‘We must destroy him…’
The straight-to-video horror market of the ’80s and ’90s was an odd place. Because of the nature of the video rental market, there are entire film franchises that never saw a cinematic release but were still profitable and well-loved. Subspecies is a film that I’ve heard about a lot over the years from various horror podcasts and articles and in many ways, it encapsulates what makes straight-to-video horror movies so easy to root for…
After killing his father, King Vladislaw (Angus Scrimm), evil vampire Radu (Anders Hove) is set to rule Transylvania in his father’s wake. His only problem is that his half-brother Stefan (Michael Watson) has other ideas. Meanwhile, three young American students arrive in Transylvania to begin studying Romanian culture and superstition. There is also some guff about a bloodstone.
Subspecies is notable for a few reasons. It was the first American film to shoot on location in Romania, which lends the whole thing an air of credibility that is often missing from more sophisticated and glamorous vampire movies, director Ted Nicolaou opted to use stop motion animation and green screen for Radu’s minions instead of men in suits (a decision that pays off in spades), and the whole thing has vague air of competence and craft rarely seen in a film at this end of the low budget, horror movie scale. Hove completely commits to the part and is surprisingly excellent throughout, the score, credited to The Aman Folk Orchestra fits perfectly (and has no business being so good) and the presence of Scrimm, beloved by horror fans due to his role as the villain in the Phantasm franchise, adds a level of gravitas that is indicative of the fact that this is clearly a labour of love for Nicolaou (he would go on to direct a further four films in the franchise).
Does this kind of film still exist? Probably. But the death of the video store has ensured that low-budget horror movies certainly don’t reach the same audience that they used to, and that is a shame because watching Subspecies is a genuinely enjoyable experience.
