Vashirdfel Simply A Masterpiece

Steineded How sad is this?

Intcatinfo A Masterpiece!

Baseshment I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

Kaya Ozkaracalar I was amazed at how wonderful this sequel to Subspecies turned out. I had also enjoyed Subspecies, but this was vastly superior. It is very moody (most of the time) and elevated by some excellent colorful nighttime cinematography by Paunescu. The look of several nighttime scenes were clearly inspired from Argento classics Suspiria and Inferno. I am actually at a loss on why Paunescu had not shown his talent, much in display here, back in Subspecies as well. Probably this has got to do with the fact that he produced this one which may have allowed him more say on the look of the movie whereas he was only the d.o.p. in Subspecies, doing only what he was told to do. He even appears on screen in a cameo as a cab driver here. What spoils the overall mood of the movie from time to time, and holds it back from being a masterpiece, are the lame scenes with the protagonist's sister investigating with the help of an American official and Romanian police officer et al. Without them, the movie would be a far more solid work. I guess they were shot to pad out the duration of the movie. I am not also very happy with the look of Radu's mother who seems too much like a Tales of the Crypt character. Nevertheless, thanks to wisely not bringing back the 'good, handsome vampire' Stephan and hence building the movie around Radu and Michelle, and thanks to excellent cinematography as I have already emphasized, this rises not only above direct-to-video standards, but would have hold its ground if it were a theatrical release. I wish I could see it in big screen, where it deserved to be seen.

Stellarvore A few months after seeing the first Subspecies, I saw this one, and once again loved it. Here's a small summary of it for you: Michelle assumed that Radu died from his decapitation at the end of the first, but like every awesome vampire, he can never truly die. The subspecies reattach his head to his neck, and he rises. He opens Stefan's coffin and, raising a stake, says, "Forgive me, brother. But the Bloodstone is MINE!" Then he plunges the stake right through his heart and drinks the blood spraying out while Stefan rots away. When he's done with his little feeding, he opens Michelle's coffin and prepares to kill her, but the sun rises and he runs back into the darkness. On the way, Radu dropped the Bloodstone, which Michelle grabs and runs from the castle. As the film progresses, her metamorphosis into a vampire is complete, and her sister Rebecca (Melanie Shatner), an old professor (Michael Denish), and a lawyer (Kevin Blair) must save her.Once again, I was amazed at this movie. Great effects, great plot, badass main antagonist, and a nice blend of eroticism with horror and vampires. We're even introduced to Radu's mother, who was mentioned in the first film and whose background will be explained more in Bloodlust: Subspecies III. Recommended for fans of vampires and B-movies (again).10/10

Volstag As with most movies of this type (i.e. B-grade horror), my hope is to find one that is unintentionally hilarious, every step of the way. One that promotes constant riffing from me and my friends. Picking a good "bad movie" appears to be more difficult than picking a good "good" movie (if that makes any sense). Unfortunately, "Bloodstone: Subspecies II" [B:S2] is neither bad enough to be good, nor good enough to be good.This might sound weird, but B:S2 was written, directed and acted by folks with a modicum of intelligence. I will also begrudgingly admit there's a small degree of artistic talent exhibited as well. The best bad movies are made by people who have no business making movies (for an example of what I'm talking about, rent "Troll 2" or "The Keeper of Time" -- those movies are priceless. Nay, they're National Treasures).Don't get me wrong, this movie is bad. But it's not bad enough. The brand of "bad" portrayed in this movie is the slow, plodding, monotonous variety -- not the "insanely stupid bad" that I crave. It's for the same reasons that it's not "good" either. The pacing is too slow for a B-grade horror (IMO). It starts on a strong note, and then slowly dwindles into nothingness -- until its brief resurrection near the very end. I believe this came about due to Mr. Nicolaou's attempt at "creepy/moody atmospherics". There's very limited dialogue, and what little there is makes no attempt at driving the story. Most of the movie centers around Michelle Morgan (Denice Duff) shambling around Bucharest looking scared and sedated. I also got the strong impression that Mr. Nicolaou wanted to make the most of his "on location" shoot, by shoe-horning every piece of gothic architecture he could find into the movie. Another thing we found weird was the "Bloodstone" itself. Ostensibly it's the centerpiece of the story, even though they never mention, or discuss it, for a good 2/3rds of the movie. Huh? Apparently the Bloodstone can dispense the "blood of the saints" for a vampire to suckle on. Okay, so what? They never really describe why it's so important to Radu. Does it make him into a super vampire? No. Does it give him extra powers? No. What the heck does it do?I've wasted enough time discussing this.Good movie score: 5/10. Bad movie score: 6/10. In short: mediocre... no matter how you look at it.

dr_foreman This is a straight-to-video vampire movie. Were some of you expecting a masterpiece? I wonder why people take such a perverse joy out of bombing a film like this! It really is much better than its low rating would suggest.Moody directing, lush Romanian locations, and deliciously over-the-top villains like Radu and Mummy add up to a gruesomely wonderful viewing experience. Denise Duff gives a sympathetic performance, and it sure doesn't hurt that she's a "10" on the Brian scale. The folk music score is another highlight.I've shown this movie to a number of people - gals and guys of different professions, with varying levels of sanity - and all of them have liked it. If you want to rent a horror movie that's violent but not repulsive, and clever enough to hold your attention when there aren't killings on screen, then "Subspecies II" is the flick for you (sorry about the bad poetry there!).