Subspecies V: Blood Rise (2023)Evil Never Dies

Blood Rise begins with the birth of Radu. Moments after, his mother Circe is impaled by crusaders from the vampire slaying order of the Knights of the Dragon. They steal her vampire slayer knife and Radu. His ears and fingers are clipped and holy potions used to hide his vampiric deformities. As an adult, Radu is raised by and initiated into the Knights of the Dragon. However, when he and a monk named Marius are sent to Prince Vladislas’ castle to kill the vampires there and recover the Bloodstone, Radu learns he was a stolen child and Vladislas was his father. After Vladislas and Circe flee, Radu and Marius find a seemingly human woman named Helena, and her son Stefan. Stefan was born when Vladislas raped Helena after claiming her as a consort. Radu helps the two flee, and takes the Bloodstone with them, and Marius, afraid of Helena and Stefan being vampires, leaves. After finding out that Helena was in fact turned into a vampire, she and Radu drink from the Bloodstone, and Helena tries to turn him into a vampire to keep him from ever leaving her. In that moment, Vladislas then returns and abducts Helena and Stefan, as well as taking Radu’s enchanted vampire slaying sword given to him by the Knights of the Dragon, the Sword of Laertes. Radu, believing Helena made him a vampire, is then told by Circe he was one at birth. He returns with her and over the next century, learns sorcery, demon summoning, and how to use his vampiric powers to hunt. After he attempts to steal from Circe, he is banished by her. Grieving the loss of Helena and Stefan, he seeks out new companions to turn and finds two aspiring musicians, Ash and his sister, Ariel. Radu turns both of them into vampires and attempts to coerce them to accept him as their master while also wanting them to comfort him with music. During an attempt to play, Ariel learns that vampires are susceptible to shrill dissonant notes. Despite this, Radu “initiates them into the mysteries“ and allows them their first kill outside of the castle. That night, their castle is infiltrated by Diana, another monster slayer from the Knights of the Dragon. Diana comes armed with Circe’s Knife. Radu recognizes her as a stolen child descended from Callisto, like himself, but she persists in trying to slay him, and he bites her and turns her into a vampire. Ash and Ariel take the demon slaying weapons Diana brought, and attack Radu with shrill notes from a Flute, fleeing him. In the intervening centuries, Ash and Ariel come under the protection of Helena, having impaled Vladislas on the Sword of Laertes, and Stefan travelling the world. The three hunt out of a casino that has vast catacombs sprawling under it (which is implied to be the Club Muse nightclub from Vampire Journals). Radu degenerates into the vampire appearance he was born with (thus finally looking how he does in the other four films). 300 years later, He finds Ash and Ariel, who take him to Helena. The two reconnect and negotiate with each other. Radu gives Helena mastery of Ash and Ariel, but Ash and Ariel spurn Helena and the mood sours. Helena attempts to bribe Ash to accept her with a piano and a drink from the Bloodstone, while Radu takes Ariel to the catacombs under the casino to find Vladislas, where he impales him repeatedly with Laertes. Helena and Radu then encounter each other and each confesses hatred for the other. After being rejected by Helena, Radu attacks and breaks her neck. Helena curses Radu that she will be reborn and haunt him. Ash steals the Bloodstone and tries to convince Ariel to leave, but she stays with Radu, now wanting to be his consort. After the pair escape the catacombs, Diana appears and kills Ariel but leaves Radu alive, wanting Radu to suffer immortality and loneliness. In the closing narration, Radu reflects on Helena’s dying curse on him, and how that was eventually fulfilled and drove him to madness, while thinking of Michelle, who resembled Helena.