Subspecies (1991)

Another low-budget production from Charles Band's Full Moon Pictures, and one of his better ones this time around. At least there's a lot going on, and it's not as rubbishy as you might expect from Band's CV. This is the beginning of his own vampire mythology which would be expanded upon in three sequels (to date), and has all the usual ingredients of a vampire movie: scantily-clad female victims chained to cellar walls, lots of bloodsucking, coffins, stakes, and ruins and graveyards. The usual suspects, but, while this fails as a horror film to be scary, at least it passes the time in a dumb but enjoyable way.Anders Hove plays the lead vampire and is clad in Nosferatu-inspired makeup, complete with deathly pale face and incredibly long fingers. He's sufficiently grotesque as the baddie. His half-brother is Stefan, a "human" vampire complete with clean-shaven visage and tacky '80s hairstyle. Also appearing in the cast are three teenage girls, two annoying Americans and one with a silly French accent. Predictably they become objects of affection and lust for the two vampire brothers and a battle for control ensues. The rest of the cast include a manservant who speaks like Bela Lugosi, a cameo from Angus Scrimm in a ludicrous white wig, and a trio of animated little demons whose sole reason for appearance just seems to be that they look "cool".What this film does have in its favour are some authentic locations, as it was partially filmed in Romania. Just like THE HOWLING II, in fact, another film which benefited from some local colour. The dilapidated castle is also a nice setting for the film and would have been atmospheric in more stylish directorial hands. Another thing on this film's plus side is the relatively high level of splatter, scenes including decapitations, messy bloodsucking, and a wonderful opening which sees broken fingers turning into the aforementioned little demons. While these aren't explicit, they serve to move the film along at a fast pace, and the short running time also makes it easy to sit through. There are no boring scenes of dialogue or wandering about in this film, as something is going on to further the plot at every moment, which I liked. SUBSPECIES may not be a brilliant or inspired film but there are a lot of worse films out there...

Three nubile, young scholars, Michelle, Mara, and Lillian, plan to study folklore, not knowing that a bitter power struggle between two vampiric siblings (the evil Radu and half-mortal Stephan) will soon engulf their ,as to this point quite benign, world.Another memorable Full Moon picture tat reminds me of how good the legendary studio used to be. I'll take Subspecies over either Anne Rice brooding queen vamps OR the more recent sparkly idiots any day of the week. The only gripe i have with the film aside from a decidedly leisurely pace, is not enough of the awesome Angus 'Tall Man' Scrimm as the doomed patriarchEye Candy: Michelle McBride and Inna Movila both get topless

If you're making a list of the all-time scariest vampires in film, there are some obvious choices. Names like Max Schreck's Nosferatu, Bela Lugosi's Dracula, Christopher Lee in Hammer's Dracula films, Reggie Nalder from Salem's Lot, Gary Oldman's Dracula and Chris Sarandon from Fright Night immediately come to mind. One that is often overlooked but still deserving of the title is Anders Hove's portrayal of Radu Vladislas from 1991's Subspecies.While the film itself may not go down as one of the greats, the nightmarish Radu has helped to cement Subspecies' place as a cult classic. The primal bloodsucker is undeniably creepy, with a raspy voice and long, crab leg-like fingers that bring to mind the iconic imagery of Nosferatu. The movie spawned three sequels and a spin-off. For its 20th anniversary, Full Moon Features released a special edition Blu-ray and DVD of the film.Angus Scrimm (Phantasm) receives top billing, but he appears merely as a cameo in the prologue. His King Vladislav is the first character to appear, brandishing a chintzy powdered wig. But the cheesiness does not last for long, as Radu is introduced next. The vampire king, having been seduced by a sorceress, is Radu's father. As you can imagine, there is not much family bonding between the two. Radu kills his father in order to obtain the bloodstone, a powerful relic that "bleeds the blood of saints." Centuries later, two American college girls, Michelle (Lara Tate) and Lillian (Michelle McBride), meet up with their European friend, Mara (Irina Movila), in Romania to research the local culture. They stay at a Transylvanian castle in the town of Prejnar, where they cross paths with another guest, Stefan (Michael Watson). He claims to be studying nocturnal animals, but there is only one creature on his mind: his brother Radu. Stefan develops a relationship with Michelle, but the superstitions that the girls were researching become all too real when their blood is sought by the evil Radu.Subspecies was shot on location of Romania (reportedly the first American film to do so after the fall of communism), which adds immense production value. The rich landscapes, shadowy forests and ominous castles provide a beautifully Gothic atmosphere that would be impossible to replicate with sets. Some locals even appear in bit parts.The title of Subspecies does not refer to the vampire race, but rather Radu's pint-sized minions born of his body. As characters, they're entirely unnecessary, but Charles Band has a bizarre fetish for putting little monsters in his films (see also: Puppet Master, Demonic Toys, Ghoulies, Gingerdead Man, et al.). They were created by Dave Allen using stop motion and puppetry, which has not aged well. Thankfully, they don't play much of a role in the story, so their distractions are kept to a minimum.The Blu-ray presentation is nothing to write home about, but the movie still looks better than ever. This marks the first time that the film has been released in its proper 16:9 widescreen format. Despite some softness, the newly-remastered, high-definition transfer is a bast improvement on the grainy, dull DVD. Similarly, while the stereo audio is on the flat side, it gets the job done. It's unlikely that the film will ever look better.The only special feature (aside from some Full Moon trailers) is the Videozone featurette from the original VHS release. Innovative for its time, Videozone is like an electronic press kit featuring interviews with the cast and crew. They mostly discuss working in Romania. It's also interesting to learn that the subspecies were originally portrayed by actors in rubber suits before making the switch to puppets. Given that this is the anniversary edition, it would have been nice to have some new features looking back on the film or at least a commentary track.The marvelous filming locations and Radu's eeriness don't excuse all of Subspecies' mistakes. The film was obviously made on a low budget; the script, written by Jackson Barr and David Pabian, is a bit too melodramatic; the acting, particularly that of the three girls, leaves a bit to be desired. Still, director Ted Nicolaou utilized his limited resources to deliver what is arguably the best title best title in Full Moon's storied catalog.

Director Ted Nicolaou who also created the other three parts of this classic series, Bloodstone: Subspecies 2 1993, Bloodlust: Subspecies 3 1994 and Subspecies 4: Bloodstorm 1998 has created another gem in Subspecies.It stars Anders Hove who was also in the other three parts of this classic series, Bloodstone: Subspecies 2, Bloodlust: Subspecies 3 and Subspecies 4: Bloodstorm.Also starring is Angus Scrimm who was also in other classic flicks, Phantasm 2 1988, The Never Dead 1979 and was the narrator in Wishmaster 1997.It also stars Irina Movila.I enjoyed the Gothic atmosphere, animation and the look of the vampire.If you enjoyed this as much as I did then check out other classic vampire flicks, 30 Days of Night 2007, Blade 2 2002, Blood for Dracula 1974, Daughters of Darkness 1971, Daybreakers 2009, Dracula 1992, Dracula 2000 2000, Desert Vampires 2001, Fright Night 1985, From Dusk Till Dawn 1996, From Dusk Till Dawn 2: Texas Blood Money 1999, Frostbiten 2006, Dracula 1958, The Living Dead Girl 1982, Near Dark 1987, Night Watch 2004, Perfect Creature 2006, Underworld 2003, Underworld: Evolution 2006, Vampire Circus 1972, Vampires 1998, The Lost Boys 1987, Suck 2009, Underworld: Awakening 2012, Livid 2011, What We Do in the Shadows 2014, We Are the Night 2010, Afflicted 2013 and Van Helsing 2004.