Bloodlust: Subspecies III

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

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.

Still in the thrall of the evil vampire Radu (Anders Hove), Michelle yearns to be taught the skills of the vampire. Meanwhile, her sister Becky tries to free her from his evil clutches, and this time, she has brought some help.

Shot back to back with part two, the "Subspecies" series is one of the better things to come out of Full Moon. Maybe it had creative independence, or maybe the budget was better in that era. I am not sure. But we haven't seen anything this good from Full Moon in a long time.

Others have commented that, despite the low budget, the film is a lot of fun because it doesn't take itself too seriously. That's true. But also, this is legitimately good -- good acting, and amazing makeup. The plot may be a bit silly as it moves into part three (and just wait for part four!) but you have to expect a bit of deterioration with sequels.

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.