Deep in the Romanian highlands lives King Vladislav, a regal and apparently kindly ruler, but the good king has a family problem. Next in line for his heritage is the evil and cunning Radu, but due to his nefarious ways Radu has been passed over for his younger brother Stefan, who is more like his father. Not wanting to wait around, Radu takes what he believes is his, the family heirloom known as the bloodstone, by force and now it is up to his brother to put an end to him. Oh, did I forget to mention that Vladislavs are also a family of vampires?

One of the early Full Moon features, Subspecies is a decent vampire flick full of some moody visuals and a pretty damn good evil prince in Radu, but some of the dialog and acting tend to drag it down at times.

As much as I like Radu, played by Andus Hove, you can't help knowing the character is a ripoff of Max Schrek’s Count Orlock character from Nosferatu, in my opinion other than Radu's hair, the characters are nearly identical.

Also the story seems none too original as it is full of a lot of the standard horror clichés. I mean you got the crazy hag in the village, an old man who knows a lot about vampires and a few wayward American college girls who show a little titty now and then. Also the movie centers around the brothers and their battle over the Bloodstone, but it really never goes into any detail why the stone exists, and it is a pretty cool little item that drips the blood of saints.

Although not gory, the effects are pretty good and the vampires look the part. Although Radu's little homunculus’s look like the belong more in Clash of the Titans, but they work.

This is the first chapter in the Subspecies series and probably the best as the rest became a real direct-to-video stinkfest, with very few highlights. Although Subspecies looks dated now, in 1992 it wasn't that bad, if you have never seen it check it out, but don't expect too much. Also look for Angus Scrimm (The Tall Man) early in the film if you can spot him out of his undertaker's outfit.

4/10