Subspecies (1991)

Three students get caught in the struggle between a good vampire and his evil brother in the Transylvanian mountains.

Director:

Ted Nicolaou

Writers:

Charles Band (based on an original idea by), Jackson Barr (screenplay by)

Stars:

Angus Scrimm, Anders Hove, Irina Movila

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Angus Scrimm	...	King Vladislav
Anders Hove	...	Radu
Irina Movila	...	Mara
Laura Mae Tate	...	Michele (as Laura Tate)
Michelle McBride	...	Lillian
Ivan J. Rado	...	Karl (as Ivan Rado)
Mara Grigore	...	Rosa
Adrian Vâlcu	...	Ian (as Adrian Vilcu)
Michael Watson	...	Stefan
Lili Dumitrescu	...	Old Crone
Ion Besoiu	...	Doctor

Storyline

The evil vampire villain Radu returns to his hometown Prejnar, after spending years in exile. He steals the precious blood stone which is said to be bleeding from all saints, from his father and kills him. Meanwhile two American schoolgirls team up with a local girl for work on Romanian culture. Radu becomes attracted to them but runs into trouble when his brother Stephan helps the girls.

---

Plot Keywords:

vampire | loneliness | female rear nudity | topless female nudity | gypsy | 

---

Taglines:

The night has fangs.

---

Genres:

Fantasy | Horror

---

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for vampire violence, and for nudity

Did You Know?

Trivia

A 10th Anniversary DVD, with a widescreen transfer supervised by J.R. Bookwalter, was planned for a late 1990s/early 2000s DVD release, but was cancelled for copyright reasons.

---

Connections

Featured in Movie Nights: Subspecies (2012)

User Reviews

A Great Take on the Vampire Story

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.

Details

Country:

Romania USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

8 August 1991 (USA)

Also Known As:

Subspecies

Filming Locations:

Romania

Company Credits

Production Co:

Castel Film Studio, Full Moon Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min 80 min (DVD)

Sound Mix:

Ultra Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1