Subspecies: The Awakening

In a generally consistent franchise as far as quality is concerned, this one is probably the best of the lot. As all movies in the franchise it has a thick atmosphere, excellent music and adequate performances from most actors. Personally I found Anders Hove's Radu to be in his best form in all the franchise, missing most saliva-dripping face-making that made the character a bit ridiculous in the previous movies. In any case, Subspecies IV is a worthy straight-to-video horror that in my opinion is the best of the 5 (Vampire Journals included) together with Subspecies 2: Bloodstone. All in all, a worthy 81 minutes for fans of cheap horror and Full Moon productions

I couldn't believe that Ted Nicolaou could resurrect the evil master vampire Radu one more time and make it work, but he did it! Continuing directly after part 3 left off, Radu goes off to Bucharest to claim his old stronghold from his old fledgling Ash and reclaim his reluctant fledgling Michelle. An awesome movie incorporating Vampire Journals and Subspecies lore. A must see!

Subspecies can do no wrong. (V will be the next test). So you think Radu could not have come back this way....HEY....he is the ultimate vampire....The Master....and, like how many times has Dracula (not even half as creepy) and Frankenstein (not nearly as sharp) returned....with even feebler stories. Of course he's back...and thank goodness for the return of Anders Hove and Denice Duff, as they are the foundation of the Subspecies series...and so good at it. This holds up well to the previous 3 Subspecies movies, although there may be a shortage of story-line, I mean if that is what you are watching for. (I didn't miss it too much, but the person watching with me thought it needed more plot.) But there has to be something held back for next time...right? Buy this movie, watch it until it wears out, and buy it again. This is how we get "Subspecies V" made for us.

The Subspecies films are a rare treat. They forego the nudge nudge wink wink of the modern (or should I say postmodern?) horror film and go straight for the jugular. Probably the only examples of the classic Gothic horror film made in the 90s, these films are slight but vastly entertaining and benefit tremendously from location footage, Romanian actors, and decent writing. And why isn't Anders Hove a star?

I d'know, this one just didn't grab me like the wonderful second and third films of the series. Maybe I'm not quite sure the crossover with Full Moon's other fang epic, "Vampire Journals", worked smoothly, or maybe I'm reacting to the loss of several of the series regulars. But Huff and Hove are again just terrific as Michelle and Radu, with Ion Haiduc reprising the likable role of Lt. Marin (with a twist!); and the creepy Vitalis Institute, where vampires are strapped to tables and experimented on like lab rabbits, is a nasty notion indeed.

The big payoff of this one for fans of the series, though, has to be Radu's unswerving devotion to Michelle, and seeing it *finally* returned by her, however briefly. Michelle desires to be cured of her vampirism but is terrified by the Institute's agonizing treatments, and Radu, hearing her psychic cry for help, instantly shadows to her rescue. The moment in which he appears like an avenging spirit at the Institute's gate and swears, like Mick Jagger's Satan, to "lay your souls to waste" unless his fledgling is released, is simply magnificent. The real gem, though, is Michelle's own response on realizing she was used as bait to lure Radu into a trap. If you're like me and have been agonizing over their relationship through the first three movies, respecting her but aching with sympathy for her spurned paramour, you will just stand and applaud when you see and hear what she does. OK, it doesn't last, but it wouldn't be in character for her if it did; and for that moment I forgave her a lot of her past offenses against one of my all-time favorite vampires.

This ending sure looks final, but check out Ted Nicolaou's comments in the attached "FM Videozone"! There's hope!

(Postscript: by now we know that the term "Subspecies" refers not to vampires but to Radu's little blood-born servitors, who are responsible for several very timely rescues. We only know that, though, because we read the tape boxes/laserdisc sleeves; they're never called that name by anyone in any of the movies, and indeed are scarcely noticed or referred to at all. Wouldn't you think that if they're deemed important enough to name the entire series after, they should've gotten a little more attention by now?...)