Michelle and Radu return in the fourth entry of their saga. Like the other sequels, Subspecies 4: Bloodstorm, starts right as the previous one ended, and, like the rest, it starts with Radu somehow surviving. Denice Duff and Anders Hove return as the protagonist and antagonist, while Jonathon Morris returns as Ash from Vampire Journals (1997). Romanian actor Mihai Dinvale comes on board as a doctor vampire who promises to cure Michelle while looking like Barry Humphries’ character from Shock Treatment (1981).
The original three Subspecies films looked great and even expensive for the time, even though they were on a lesser budget than most mainstream films. This fourth one does not. While the others looked cinematic, Bloodstorm is shot in 1.33:1, made for VHS, and lacks film grain noise. While the others showed the vistas and atmosphere of the scenes surroundings, Bloodstorm is mainly shot in close-ups to hide the lack of adequate sets.
That doesn’t help it, though, since the close-ups just empathize how lackluster and cheap Radu’s makeup is here. Neither does the fact that the story just doesn’t get engaging enough for the viewer to care about this fourth time Radu tries to lord over Michelle. Get over her, dude.
This marked the ending of the series until Subspecies V: Bloodrise (2023) was released 25 years later.
I highly advise watching it with the RiffTrax crew.
