After the success of Puppet Master, Full Moon started releasing more direct-to-video films intending to start potential franchises. Thanks to a deal with Paramount Pictures, they were able to feed the burgeoning home video market at the time. Around the same time, Full Moon also released Shadowzone, Meridian: Kiss of the Beast, and Crash and Burn. Even films originally produced under Empire Pictures, namely Trancers, were made into their own franchises for Full Moon. Speaking of Empire, Ted Nicolaou, who worked on Ghoulies, The Dungeonmaster, and TerrorVision, was brought over to Full Moon. For his first film under Full Moon, Nicolaou would also be directing the first American to be filmed in Romania. While initially reluctant, Nicolaou agreed to do it despite some production setbacks, including the last remnants of communism. Then in 1991, Full Moon released Nicolaou’s Romanian film, the vampire tale, Subspecies, kicking off a whole new series.
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In the Romanian town Prejmer, the vampire king Vladislas (Angus Scrimm) is confronted by his evil son Radu (Anders Hove). Radu is after the Bloodstone, which will give him untold power, but Vladislas plans on entrusting it to Radu’s half-brother. In retaliation, Radu kills the king and gets the Bloodstone with the help of his diminutive minions, the subspecies. Meanwhile, American students Michelle (Laura Tate) and Lillian (Michelle McBride) meet up with their friend Mara (Irina Movila) in Bucharest. They soon meet Stefan (Michael Watson), who turns out to be Radu’s younger half-brother and is trying to protect them. Unfortunately, Lillian accidentally marks herself for Radu, leading to her and Mara being turned into his vampire brides. Stefan falls in love with Michelle, but Radu also has his sights set on making her one of his own. With the help of local Karl (Ivan J. Rado), Stefan must stop Radu.
The first thing I’d like spotlight is how Subspecies takes full advantage of the ancient Romanian castles and ruins. The locations used really add to the look of the film and make it seem bigger than it actually is. In addition, Nicolaou’s direction is top-notch, utilizing the locations and heavy shadows to create a dark and foreboding atmosphere. Performance-wise, everyone does a decent job, but the real highlight is Anders Hove, who’s instantly memorable as the villainous Radu. His raspy voice, Nosferatu-inspired look, devilish smile, and drooling snarl make him stand out from other vampire characters. Another highlight are the subspecies themselves, who were brought to life by stop motion animator and frequent collaborator David Allen. While some of the blue screen on the puppets hasn’t aged well, the stop motion animation still looks good. Plus, the musical score is among some of the best in Full Moon’s entire catalog.
However, while this is definitely one of the better Full Moon films, Subspecies still has its issues and flaws. For one, even at 83 minutes, there are many scenes that drag on and probably could’ve been trimmed. There are many scenes where characters are just standing around and not doing anything, which slows the pacing down. Also, while Anders Hove makes for a memorable vampire, Michael Watson’s Stefan is an incredibly weak and pretty useless vampire. Honestly, the human characters, namely Michelle and Karl, end up doing more than Stefan, a half vampire, does. Speaking of, while none of the human characters are awful, their performances are unremarkable and nothing to write home about. Even with all that said, this still works as an interesting spin on vampire mythology that works on its own. Overall, Subspecies is a great start to another signature Full Moon franchise.
Buy Subspecies at Full Moon’s website: https://bit.ly/2kKdzIm
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