Radu (Anders Hove) and director and writer Ted Nicolaou are back in the fifth movie in the Subspecies series along with Subspecies, Bloodstone: Subspecies II, Bloodlust: Subspecies III and Subspecies 4: Bloodstorm. Have you ever wondered how Radu went from a warrior in the Crusades, battling for the Church, to a blood-obsessed monster? Wonder no more!

Radu was stolen by crusaders on the night of his birth from a demon mother and vampire father, trained by a brotherhood of monks to kill for the Church until he finds his way to the castle of the vampire Vladislas (Kevin Sprita, who was Mel in the second and third films; he’s taking over for Angus Scrimm; if you didn’t know, Vladislas is also the father of Radu), wielding the Sword of Laertes and in search of the Bloodstone.

If you’re a fan of this series — and I am! — this will give you the fan service you crave. Like having Denice Duff, the heroine Michelle from the second movie, is the female vampire Helena who turns Radu and who will create his enemy Stefan. Or Ash (Marko Filipovic) from the side sequel Vampire Journals is showing up!

This is only 80 minutes, and it’s been two decades since we’ve had a new Subspecies. It feels like nearly too many ideas and too much for one film, which leads me to hope that this isn’t the end of the story.

Subspecies V: Bloodrise gives me hope for Full Moon, as it looks gorgeous thanks to its Serbian setting and the cinematography of Vladimir Ilic, who also shot the Robert Davi movie My Son Hunter.  Dare I dream that someday there will be a new Trancers or a big-budget Puppet Master?

You can buy this from MVD or watch it on Tubi.