The vampire is one of the most prevalent monster archetypes in film history. Ever since Nosferatu premiered in 1922, vampires have always occupied a special place in horror films. Subspecies is a Full Moon produced vampire film that never saw a theatrical release, but still has a dedicated cult following. The story starts with Radu (Andres Hove) walking though an authentic-looking castle to confront his father, King Vladislas (Angus Scrimm) and challenge him for control of the castle and an artifact called the Bloodstone. Radu’s look in the movie is actually one of the highlights of the film for me. He’s got unkempt rock star hair, powder-white skin, fingers that are twice as long as they should be, and the actor always has a sting of red drool trickling out of his mouth. He is very reminiscent of Count Orlock visually. The King explains that Radu cannot inherit the Bloodstone as it will give him too much power, and since Radu is evil, him having too much power will only lead to bad things. Radu makes another plea for the stone, but Vladislas turns a nob on his throne and drops a steel cage onto Radu like something out of a James Bond movie. But Radu has a plan, and that plan is to break off the last knuckles of three of his own fingers and drop them on the floor outside the cage. Those severed digits transform into little imp creatures that climb up the throne and activate the nob, raising the cage and freeing Radu. He then stabs his father in the chest and claims the Bloodstone.
Meanwhile, three female college students with varying accents arrive in Romania to study the country’s ancient folklore. Michelle (Laura Tate) Lillian (Michelle McBride) and Mara (Irina Movila) rent rooms in an inn that is converted from a medieval fortress. The group soon meets Sefan (Michael Watson) who claims to be a college student as well studying nocturnal animals. It turns out Stefan is really Radu’s half-brother, who is also trying to retrieve the Bloodstone before Radu can use it to solidify his power. While this movie does look good most of the time (it was filmed on location in Romania) the story is very muddled and confusing. I am still not sure why the Bloodstone is so important to the vampires. All it ever does is occasionally drip blood. The stone is shoved aside part way through the film when Radu realizes that Stefan is smitten with Michelle, and his new goal becomes to capture the trio of women and turn them into his vampiric concubines. There are also parts of the film that are clearly supposed to be in night time exteriors, but they are obviously filmed in the daylight. I assume this was to prevent underexposure, but it is confusing to see the vampire characters walking around in the daylight. For a low-budget, direct-to-video horror film, it does have its enjoyable moments with very effective music and atmosphere. Radu is also a memorable villain with his distinct look and wheezy voice.
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