A vampire who can give birth to little devils
This time I will talk about a vampire saga, with some characteristics that seemed very original to me.
They shot the film in 1991.
Back story
The people of Transylvania lived in fear of vampires, until one day, a peasant traveled to the Vatican and stole the blood stone: A stone that contains the blood of all the saints. This hero returned to his land and made a pact with the king of the vampires: The blood stone would give him sustenance and power and, in exchange, he would stop feeding on humans.
The pact worked for a long time, but the king had a relationship with a witch and from that union Radu would be born: his perverse son.
The good vampire
Some time later, the king would fall in love with a mortal woman and they would have a half-vampire, half-human son: Stefan, who lives in the same way as his father, by feeding on the blood stone.
In addition to possessing the typical powers of a vampire, such as flying, teleporting and being practically invulnerable, Radu can create small imps with his blood. These creatures serve him faithfully, usually helping him steal the blood stone. These imps definitely steal the show.
The plot
The story begins when Radu returns to his father’s castle, to claim the blood stone. But for Radu, the blood stone would be addictive and give him too much power. For this reason, the king refuses and Radu kills him while saying “Forgive me, father” a phrase that would become common in this character. Rare words such as desecrate, master, etc. also abound in the saga.
At the same time, three students, Mara, Michelle and Lilliam, travel to Transylvania to study its folklore. There they meet Stefan and Michelle falls in love with him. But Radu, in an attempt to hurt his brother, turns Mara and Liliam into vampires. So the couple takes on the task of saving the two girls.
The sequel
In the second part, from 1993, the imps help Radu recover from his injuries. He then kills Stefan to take the blood stone from him, but at that moment it is dawning and he must retire to rest. Radu plans to take the stone after nightfall. But Michelle (now a vampire) wakes up first and flees with the stone and, from the safety of a hotel in Bucharest, calls her sister Becky, who promises to take the first flight to go to help her.
But the hotel maids find Michelle during the day and call the police, because they believe she has died. Michelle escapes and stays hidden, while her sister searches for her.
Meanwhile, Radu goes to his mother, who is now a mummy locked in a crypt in a Bucharest cemetery. His mother demands that he kill Michelle, but Radu plans to keep her for his amusement.
Looking for Michelle
Becky reunites with Michelle and gives her the stone. Michelle uses the stone to feed, but refuses to stay with Becky.
Becky begins to investigate, with the help of local detective Marin, a handsome US embassy employee and an old professor specializing in Romanian history.
Eventually, Radu gets the stone and takes Michelle too. Becky will try to save her, by going into the crypt where Radu and his mother sleep during the day.
Subspecies III
In 1994 the third part was released. Although in the previous installment Becky manages to defeat Radu, her mother returns to take Michelle prisoner. The three of them escape from the crypt under the astonished gaze of Becky, the boy from the embassy and Detective Marin.
The three heroes head to the castle where the vampire family lives and, this time, they get the support of a mercenary. Meanwhile, Michelle tries to convince Radu to initiate her into the mysteries of vampire magic, but her master demands patience and only teaches her the basics. On the other hand, tensions between Michelle and Radu’s mother increase, creating friction between the witch and Radu himself.
Subspecies IV
The fourth part was released in 1998. Again, the imps save Radu from death, by leaving the blood stone nearby so he can recover from his wounds. Becky manages to rescue Michelle, but dies in a traffic accident while taking her away from sunlight. A doctor finds Michelle and takes her to a hospital, to be checked out by a suspicious colleague.
This doctor promises to help Michelle, so she can walk under the sun, but we soon discover that he has his own agenda.
Meanwhile, Radu requests shelter from one of his offspring, who lives with a female vampire who is his offspring’s offspring. This female vampire incites a conspiracy against Radu.
Subspecies V
This prequel, released in 2023, tells us the story of how Radu becomes corrupted, and corrupts others along the way, until he becomes the monster we saw in the first installments. This movie is fine, but I missed the imps.
Here is the trailer for the first one
Derivative works
A video game has been made: Horror Legends – Subspecies. It’s available on Steam.
Eternity Comics released a four-issue comic called “Creatures of the Night – Subspecies”.
Bibliography
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subspecies_(film_series)
My new comic book, “From Torturer to Superheroe” is now on Sale in my e-shop:
You might also want the first part, “My First Job”:
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