Bloodstone: Subspecies 2 picks up immediately where the
first one left off with the little Subspecies dudes reviving their vampire
master Radu (Anders Hove). Once
resurrected, he quickly goes about getting revenge on his brother by driving a
stake through his heart. His vampire
girlfriend Michelle (Denice Duff) steals the coveted bloodstone from the castle
and takes off for the hills. Panicked,
she calls her sister Rebecca (Melanie Shatner, Captain Kirk’s daughter) for
help. As Rebecca tries to find her
sister (all the while playing catch-up on the rules of vampirism), Radu follows
in hot pursuit trying to recover the bloodstone.
As
with the original Subspecies, the opening sequence is the best part. The scene where Radu’s decapitated head
reattaches itself is awesome and utilizes some excellent special effects
inspired by The Thing. I also dug the
part where Radu stakes his brother’s heart and drinks from the arterial spray
as if it was a water fountain. There’s
also a cool crusty mummy that aids Radu in his quest.
Denice
Duff is a much better actress than Laura Tate was, and she does a fine job
selling her transformation into a vampire.
I especially liked when she woke up in a body bag and caused
the coroner’s van to run off the road.
The problem is that the scenes of Shatner going on sightseeing tours,
learning about vampire lore, and trying to track down her sister are a
bore. These scenes mostly feel like filler
and totally bog down the middle section of the film.
Returning
director Ted Nicolaou does some impressive things with the low budget. I liked the Nosferatu-inspired scenes of Radu
casting a long shadow while stalking Michelle.
Once again, the film suffers from the lack of the cool Subspecies
creatures who just about disappear after the opening. I can’t quite call Bloodstone “good” as it
drags like a son of a bitch after the first act, but it’s a remarkable step up
in quality from the last one, so all involved should be commended for that.
AKA: Helldance.
AKA: Subspecies: In the Twilight 2. AKA: Subspecies
2: Bloodstone.
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