a_chinn Anders Hove returns as the vampire Radu is the surprisingly good Full Moon Features Charles Band production. Most Band productions are rather tongue-in-cheek, but this Ted Nicolaou written and directed series took a more straight-faced approach and remained consistently good despite it's low budget and some weak acting from the supporting cast. This fourth and final film in the series has Michelle, the heroine from the previous films, finding herself turned into a vampire and seeking help from a scientist to cure her. This, of course, leads to a confrontation with Radu, who is also having his own royal court intrigue when a vampire fledgling of his, Ash, as well as Ash's fledgling, begin plotting against Radu. As with the others films, this was filmed during the time when producer Band owned an Eastern European castle, which Nicolaou made the most of to add scope and production value to his low budget endeavors. The Subspecies films also benefit from a better that average story than most Full Moon Features, and this series feels more like a continuous narrative than stand alone stories or rehashes of the first film, which is the path of far too many sequels. Overall, "Subspecies: The Awakening" and the series in general are by no means great vampire films, but they're better than the trashy direct-to-video horror film that you might expect and is well worth watching if you're a fan of low-budget horror.

Stellarvore ... this was such a mediocre conclusion to such a great vampire series. Yes, once again, I AM called "SubspeciesRaduFan," but even I have to admit that this is where the series is at its weakest point. Anders Hove is a still a great actor and a terrific evil vampire (even better than Bela Lugosi or Christopher Lee, IMO), but his demise was way too final. So, here's a short summary: Rebecca and Mel drive Michelle and some girl who was rescued from Radu in the previous film away from the castle. Along the way, they get into a car crash, and everyone except Michelle (obviously, since she's a vampire) dies. Meanwhile, Radu is resurrected yet again after suffering a triple vampire death of silver bullets, sunlight, and impalement on wood. The car wreck is discovered by a young woman named Ana (Ioana Abur), who takes Michelle to Doctor Niculescu (Mihai Dinvale), who says he'll modify her vampirism so she can go out in the sun, but he has a secret agenda of his own. Radu seeks the help of his fledgling, Ash (Jonathon Morris) and Ash's fledgling Serena (Floriela Grappini) to get the Bloodstone back and to save Michelle.I was warned to stay away from this one, but I bought "Subspecies: The Epic Collection," and I just couldn't avoid it. All the other films were great, so I neglected the warning. Besides, I already made plans to see it. The movie wasn't bad, but it was unsatisfying and mediocre. Plus a lot of the eroticism and Gothic atmosphere was taken away. Never thought I'd rate a Subspecies movie this, but ...5/10

Freemheart I remember heard about how great are the vampire subspecies saga, and in fact the first three movies are great. Low budget films with a simple but good script and good acting. But nothing is forever, except the good acting of Anders Hove of course, the rest it's less than a shadow of the other movies. The acting of rest of the cast including Denice Duff is pathetic. There are many new good elements, but it doesn't fit well with the very bad acting of almost every member of the cast. In the end the director lose the good chance to make a very original sequel with something almost identic to the other previous movies. A real big shame.

suckling Subspecies can do no wrong. (V will be the next test). So you think Radu could not have come back this way....HEY....he is the ultimate vampire....The Master....and, like how many times has Dracula (not even half as creepy) and Frankenstein (not nearly as sharp) returned....with even feebler stories. Of course he's back...and thank goodness for the return of Anders Hove and Denice Duff, as they are the foundation of the Subspecies series...and so good at it. This holds up well to the previous 3 Subspecies movies, although there may be a shortage of story-line, I mean if that is what you are watching for. (I didn't miss it too much, but the person watching with me thought it needed more plot.) But there has to be something held back for next time...right? Buy this movie, watch it until it wears out, and buy it again. This is how we get "Subspecies V" made for us.