Bloodlust: Subspecies III

I'm quite surprised at myself for having not watching this Charles Band Full Moon Features production before and have quickly become a fan of the Subspecies series of films. I think what I like most about the series is that the vampires here are neither the Bela Lugosi elegant gentlemen type, nor are they the emo Anne Rice/Sookie Stackhouse type of vampires. The vampire Radu is a nasty scary looking monster. In many ways, he reminds me of the Steve Niles vampires in "30 Days of Night." In this third installment, Radu is still controlling one of the sisters from the previous film and her other sister is trying to free her from Radu's thrall. As with the previous films, this was competently directed by Ted Nicolaou, who makes the most of the European locations and the real-life castle that was owed by Band's production company at the time (and which appeared in just about every Full Moon film of this era, even one misguided Trancers film). Anders Hove continues to be creepy as Count Radu, the practical special effects are solid (and bloody), and the production values are better than most Full Moon productions. Overall, this one is a must see for fans of Charles Band films, but honestly this film is probably not one for non-fan of Full Moon Features.

This was a film that I knew of the series, but not necessarily which film was what. I believe that I tried taking Part II home to watch from the video store but got lost since I hadn't seen the original. The cover of these movies always caught my attention though and plus, back then I was a huge Full Moon fan. I've now given this a second watch as part of my Foray through the Fours.

Synopsis: still in the thrall of the evil vampire Radu (Anders Hove), Michelle (Denice Duff) yearns to be taught the skills of the vampire. Meanwhile, her sister Becky (Melanie Shatner) tries to free her from his evil clutches, and this time, she's brought help.

We start where the last movie left off. It shows scenes to fill us in and get us up to speed. Professor Popescu (Michael Denish) is killed by being stabbed through the chest with a spear. Rebecca escapes from the crypt with the help of her sister, Michelle, who tells her she cannot follow because she is a vampire. She goes back down into the crypt where Radu's mother, this mummy/witch who is played by Pamela Gordon, takes her deeper.

Becky alerts the police and they launch an investigation. They are led by Lieutenant Marin (Ion Haiduc). They don't find evidence of what she claims happened, outside of the body of Popescu. Mel shows up to support Becky. He doesn't believe her though either. That is until something weird happens, causing everyone to flee the crypt. There is laughing, smoke and a strange light. This is a ritual to allow Radu, his mother and Michelle to teleport back to the castle.

There is an interesting triangle amongst this group. Radu is in love with Michelle. She wants him to teach her his ways. She agrees to this if he will spare her sister. Radu's mother doesn't believe her. She believes that Michelle harbors hate for him and is using her female ways to persuade him. He won't hear this though due to his feelings for her. We do see them go out hunting where she drinks blood, but she cannot kill the victim.

We also have Becky and Mel, who are being followed by Lt. Marin. Mel doesn't fully believe Becky, but he does help her steal artifacts and a book from the office of Popescu. They go to the castle, looking for a way in. This becomes a race to save Michelle before it is too late. The problem is that they're up against forces stronger than them.

That is where I'll leave my recap and introduction to the characters. Where I want to start is that one of the best parts about this film is that it was shot back-to-back with Part II. That helps keep the tone as well as prevent continuity issues. That was something I wanted to give credit for. The other thing is that I'm surprised my sister and I didn't watch this series growing up. I remember I tried taking one of them home from the video store, but it jumped right in and was lost so it was shut off. It also was more adult than films we were used to from Full Moon.

Now I'll bring back up that this is my second time seeing this movie. I've only seen the first two once. With this rewatch, I love that Radu is in love with Michelle. She can placate him to save her sister by telling him that she wants to learn to be a vampire. The only misstep here is that she wants to die soon after. That does feel rushed since this movie picks up the morning after. I love that Radu's mother, the mummy witch, knows what is in Michelle's heart. Since he's blinded, he hangs on to every word she says about wanting to learn his ways. This does feel like it borrows from Dracula kidnapping Mina and then seeing what happens after she's been turned. It is a toxic relationship that he isn't seeing the signs.

There is then the other story where Becky brings the police to this crypt. She must tell Mel about what happened to the professor. What is good here is that Lt. Marin doesn't believe her and he shouldn't. He's a cop. I like that it doesn't take long for Mel to come around to what happens in the crypt while the police are searching for clues. This doesn't waste any time was good for the pacing. If anything, I'd say that things move a bit too fast here and don't let elements develop fast enough. That could alleviate my issues with Radu and Michelle.

I will end this out by saying that you don't necessarily have to see the previous two films to enjoy this one. Like I said, I don't remember everything that has happened to this point. The issue though is that if you truly want to enjoy this, they are mandatory. There are things that I do think get lost so keep that in mind before seeing this.

I'll then go over to the acting. I thought that Hove is great as Radu. He has such a creepy look before they make up as vampires. He then brings enough creepiness for this to work. He is a Count Orlok/Nosferatu style vampire that is more animalistic. Duff is solid as his love interest. She manipulates him which is good. There is part of me that believes she does want to learn to be a vampire. It is the feeding part that she's struggling with. Spirtas is solid along with Shatner as our heroes here. Gordon is also creepy as the mummy/witch. Haiduc adds comedy that I'm not fully sure works. He's fine though. Michael Della Femina has an odd role as this CIA agent who is friends with Mel. It feels like he's there for convenience to progress the story and for a bit of levity. Other than that, the rest of the cast rounded this out for what was needed.

All that is left then is filmmaking. I thought that the cinematography was good. They're able to capture the setting. It feels like this is in a small village as well as this nearby castle. Being shot in Romania helps. How they frame the attacks helps to hide the seams. There are mostly practical effects here which look good. The blood as well as the looks of Radu and the mummy/witch are great. I even love the little imp creatures even though we don't see them until the end. There were effects that aren't great, but that is a limited basis. The soundtrack fit what was needed.

In conclusion, this is an underrated series from pique Full Moon. I love this concept of an animalistic vampire finding the 'love of his life' and doing what he can to teach her his ways. There is good mythology here. This is more of a character study though of Radu and his love for Michelle. The acting here is solid with Hove and Gordon leading the way. This is made well for its budget. The effects, cinematography and framing are the tops. Won't be for everyone. But this is a solid vampire film that does its own thing.

My Rating: 6.5 out of 10.

Conclusion to the planned trilogy directed by Ted Nicolaou this third film ends rather openly suggesting that Full Moon Productions were already sizing up future instalments. This time Radu kidnaps Michelle and takes her to the castle that he shares with his mother, a Sorceress. He teaches her to master her vampire powers, willing to sacrifice everything to empower his true love when Michelle's sister Rebecca attacks his stronghold.

The trilogy is weakening here with little original storyline and little excitement. However the series still - at this point - remains highly unique and still fantastically riveting. Once again the acting is of a high standard, the Romanian locations breathtaking and the script, score and direction, even in this 'weaker hour' surpass many larger budget films. Stable stuff.

Though not quite as great as "Subspecies 2," and with an unsatisfying ending, it was still better than the original.

It picks up where the last one left off, with babe Michelle in the vampiric clutches of Radu and his shrivelled, cackling mother, and the forces of good attempting to save her. There were some great and legitimate moments of tension, mostly due to characterization, and that's always welcome. Anders Hove does a fantastic job as the pitiful, all-too-human vampire, Radu, in love with Michelle who can only hate him. It was well-written, although a lot slower-moving than "Subspecies 2," but definitely worth a look.

Now I know that most of the Subspecies fans prefer the second movie over Bloodlust: Subspecies III, but I think this was actually my favorite of the series. This is where we see a little bit of Radu's weakness and that he can have mortal feelings for another, even love. Weither or not he's in love with Michelle, I think he admires her innocence and beauty, the power she holds over him, she knows it and definitely takes advantage of it, who can blame her, right? But I love how the story goes into Radu, he fears this emotion, understandably, and it blinds him. This is strangely a tragic love story that really intrigues me, it goes from teacher/student to love/hate. Radu though I promise still delivers the good scares like the other Subspecies movies.

Radu and his student, Michelle, are up to a lot, while he teaches her what it means to be a vampire, Radu's mother thinks it's a bad idea to keep her. Michelle's sister, Morgan, will not give up and she will do anything to save her sister's should. Michelle tells Radu that she can never love him, that she hates him and would rather just die instead of being a vampire but Radu wishes for her to stay with him forever.

Bloodlust: Subspecies III is just continuing where the second Subspecies left off. My favorite scene was where Michelle is outside and Radu comes from behind her and she asks what can kill them, the dialog he delivers as well as his expressions, for a low budget film, Anders Hove is a good actor and makes Radu very believable. The scene was beautifully done between him and Denise. This was a fun series to get into, I really have enjoyed it, these are the horror films I've been looking for and would highly recommend them for a good scare.

7/10