Subspecies III: Bloodlust

After the great first film and the amazing sequel, "Bloodlust: Subspecies III" is not that cool. Radu Vladislas is now a typical bloodsucking vampire, a romantic one. The special make-up effects are fine, the cinematography is not that good and the Romanian filming locations are not that interesting as in the two first films. This third film is a good direct-to-video release but could be better!

With 'Subspecies 2' being so good, this installment was a bit of a letdown. The affects are not as good, and the film is more comedic. Why is Lieutenant Marin suddenly such an idiotic character? And Radu's laughing mother was so annoying! The shadow effects are not as realistic and at times seems experimental. The story has way too many conveniences and is simply not believable. There's also the faithful 'victim falls for the detective' cliche. In general, this film is more lighthearted than serious, and wasn't as enjoyable, yet nevertheless still watchable and entertaining.

Continuing directly after the major cliffhanger of the previous film (well after a short recap of the aforementioned movie at least) Subspecies 3 jumps right back into the thick of it. With Rebecca trying to save her beloved sister/recent vampire Michelle from evil vampire Radu and his witch of a mother. While there are parts of the film that I really enjoyed, this third film as a whole is a bit too padded and i believe that it would've been better served (artistically if not financially) by trimming it down and combining the footage left with part 2 to make a much better film. As it is, the film was OK, it just could've been such better. Eye Candy: Elvira Deatcu gets briefly topless and Melanie Shatner provides T&A

Though not quite as great as "Subspecies 2," and with an unsatisfying ending, it was still better than the original. It picks up where the last one left off, with babe Michelle in the vampiric clutches of Radu and his shrivelled, cackling mother, and the forces of good attempting to save her. There were some great and legitimate moments of tension, mostly due to characterization, and that's always welcome. Anders Hove does a fantastic job as the pitiful, all-too-human vampire, Radu, in love with Michelle who can only hate him. It was well-written, although a lot slower-moving than "Subspecies 2," but definitely worth a look.

This 1994 horror sequel stars Anders Hove, Denise Duff and Melanie Shatner. This picks up immediately where the last film ended where Michelle (Duff) is trapped inside with Radu (Hove) and his ghoulish mother, Mummy (Pamela Gordon) who revives him. Soon, Radu tries to make Michelle his bride and teach her the ways of the vampire. Meanwhile, Rebecca (Shatner) tries to save her sister once again, but with some help. This isn't bad, but probably should've been the last and Hove & Duff are great in it.

Michelle (Denice Duff) - who we last saw in Bloodstone: Subspecies 2 being grabbed by the mummified mother of Radu Vladislas (Anders Hove) and pulled deep into the catacombs beneath the Full Moon castle. Now, Radu is brought back to life with Michelle's blood and the dagger that killed him, with our heroine promising to follow Radu if he teaches her how to be a vampire and takes her on the hunt. Soon enough, Radu realizes that if he's going to be with her forever, he's going to have to kill his mother. That certainly fixes some issues on the holidays, I guess. Radu gets killed in every movie and this time, he's tossed off the roof of the castle and impaled on a tree and then burns in the sunlight. But if we know anything about our friend Count Vladislas, he'll be back trying to win over Michelle before too long. This was shot back to back with the last film, which means that yes, you will be seeing a flashback to fill out the running time. Such is the Full Moon experience.

Conclusion to the planned trilogy directed by Ted Nicolaou this third film ends rather openly suggesting that Full Moon Productions were already sizing up future instalments. This time Radu kidnaps Michelle and takes her to the castle that he shares with his mother, a Sorceress. He teaches her to master her vampire powers, willing to sacrifice everything to empower his true love when Michelle's sister Rebecca attacks his stronghold. The trilogy is weakening here with little original storyline and little excitement. However the series still - at this point - remains highly unique and still fantastically riveting. Once again the acting is of a high standard, the Romanian locations breathtaking and the script, score and direction, even in this 'weaker hour' surpass many larger budget films. Stable stuff.