Quintology II: Subspecies

Vampires are often the subject of low-budget, horror movies. Why? Because they can be just about anything, depending on how much money you have. 

Scary monster- sure, if you have the cash. Guy with $20 fangs and eye liner- also a vampire!

 In the case of today's movie, they manage to scrounge up enough money to make one really scary vampire...and that's about it. I will discuss the whole villain situation in the actual reviews, but the fact that the series has one monster vampire alone is a bit curious, is all. 

 All of these films were made on location in Romania, a fact that takes up most of the time on the DVD Making-Of features. 

These films are also the brainchild of a man named Ted Nicolau, who is also responsible for the Leapin' Leprechauns series, Bad Channels & Puppet Master vs. the Demonic Toys. 

 The man is not Orson Welles, is what I am trying to say! 

So, we have a small budget, a lazy choice of monster and a questionable director. Let's jump right into...

Subspecies

The film begins with a silly-looking old man sucking on what looks like a pacifier. He hears someone coming and hides it behind a false wall. In walks...the ugliest damn vampire of all time! 

 It's like if the monster from Castle Freak got in a car accident and got reconstructive surgery from the worst doctor ever. 

 The best part is that he will get even more ugly as the films go on. In a bit of lazy exposition, we learn that the weird old man (Phantasm's Angus Scrimm in a nothing role) is the King of the Vampires, and the freaky guy is Radu, his bad son. 

 His good son is coming as well, but Radu wants the Bloodstone, an artifact of great power that does different things in the different films. The King drops a 'Mousetrap'-like cage on his son, but our villain has a plan. 

 He breaks off the ends of his super-long fingers and they form into tiny demon-looking monsters out of Ray Harryhausen's dreams. They go into the wall and pull the cage away, allowing Radu to stab his dad to death- remember this for later films. 

Our heroines show up just in time for the villain to be thirsty.

The crux of the movie involves three woman- two of them American tourists- who are in Romania to do a thesis paper on ancient folklore. Well, you came to the right place! 

 They stay at a castle which only has one other guest, a mysterious man who works long hours and never comes out during the day. Hmm...I wonder. They look into the area around the castle & find that the people don't want to talk about the Vladislaas Manor, despite it being the biggest place in the country. 

 They meet the mysterious man, who is a dashing guy surrounded by mystery that will be addressed later. Meanwhile, Radu makes himself seen around the area, culminating in a bit where he pursues our heroines into the woods, which they run through after napping too long. 

No, really. He also talks about how he can't find the Bloodstone, despite it being in the same room that he now lives in. Things get bad when he decides to feast on one of our heroines, which the doctor cannot figure out. You're a doctor in a land of vampires and can't see what this is? 

 She dies and the friendly native (the only one, really) tells her that she must decapitate her friend. Yeah, I'm sure that she'll do that...

Of course, the man was right and Radu recruits the young woman to work for him. He has plans for the mysterious man, who it turns out is...Radu's brother!

 Dun dun obvious! 

 After being deserted by our heroine at a festival, the remaining heroine is captured by Radu and kept in his dungeon. He leaves his weird finger monsters to guard her, which leads us to some of the worst optical effects of all time. I mean, they're real bad! 

 Both of our heroes get captured by Radu, after a rescue attempt ends in the second victim being revealed as a vampire. They take the woman away so they can put her in a different outfit (off-camera, for some reason). Through some luck and determination, the good vampire manages to free himself, leading to a battle. One girl is crushed by a falling chandelier and another is lit on fire. 

Radu himself is stabbed with a spear and decapitated by his brother. At her request, he turns the only girl left into a vampire, in order for them to be together forever. 

 Yeah, good luck with that in Part II. The teaser ending reveals that Radu is still alive...somehow. To be continued...

This movie is not bad, but it does suffer from being the first of a Series. They have to introduce everyone and explain all of the back-story. 

That said, they leave a lot of it unexplained. 

 What is the Bloodstone? 

 Why are there only three vampires- all of them related? 

 Why does one native like the good vampire and the King? 

 Why is there a King for three people, two of which don't live there?!? 

 Our heroines don't fare much better, save for the lead. Even then, all of her expansion is done in the later sequels. All that said, the movie is saved by its use of real Romanian locations. While they don't always make great use of them, the Gothic wonder can distract you. Radu's make-up is interesting, but not all that logical. He is the only Full Moon vampire that looks so monstrous and bizarre. 

 By the way, his weird off-shoot monsters were changed in post-production (as says the Making-Of). Originally, they looked interesting and seemed like they were off of the same creature. Thanks for the change, guys.

How will things change in Subspecies 2? Will Radu look even freakier? Will this movie ever explain this fact? Stay tuned...