Subspecies is one of my favorite
vampire flicks by Ted Nicholaou and Charles Band from Full Moon Entertainment who team
up together to create a suspenseful and dark vampire story featuring Angus Scrimm and Anders Hove. The film begins with two traveling scholar girls,
Michelle and Lillian, who team up with Mara, a local girl from native
Transylvania, to conduct research on Romanian culture. With a shortage of hostels in Prejnar they find
shelter in a historic fortress built from the ancient ruins of Pledmar where
the Turks ambushed Romania in the fourteenth century (the historic Pledmar
Fortress). Rumor has it that the Fortress itself was where the peasants from
Vlad Tepes’ army barricaded themselves inside against the Turks. When food ran out they ventured from the
fortress to find dead Turks with blood on their throats, in an apparent vampire
attack. The main villain in this excellent vampire flick is Radu (Anders Hove)
the evil one. His father (Angus Scrimm), the head
vampire, has a precious stone called “The Blood Stone” and it is said to
contain the blood of all the Saints. Eternal
life and longevity belong to those who drink from the Blood Stone and prevents
them from biting the other residents of Pledmar, as if being a vampire wasn’t
enough! Radu kills his father in a jealous rage when they argue over the role
of a vampire should be. There is beautiful scenery of the Romanian woods where
the ground is covered with dead leaves and empty branches in the deep dark
woods of mystical Romania. The girls tour the woods and come to the fortress where
Lillian wants a picture of her standing in front of the fortress door as a souvenir. They investigate
a little further by prying open the door where Radu has been sleeping. Radu awakens
to see an arm and he takes a fresh bite. The girls were frightened by what could have
bitten Lillian and dusk soon arrives. Radu now has had his first taste of blood
from the girl and becomes infatuated with turning them all into vampires. While
traveling back through the woods they spot Radu creeping in a tree branch
(favorite moment) and they run right into Stefan, he brother, who also studies
at the Pledmar Fortress. Lillian, the girl who was bitten by Radu, soon becomes
ill and strange occurrences begin to happen. This is the first of a four part
series and one of the best. Surely a must see vampire film. Get it now on
Blu-Ray, DVD or Stream it instantly on Amazon Prime.
