Bloodlust : Subspecies III is a strong, well crafted continuation of the franchise that only suffers in comparison to its predecessors due to the inevitability of familiarity. By now, we know Michelle - the college student villainous Radu has transformed into a burgeoning vampire - will struggle against her increasingly insatiable bloodlust. Because this film follows the pattern of part II and picks up immediately after the events of the film prior, we know her sister Rebecca and US Embassy agent Mel Thompson will try to rescue her from the undead. And we're pretty sure it's going to end with Radu suffering some manner of gruesome death.
What elevates Bloodlust is a shift in focus that cleverly sidesteps the tendency for trilogy chapters to go on autopilot and just repeat the same beats. Even better, it manages this while moving the story forward.
This time around, the focus is on Radu attempting to teach Michelle his ways and the bizarre, unnatural bond that begins to form between them as he draws her further in.
In this film we learn about the violent history behind the relationship between Radu's father and his sorceress mother, the now mummified walking corpse guiding his quest for power. As Michelle finds herself further under his sway ( while his mother urges him to destroy her) , Rebecca and Mel join with the local chief of police and attempt to get her away from Radu and destroy the evil of Castle Vladislas once and for all.
Once again, Ted Nicolaou delivers the goods directing. He's clearly in his element by this point in the franchise and keeps the pace moving while also finding new and intriguing ways to keep things fresh. Indeed, one of the best sequences of the entire franchise unfolds in this film as Radu and Michelle take to the streets of a Romanian town, where he shows her how to hunt.
Anders Hove is as compelling as always as Radu, but he also manages to invest the character with a little more personality this time around. There are moments when this unspeakably monstrous spectre is unexpectedly vulnerable.
Denice Duff continues to invest Michelle with the humanity and angst that makes the character so sympathetic and both Melanie Shatner and Kevin Spirtas are as engaging as before returning in their roles as, respectively Rebecca and Mel. Special mention should also be made of Pamela Gordon, who returns as Radu's ancient mother and does an incredible job investing the character with malice and vanity in an expanded role.
As is is always the case with the Subspecies films, III benefits from fantastic location shooting. In particular, the aforementioned night time hunt takes place in the streets of a city and it's a marvel to behold. There's a visual consistency to these movies their bigger budgeted contemporaries cannot equal. They're just plain terrific to look at.
Bloodlust isn't the best of the franchise - I hold II in that spot - but it's a creative and accomplished sequel in its own right. As I did with Bloodstone, I found myself enjoying this a little bit more than the original. It's a fun movie and a satisfying conclusion to what was then a trilogy.
**** 1/2 out of *****.
What elevates Bloodlust is a shift in focus that cleverly sidesteps the tendency for trilogy chapters to go on autopilot and just repeat the same beats. Even better, it manages this while moving the story forward.
This time around, the focus is on Radu attempting to teach Michelle his ways and the bizarre, unnatural bond that begins to form between them as he draws her further in.
In this film we learn about the violent history behind the relationship between Radu's father and his sorceress mother, the now mummified walking corpse guiding his quest for power. As Michelle finds herself further under his sway ( while his mother urges him to destroy her) , Rebecca and Mel join with the local chief of police and attempt to get her away from Radu and destroy the evil of Castle Vladislas once and for all.
Once again, Ted Nicolaou delivers the goods directing. He's clearly in his element by this point in the franchise and keeps the pace moving while also finding new and intriguing ways to keep things fresh. Indeed, one of the best sequences of the entire franchise unfolds in this film as Radu and Michelle take to the streets of a Romanian town, where he shows her how to hunt.
Anders Hove is as compelling as always as Radu, but he also manages to invest the character with a little more personality this time around. There are moments when this unspeakably monstrous spectre is unexpectedly vulnerable.
Denice Duff continues to invest Michelle with the humanity and angst that makes the character so sympathetic and both Melanie Shatner and Kevin Spirtas are as engaging as before returning in their roles as, respectively Rebecca and Mel. Special mention should also be made of Pamela Gordon, who returns as Radu's ancient mother and does an incredible job investing the character with malice and vanity in an expanded role.
As is is always the case with the Subspecies films, III benefits from fantastic location shooting. In particular, the aforementioned night time hunt takes place in the streets of a city and it's a marvel to behold. There's a visual consistency to these movies their bigger budgeted contemporaries cannot equal. They're just plain terrific to look at.
Bloodlust isn't the best of the franchise - I hold II in that spot - but it's a creative and accomplished sequel in its own right. As I did with Bloodstone, I found myself enjoying this a little bit more than the original. It's a fun movie and a satisfying conclusion to what was then a trilogy.
**** 1/2 out of *****.