After the disappointing response to Subspecies IV: Bloodstorm, the series was put on hiatus for the next decade. As new franchises like Killjoy, The Gingerdead Man, and Evil Bong were introduced, hopes for Radu’s return seemed lost. Over the years, writer/director Ted Nicolaou and actors Anders Hove and Denice Duff wanted to return to the series. Nicolaou had even written a script for a potential new installment should Full Moon acquire the budget needed. In 2019, Charles Band announced that a fifth Subspecies film was in production as part of his “Deadly 10” initiative. Filming was supposed to start in July 2020 in Croatia, but the COVID-19 pandemic put the project on hold. The movie was shot over 18 days in Serbia in September 2022 before premiering at the Horrorhound Convention in March. After 25 years, Subspecies V: Blood Rise hit Alamo Drafthouse theaters in May 2023.
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Synopsis
During the Crusades, a knight rescues a vampire baby before it’s offered up as a sacrifice by its mother. After being defanged, the child is raised to serve the church and slay monsters, not knowing his origin. The vampire-turned-knight Radu (Anders Hove), accompanied by the monk Marius (Petar Arsic), infiltrates the castle of Prince Vladislas (Kevin Spirtas). After driving away the vampires, the two find Helena (Denice Duff), the mother of Vladislas’ child Stefan (Jakov Marjanovic). Despite Marius ‘ objections, Radu vows to protect them, so they go their separate ways, not knowing Helena is a vampire. She turns Radu and leaves with Vladislas and the Bloodstone, though Radu is found by his mother, Circe (Yulia Graut). After Circe trains him, Radu takes siblings Ariel (Stasa Nikolic) and Ash (Marko Filipovic) as his fledglings. Despite growing more powerful, Radu is still haunted by visions of his love, Helena.
Review
Let’s be frank; Full Moon Features has never been as good as it was in the early 1990s. Sure, they had some movies in the 2000s that were decent, but none were on par with their earlier work. While that era of Full Moon likely won’t return, Subspecies V: Blood Rise is the closest we’ll come to that. Using the locations and Vladimir Ilic’s excellent cinematography, Nicolaou recaptured the classic goth look of the earlier installments. While it would’ve been great for them to shoot in Romania like before, Serbia is a great stand-in. The sets look great, and the many landscape shots of the Serbian countryside add to the ambiance. The costumes and makeup effects look fantastic, and the Serbian crew deserves all the credit they get. Full Moon went above and beyond to make this the best sequel possible, and they more than succeeded.
In addition to looking good, the film has some of the best performances I’ve seen in a Full Moon movie. Anders Hove is just as sinister as before, but he also comes off as somewhat sympathetic and pulls it off. Denice Duff is excellent as Helena, who looks great for her age and succeeds at being seductive and manipulative. The dynamic she and Hove have is a complete reversal of their relationship in the previous films, and it works. While he’s not in the movie much, Kevin Spirtas is having fun as the sinister Prince Vladislas. Stasa Nikolic and Marko Filipovic are great additions to the cast, and their backstory is just as tragic as Radu’s. While the film has plenty of blood and nudity, it takes itself more seriously, which might disappoint some fans. Otherwise, Subspecies V: Blood Rise is easily Full Moon’s best film in decades!
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