Las criaturas del mal

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!

From the director of TerrorVision- Ted Nicolau- comes the epic vampire series Subspecies...straight to video!!!

It all begins when 3 college roommates meet in Transylvania for a research vacation.

Little do they suspect that it would coincide with a coup in the vvampire world.

A son has murdered his father, to inherit the blood stone- his birthright- and seize power.

Apparently, his father was going to forgo passing him the reigns, due to his insatiable bloodlust.

But now that this salad-fingered vampire is in control...nothing can stop him from pursuing making his darkest desires a reality.

Except, maybe, his more benevolent brother, who may just intervene to stop him...

Considering that the student girls study folklore: this is clearly a parable of love vs lust.

For, in his monstrous form, the evil vampire seeks only to lust after- and feed on- as many young women as possible; while his brother- who retains a more human presence- is more of a romantic, driven by love.

Anyways, the woman that the good brother has fallen in love with eventually discovers his true nature...which leaves her both repulsed and allured.

Encouraging a reading of the storyline in regards to the female gnostic sexual fantasy of the beauty and the beast.

The sets, scenery, and special effects are all very well done.

And the Kinski-inspired lead does an excellent job as the Nosferatu character.

The claymation demons- which act as the vampire king's minions- are pretty badass too...showing you that they didn't skimp on the special effects budget for this film.

As the first entry of a quadrilogy (with the fifth film currently in production), it's a pretty solid little vampire flick.

I look forward to the rest of the series.

7 out of 10.

"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.

This is one of my all time favorite cheap, corny, vampire B movies.

Calvin Klein underwear model...oh, I mean, Stefan the Good Vampire, returns to Transylvania to ascend the throne of Vampiric Royalty, but Manicure-impaired and eternally drooling half brother Radu has other plans. Having killed their father the Vampire King, Radu now sets his sights on Stefan, Stefan's new mortal girlfriend Michelle and her two pretty friends, and the all-powerful Bloodstone.

Okay, the scenery is beautiful, and it should be as it was shot on location in Transyl-fricken-vania for gosh sakes. The actresses are no great shakes and Stefan the Heroic Vampire is about as charming as a refrigerated fireplace poker, but who cares? There's only one reason to watch this movie, and his name is RADU! He's a physical homage to Nosferatu and he has the best lines in the movie, all spoken in the raspy voice of a man who smokes ten packs of cigarettes a day. The cemetery festival scene is one of the best scenes in the film, as Radu slowly approaches the camera and reveals his grinning, slobbering face for the world to see. I found myself cheering him on as he collected victims and taunted his perfect brother. But maybe I'm just a sicko. Questionable taste in men aside, I highly recommend this film to vampire enthusiasts. It's original, it's fun, and Radu is one of the best vampires I've seen in a long time...much more fun than the stiff, tragic, whining Undead brats that endlessly grace the horror screens these days. Radu enjoys his sadism and never apologizes. He's what a vampire should be.

To start off with I had a great back story. Two Vampire Brothers one, genuinely good, born of a Mortal woman(Stephan), and the Vampire king and the other, truly Evil, born of a evil witch and the vampire king(Radu).

*one side note* Radu(the Evil Brother in this movie) was also the name of Vald Dracula's Brothers!!!

I think this movie was great with the special effects. I didn't, and still don't know about the story line with the "Subspecies(the little demons)" Radu's Minions, but they were very well done. the primitive settings and tactile use of locals playing the towns people was great.

One thing I would have done different when filming in the dark of night, in the woods no less. I would try to make the light look more like moon light instead of a spotlight hidden behind a tree. but to one effect it gave a hauntingly glow to the trees!

Oh if you are like me and like to find mess-ups in movies here is one I'm sure you'll see... when the Funeral procession is taking place. On the cross is a name of the person that has died now later on when the towns people are performing the ritual with the white horse jumping over said grave look at the cross again the name is now in reverse the first and last names have switched places! ????go figure????

But anyway, all in all its a great movie the endings well,uh,... well you'll just have to see it