Subspecies has a unique staying power most B-movies fail to possess. One of the flagship titles of Full Moon Features, Subspecies is the brainchild of director and writer Ted Nicolaou, and introduced viewers to the pale, spidery-fingered and raspy-voiced Radu Vladislas. A wicked vampire prince out to usurp his father and claim the powerful Bloodstone, Radu returns in three sequels. But like most good vampires, Radu rises from the grave again. This time in a prequel.

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Subspecies V: Blood Rise explores the backstory of Radu with a number of retcons. Radu is the son of the vampire king Vladislas and a wicked demonic hag, kidnapped as a baby by the church and raised as a holy crusader. Upon discovering his true identity, Radu is painfully torn from humanity and slowly embraces the darkest sides of his nature to become the wicked but vulnerable vampire of the first films.

The production values are surprisingly good. The joy of the film is seeing series veteran Anders Hove return to the role of Radu and convincingly play him through multiple stages of life. Fellow veteran Denice Duff features in the new role of Helena, the vampire who turns Radu and the mother of his brother Stefan.

The film suffers from uneven pacing, taking its time to establish Radu’s conflict before too-quickly showing the passage of time has made him the villain. Equally rushed are Radu’s own relationships with his first progeny, Ash and Ariel, and his ultimate confrontation with Helena. At a lean 80 minutes, Subspecies V: Blood Rise barely has time to breathe and explore its compelling plots. Ultimately, it attempts to do too much and ends somewhat unresolved with too many questions unanswered. How did King Vladislas turn from the monster we see into the kinder monarch in the first Subspecies? How will Radu and Stefan ultimately become bitter enemies? It feels like an appetizer to a larger main course, even if it is quite satisfying.