Bloodstone: Subspecies 2 on AllMovie

Charles Band's Full Moon Productions followed up their vampire hit Subspecies by returning to Romania for two sequels. This second entry begins with the revival of master vampire Radu (Anders Hove) by his legions of homunculi (the "subspecies" of the title, neat stop-motion beasties who only appear in the opening scenes this time). The tiny slaves reunite Radu with his lopped-off head, enabling him to destroy his brother and rival Stefan. His first human victim, Michelle (Denise Duff), manages to escape -- but not before stealing the "bloodstone," a relic which holds the key to Radu's power. Michelle is also infected by Radu's bite, and he pursues her throughout Romania in an effort to enslave her and recapture the relic. Michelle's American sister Rebecca (Melanie Shatner) comes to her aid in Bucharest, accompanied by a historian (Michael Denish) who reveals the secret of the bloodstone. This sequel retains the menacing Gothic atmosphere of its predecessor, and Duff plays an attractive and interesting anti-heroine, but the overall mood is diminished by a weak script which leaves Radu with little to do until the climax, in which he is joined by a few surprise guests to complicate things for the imperiled ladies. Shot back-to-back with the third installment, Bloodlust: Subspecies III.