Subspecies

Three American students travel to Romania to study the local culture and folklore of a small town, settling in near an old castle. There they cross paths with Stefan, a researcher who offers to help them, and are drawn into a conflict between him and his brother Radu, a vampire pursuing an ancient bloodstone that would give him extraordinary power. The students dismiss the warnings of the frightened locals until the nights begin to close in around them. The film was shot in Romania and co-produced by Castel Film and Full Moon Entertainment.

Ted Nicolaou directed, working from a screenplay by Jackson Barr and David Pabian, with Ion Ionescu producing. It was the third feature Nicolaou directed, arriving between TerrorVision and Vampire Journals, and it launched a series he returned to later with Subspecies 4: Bloodstorm. Anders Hove plays Radu, with Angus Scrimm as King Vladislav, Laura Mae Tate as Michelle, Irina Movilă as Mara, Michelle McBride as Lillian and Ivan J. Rado as Karl.

Released in August 1991 and running 84 minutes, the film holds a 5.5 rating on IMDb from roughly 5,400 votes and a 5.4 on TMDB from about 143 votes. A smaller group of critics rated it 6.3, somewhat above what general audiences gave it.