and Voytek can be together forever. Unfortunately, the scene is rather short and very late in the movie, leading to a relatively anticlimactic ending.