Diener des Bösen

It's the classic story of good brother vs. bad brother as the vampire sons of old King Vlad - handsome, noble, boring Stefan and hideous, jealous, scheming, fascinating Radu - battle over the rights to their inheritance. At stake (sorry) are ancient Castle Vladislas, played to perfection by ancient Castle Hunedoara, and the family's prize, the mystic Bloodstone; a holy relic that drips the blood of saints. (What a unique invention! I wish the movie said more about its nature and history.) Into the middle of this gory sibling squabble wander the obligatory clueless bunch of cute American students, doing a research project on local folklore, and we're off to the races.

Has its weak spots, especially the awkward animation and matting-in of Radu's tiny demon servants, but its energy, enthusiasm and imaginative ideas - such as the "shadow transit" by which the vampires travel, and the reptilian relish of Anders Hove's performance as Radu - easily carry it over these gaps. Add in some gore and nudity for the high-school crowd, and the pleasure of seeing a vampire film actually shot in Romania and using its wonderful medieval locations so central to Western vampire lore, and you have a thoroughly capable and enjoyable little horror film. Those who appreciate bloody but clever small-scale horror such as Brian Yuzna's Lovecraft films should have no trouble adopting this one.

(If you enjoy my reviews, you can read more of them under my previous name - just plain "angelynx".)

King Vladislav (Angus Scrimm) of Romania is a vampire, but a vampire of light who wants nothing more than to live in peace and harmony with mankind. But his son, Radu (Anders Hove), is a cruel creature to his very heart (which is pretty obvious as soon as you see him). Three lesbian students have come to study local folklore, but find themselves drawn into the vampires legends at just the wrong time: Vladislav has been killed.

Who can say anything bad about a film featuring a cameo from Angus Scrimm? Not me. I mean, I had some low expectations after seeing other Full Moon pictures ("Puppet Master" in particular, and "Demonic Toys"). But despite the really bad animated effects of the demons, this film was actually really well done and very fun to watch. Plenty of blood, a good plot and back story (the Bloodstone story was surprisingly refreshing) and even some new angles on the vampire mythos, which you would think would be dead by now. (Maybe I am wrong, but this is probably the first film to feature rosary beads being fired from a gun.)

Aside from vampires and blood, you get a share of nudity (gratuitous, but welcome) and I had to notice the excellent score from the composers (not sure who deserves credit, but those involved include Stuart Brotman, Richard Kosinski, William Levine, Michael Portis and John Zeretzka). This is Horror 101 all the way. Heck, you even get two sequels, which is the sign of a true horror film. (Of course, some bad films get sequels, too -- did I mention "Puppet Master"?)

The Romanian theme was well-done, and the film even seems to have been made by Romanians if I am guessing their name origins correctly. And the score -- the music -- really stood out for me as a nice change of pace, very mood-setting. I like Richard Band, but I am glad another composer was given a shot because he nailed the atmosphere on the head. If you like vampire films and want a slight variation (one of the Eastern European variety), this is worth seeing.

"Subspecies," like many other horror films, gets a raw deal on IMDb. The majority of movie-watchers have a hearty contempt for horror, and when they occasionally rent horror films, they either want to laugh at them or cringe at excessively gory scenes. Unfortunately, "Subspecies" is not particularly laughable, and not that bloody, so it gets a low rating. That's too bad.

Of course, there's plenty to criticize here. The non-actors are flat, the subspecies are a poor special effect, and the nighttime scenes are too brightly lit. But what do you expect? For a straight-to-video horror film, "Subspecies" boasts decent production values and more integrity than you might anticipate. The film's Romanian setting is virtually unique (I believe it was the first American movie made in that country, post-Communism), and the locations, both interior and exterior, are beautiful. The script has moments of intelligence, especially when it delves into local folklore (all bogus, I'm sure). Somehow, the location filming and smartish script work well together - "Subspecies" has its own very distinctive world. To risk damning with faint praise...it could be a lot dumber.

Fans of the more gruesome aspects of horror will no doubt get a kick out of the blood-drooling vampire villain, Radu. He's pretty effective in this movie - powerful, with a memorable raspy voice - but I like him better in the sequels, when actor Anders Hove gives a more self-parodying, campy performance. A totally sincere Radu is somewhat silly. Other silly aspects include gratuitous nudity and the subspecies themselves, who are clearly only in the movie because producer Charles Band has a fetish for evil little creatures (see also Puppetmaster and Demonic Toys).

But I linger too much on the movie's flaws. For what it is - straight-to-video vampire horror - "Subspecies" is perfectly fine. The sequels boast better production values, more violence, and somewhat more thoughtful story lines, so I recommend them even more highly. Still, this isn't a bad start for the series.

Radu kills his father and stills from him The Blood Stone(The Blood Stone is surpost to give the vampire who holds it ultimate power). His brother Stefan hears of this and shows up into town to battle the evil Radu. 3 other girls come to town and somehow get mixed up in all of this. The movie is filled with Vampire conflict all the way to the end

On a side note this is one of the best Vampire movies i have ever seen. It was pretty low buget, but somehow it had a good cast and pretty good effects. Not to mention the makeup on Radu is some of the best i have ever seen. It ranks right up there with American Werewolf in Paris. Although it was low budget this movie sparked 4 sequals.

It hasn't been since '91 that I've seen it but boy do I remember it. It scared the shatner out of me since I was only ten.Radu was simply HORRIFYING TO ME,GIVE ME THE BLOODSTONE,PLEASE. The little red dudes are great for what ails ya'. I don't know what was scarier, radu or RADU. The costumes were great, the settings were neat-o. I thought it was very nicely done indeed. If you can find it RENT IT TODAY!