For fans of a beloved franchise, it’s never too late to go back and revisit some of their favorite characters. Fans of the vampire film franchise Subspecies learned the hard way that “late" can have a whole new meaning, though, when the world entered a pandemic. Announced in 2019, Blood Rise: Subspecies V was advertised as a prequel that was going to hit screens over 20 years after the last entry debuted. However, after COVID-19 hit, fans had to sit and wait until this very day—a day in which Full Moon Features gave Collider the privilege of debuting the trailer for the highly expected prequel.
The first notable element in the Blood Rise: Subspecies V trailer is that, once again, the franchise greatly benefits from its gorgeous locations, which both invite you in for a scenic ride but also make you feel like you should run away in the opposite direction as fast as you can — which is also how a vampire’s aura is supposed to make you feel. A creepy narration tells the origin story of Radu Vladislas (Anders Hove), and how he came to be one of the most deadly vampires in existence.
500 Years of Solitude
The trailer also makes it clear that the story arc of Blood Rise: Subspecies V will be ambitious: The movie is set to chronicle five centuries in the life of Radu, a time when he was kidnapped from this supernatural family and made into a church warrior, and then his transformation into a creature of the night and its consequences. A full-blown horror movie with scary moments and chilling scenes teased in the trailer, Blood Rise: Subspecies V looks like a great entry for horror fans in general and a must-watch for Subspecies fans who have been lying in their coffins waiting for Radu’s call.
Who Is Returning for Blood Rise: Subspecies V?
Surprisingly, Blood Rise: Subspecies V is directed once again by Ted Nicolaou, who helmed every entry in the Subspecies franchise up until this point — one of the few horror-movie directors to be able to do so. Aside from the familiar face of Hove reprising the main role, fans can expect to see Subspescies: The Awakening’s Denice Duff once again, albeit this time she’ll be playing a new character called Helena Duff. The cast of Blood Rise: Subspecies V also features Kevin Spirtas, Staša Nikolić, Marko Filipović, Petar Arsić, Yulia Graut, Olivera Peruničić, and Jakov Marjanović.
Blood Rise: Subspecies V premieres this month, and while a specific release date is yet to be announced, it will be made available on Amazon Prime shortly after its debut. You can watch the exclusive trailer below:
Check out the official synopsis here:
Stolen by crusaders on the night of his birth, he has no knowledge of his bloodline: his mother is a demon; his father is a vampire. Trained and exploited by a brotherhood of mystic monks to slay all enemies of the church, fate brings him back one night to the castle of his father, armed with the monster-slaying Sword of Laertes, to destroy the vampire Vladislas and reclaim a holy relic: The Bloodstone. The events of that night turn Radu from a noble man into a vampire with no master, setting him on a centuries-long quest for sustenance, and companionship, for the treacherous one who stole him from the sun, and for the Bloodstone he hopes will bring him peace. Spanning 500 years in the life of the vampire Radu Vladislas, this long-anticipated prequel to the Subspecies series chronicles Radu’s descent from a noble warrior for the Church to a depraved creature of the night.