Atmospheric Gothic horror set in Romania
Michelle (Denice Duff) escapes the castle of Radu (Anders Hove) with the sacred bloodstone, which contains the blood of the saints. In Bucharest, she contacts her sister for help (Melanie Shatner), who flies in ASAP, but Radu has followed Michelle to the city, coveting the artifact and her.
"Bloodstone: Subspecies II" (1993) is the second of four films released between 1991-1998, not to mention a spinoff flick. A fifth installment finally surfaced in 2023. They’re gothic horror in the modern-day similar to Dracula flicks, just with a different antagonist. “Subspecies,” incidentally, was the first American film to be shot in Romania after the breakdown of the Iron Curtain, filmed in September-November, 1990. This one was shot in 1992. Romania, incidentally, was the sole country in Eastern Europe to overthrow its socialist government with violence.
"Bram Stoker's Dracula" was released the year between the first movie and this one. The difference is that Coppola's blockbuster had more money to work with and was shot in the studio in Los Angeles whereas these “Subspecies” flicks used actual ancient ruins, castles and woodland areas of Romania. In short, they’re great Gothic flicks for authentic Carpathian atmosphere.
Like Coppola’s movie, the tone is totally serious and the vampires are revolting. Radu is like a meshing of "Nosferatu" (1922/1979) mixed with Marvel's Morbius. He could’ve been the lead singer in a black metal band in the 90s. Speaking of metal, the band in the nightclub is 13 Ghosts and the two songs they play are “Death of Innocence” and “Beneath the Gravestone.”
As far as the women go, Irina Movila stood out in the first movie as Mara, but she’s absent here. As such, Denice Duff carries the story on the feminine front, replacing Laura Tate as Michelle from the 1991 film. There are a couple tasteful bits of nudity concerning Michelle, but no sleaze. Melanie Shatner, William’s daughter, plays second fiddle to Denice, but she’s strapped with an unappealing short haircut. Meanwhile Pamela Gordon as the grotesque “Mummy” is a creative touch.
The diminutive stop-motion creatures from the first movie only appear near the beginning.
Of the first two movies, I prefer the first, but this one is a quality continuation of the story, albeit very simple. Of course, simplicity is the composer’s greatest tool.
The film runs 1 hour, 26 minutes, and was shot entirely in Romania, including Corvin Castle in Hunedoara and Bucharest.
GRADE: B-/B
2024-07-07
