The Full Moon production Subspecies V: Blood Rise received a one-night theatrical release in thirty to forty cities, courtesy of Alamo Drafthouse, on May 15th. But if you weren’t able to catch the film on the big screen during that one-night event, we have some good news for you: our friends at Bloody Disgusting have confirmed that Subspecies V: Blood Rise is set to begin streaming in just two weeks! The movie will be available to watch on both SCREAMBOX and Full Moon’s own streaming service Full Moon Features as of June 2nd.
Written and directed by Ted Nicolaou, who was also at the helm of the previous films (Subspecies, Bloodstone: Subspecies II, Bloodlust: Subspecies III, the Subspecies-adjacent Vampire Journals, and Subspecies 4: Bloodstorm), Subspecies V: Blood Rise has the following synopsis: 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.
Anders Hove reprises the role of Radu and is joined in the cast by Denice Duff and Kevin Spirtas, both of whom have been in previous Subspecies movies. While Duff played the character Michelle in all of the previous sequels, for this movie she’s playing a new character, Helena. Spirtas played a character named Mel in his other Subspecies appearances, but here his character is Vladislas. Also in the cast are Staša Nikolić as Ariel, Marko Filipović as Ash, Petar Arsić as Marius, Yulia Graut as Circe, Olivera Peruničić as Diana, and Jakov Marjanović as Stefan.
Ash may be the character who took the lead in Vampire Journals.
Full Moon founder Charles Band has said, “It took twenty-six years to be able to afford to make this film. You know, we work on cash flow here, and I thought, ‘One day, when we can afford it, let’s make an amazing Subspecies movie.’ This is more of a prequel and we shot it in Serbia. It was a big production for us. Really proud of it.“ Nicolaou has confirmed that he first wrote the script twenty years ago.
Are you looking forward to Subspecies V: Blood Rise? Let us know by leaving a comment below. And if you saw the movie during its Alamo Drafthouse release, definitely let us know what you thought of it!