Subspecies (1991)

Directed by Ted Nicolaou [Other horror films: Ragewar (1984, segment ‘Desert Pursuit’), Savage Island (1985), TerrorVision (1986), Bad Channels (1992), Bloodstone: Subspecies II (1993), Bloodlust: Subspecies III (1994), Vampire Journals (1997), Subspecies: The Awakening (1998), Ragdoll (1999), Urban Evil (2000), The St. Francisville Experiment (2000), The Horrible Dr. Bones (2000), I, Vampire (2000, segments ‘Spawn of Hell’ & ‘Undead Evil’), Puppet Master vs Demonic Toys (2004), The Etruscan Mask (2007), DevilDolls (2012), Deadly Dolls: Deepest Cuts (2018), Vampire Slaughter: Eaten Alive (2018), Don’t Let Her In (2021)]

One of the first American films made in Romania, Subspecies has a very authentic feel to it, and while I don’t necessarily love the story, I do think that this movie has a lot going for it.

Full Moon Productions, who also brought to life the Puppet Master series, along with the enjoyable Castle Freak, did quite well with Subspecies, especially given the fact I’m not really much of a vampire fan. Here, the design of the antagonist Radu (played by Anders Hove) is pretty damn good, reminiscence of Orloc from Nosferatu with his abnormally long fingers. The vibe to the film is great, and any scene that took place in the Romanian woods, or near a castle, or even in the small village, had a lot of atmosphere.

Ivan J. Rado was perhaps my favorite performance from the film. He doesn’t shine from the beginning, but once things get going, he proves to be a very useful person to have on your side. Of course, Hove does fantastic as the villainous Radu, and has a very threatening feel to him. I wasn’t deeply enthralled with Michael Watson or his character, but it still worked out decently. Laura Mae Tate did great as the lead woman, though, and it’s a shame that she wasn’t really in many things aside from this (only thing of note was 1991’s Dead Space, a disappointing remake of 1982’s Forbidden World).

I don’t love a whole lot of vampire films, and I certainly wouldn’t say that I love Subspecies, but I did enjoy it a lot more this time around as opposed to when I first saw it. The story isn’t really what my go-to horror is, but given that the film carries with it such a solid vibe (filming in Romania really did a lot for this one, I think), I can forego any strong feelings of dislike concerning the story.

One small note – the stop-motion minions of Radu didn’t really look the best, and I don’t really think they were used enough to warrant their inclusion. Perhaps that changes as the series goes on (I’ve not seen, as of yet, any of the sequels), but here, they didn’t do that much, and looked somewhat goofy while not doing it.

There’s few vampire films that I really enjoy, but I do appreciate Subspecies, and I certainly think that the film isn’t anywhere near bad. It’s not my usual type of thing, but a lot is done right, and the vibe is to kill for. Definitely worth a look if you’re a fan of either vampires or other Full Moon Entertainment movies.

7.5/10

This was discussed on Fight Evil’s podcast. Check out Chucky (@ChuckyFE) and I discuss this if interested.