Editorials
Remembering ‘Urban Legend’ 19 Years Later
Released nearly twenty years ago, on September 25, 1998, Urban Legend had the misfortune of being lumped in as another Scream copycat, despite it being a box office success. It’s hard to argue that aesthetically, and tonally, this teen slasher shared a lot in common with the string of ‘90s teen slashers released during the latter half of the decade. Urban Legend is definitely not without its flaws, but it’s a slasher worth revisiting for both its high fun factor and the clever script revolving around urban legends.
Admittedly, I’m a sucker for Easter eggs and hidden horror homages, and Urban Legend has quite a few. Casting Robert Englund as unpleasant Professor Wexler was a stroke of genius. Not only is it always great seeing Englund appear in horror films, but his long-standing history as Freddy Krueger makes it even easier to believe that Wexler was behind the murders. In a blink-and-you’ll-miss it moment, you can spy a Freddy Krueger puppet hidden in Wexler’s closet, just before the reveal of the axe. Brad Dourif’s casting as the gas station attendant during the kill that emulates the urban legend featuring the killer in the vehicle’s backseat was also a pleasant surprise. Also notable in that kill, is that the victim, Michelle Mancini, is named after Child’s Play creator Don Mancini. Urban Legend marked Danielle Harris’ first major theatrical horror release since her turn as Jamie Lloyd in the Halloween franchise.
The killer’s final reveal is memorable for Rebecca Gayheart’s scene-chewing performance, but there are a few clues sprinkled throughout that the person hidden beneath the winter coat was a female. In keeping with the horror homages, Gayheart’s character, Brenda Bates, was named after Psycho killer Norman Bates. Poor Norman wasn’t known for his grip on reality, and Brenda revealed herself to be extremely unhinged by the film’s climax as well. If that’s too loose of a connection, then look to Pendleton University for more cleverly hidden clues. The motto found on the university’s emblem, in Latin, translates to “The best friend did it.” As for the strange choice for the killer’s outfit itself? It turns out that the original intent was for this to be a winter set story, but the warm weather during production changes those plans. Everything winter was tossed aside, well, except for the killer’s outfit.
That this killer prefers to stage their kills around urban legends gives this slasher an almost anthology quality. From the opening kill, the aforementioned backseat killer, to Tosh’s violent murder nod to “Aren’t you glad you didn’t turn on the light?” Each death is varied enough that it’s fun predicting which urban legend will trigger the next death. With the endless possibilities to explore more fun kills through urban legends, it’s also the perfect setup for a franchise that inexplicably never quite stuck the landing. Brenda’s surprise appearance at the end, showing she survived, has her sporting a ribbon around her neck as an homage to the urban legend where the girl’s head falls off when the ribbon is removed.
As far as the ‘90s teen slasher craze is concerned, Alicia Witt’s Natalie and Jared Leto’s Paul are two of the dullest protagonists. Natalie can be frustratingly incompetent. Yet, the commitment of the entire supporting cast makes this a forgivable flaw. Loretta Devine is such a scene stealer as rent-a-cop Reese Wilson that Ryan Murphy seemed to rip the character off completely for TV series Scream Queens. Gayheart imbues enough liveliness into Brenda that it more than makes up for Natalie’s lifelessness. Joshua Jackson nails the jerk role and takes humorous callbacks to teen show Dawson’s Creek like a champ.
Urban Legend wasn’t a game changer in the slasher genre, but it was a worthy attempt. It still is. It’s not perfect, but it’s one I revisit far more often than most of its time. It’s also one that I wish received a reboot. It’s an effective concept with a wealth of underexplored urban legends, that could use a modern update. As it stands though, it’s a lot of fun.
The problem with filming sequels back-to-back is that, unless you can afford expensive reshoots, there’s no easy way to adjust course in between movies if fans react badly to where the story is headed. That’s why it’s important to have a complete narrative thought out well in advance lest you accidentally kill a budding franchise.
However, this isn’t always the case. Every once in a while, it seems like the cinema gods smile upon certain chaotic productions and gift moviegoers with complete franchises that feel like more than the sum of their hastily produced parts. Ted Nicolaou’s Bloodlust: Subspecies III is precisely one of these miraculous pictures, with the raw talents of the artists involved (as well as the continued support from Romania) turning the feature into an effective conclusion for a series that kind of made things up as the filmmakers went along.
That’s why I’d like to invite my fellow readers to join me on this third part of our journey through the Subspecies franchise as we look into Bloodlust and talk about how it remains a surprisingly satisfying finale to the original trilogy.
A Trilogy Planned on the Fly
Released only a year after Bloodstone found plenty of success in rental stores and mail-in VHS catalogues worldwide, 1994’s Bloodlust was produced at the same time as its predecessor in (mostly) the same locations and with the same team. This means that the movie benefited from all the same upgrades as Bloodstone, with the crew now being more experienced with the ins and outs of surviving a low-budget Romanian production and the cast really settling into their characters.
At this point, everything from location scouting to the makeup process had been streamlined, with Wayne Toth and Norman Cabrera, the main duo behind special effects, even switching out time-consuming prosthetics for latex gloves in order to speed up Anders Hove’s monstrous transformation. The titular “subspecies” demons were also once again relegated to a mere cameo appearance due to the laborious puppetry required to bring them to life.
The only real hiccup came from the fact that actress Denice Duff had replaced the first film’s Michelle (Laura Mae Tate) and was immediately expected to portray the character as both an innocent victim in part II and as a secondary villain in part III. According to behind-the-scenes interviews, the hectic production schedule that blended two different movies meant that Duff would often find herself having to alternate between two incredibly different versions of Michelle during the same shooting day – though it’s obvious that she’s having more fun with Bloodlust’s more traditionally vampiric version of her character.
In the finished film, we pick things up immediately where the previous entry left off as Rebecca (Melanie Shatner) is forced to leave her vampire sister Michelle (Duff) behind in the dungeons of Castle Vladislav due to the rising sun. This allows Mummy (Pamela Gordon) to use Michelle’s blood to revive the vicious Radu (Hove) so that he may continue his quest for the coveted Bloodstone – a magical artifact that perpetually drips the Blood of Saints.
Meanwhile, the dreamy US embassy agent Mel (Kevin Blair) agrees to help Rebecca plan a rescue mission, though they’re unaware that Radu has become infatuated with Michelle during his attempts to guide her growing bloodlust. This all culminates in a climactic confrontation meant to tie up all of the series’ loose ends in one of Full Moon Pictures’ most ambitious productions.
The Evolution of Radu
Like its predecessor, Bloodlust: Subspecies III was also warmly received by fans who argued that the series was an even bigger success than Full Moon’s other major horror franchise, Puppet Master. This praise wasn’t unanimous, however, as 1994 had seen the rise of a more modern breed of sexy vampire popularized by Anne Rice, with old-school Nosferatu like Radu being viewed as obsolete when compared to the likes of Lestat and Gary Oldman’s take on Dracula.
In a way, one might argue that Nicolaou’s film is something of a swan song for the classic vampire story, as Bloodlust combines all of the traditional elements we tend to associate with these tales into a single tragic yarn that ties a neat little bow on Radu’s story as well as the old-fashioned monster movies that he represents. The finale remains shocking despite the fact that this is the third time we see Radu get brutally killed onscreen, with the brief tease that he may one day return feeling more like a nod towards the nature of evil rather than sequel bait.
The film dabbles a bit in gothic romance and even explores the inherent power fantasy behind transforming into an immortal creature of the night, but the filmmakers never lose sight of Radu as a demonic force even when he’s willing to betray his beloved Mummy for Michelle’s sake. In fact, his twisted “love” for his fledgling makes him even creepier as we get the feeling that his passion comes from a dark and disturbing place.
Anders Hove is at his absolute best in this film, with the effects department boosting his moments of what the younger generation would call “aura farming” whenever Radu emerges from shadows like a 90s version of Count Orlok. There are even a couple of surprisingly effective jump-scares here, which is why I’d argue that Bloodlust cements Radu as one of the most memorable cinematic vampires of all time despite his humble origins.
Subspecies Saves Its Best For Last
Nicolaou and Vlad Panescu also saved the best for “last” (more on that in a bit) regarding the film’s visuals, with the cinematography and overall atmosphere of Bloodlust absolutely surpassing what we saw in the previous films. Everything feels appropriately climactic this time around (including the wonderful soundtrack that was co-composed alongside an authentic Romanian orchestra), and I appreciate how this is the fastest-paced entry in the trilogy since the film doesn’t need to waste time setting anything up.
Bloodlust still suffers from some of the same low-budget blemishes as its predecessors, but there’s so much creative passion here that no amount of wonky effects work or stilted dialogue can get in the way of appreciating the flick’s gothic grandeur. That’s why it’s not surprising that the movie’s definitive(-ish) ending would later be retconned as fans begged for more Radu.
Of course, the next entry in this series would be a different kind of vampiric endeavor altogether, with the filmmakers attempting to engage with the same trends that ultimately killed Radu and his antiquated kin. That, however, is a story for another time. For now, I’ll merely insist that Bloodlust: Subspecies III remains a highlight of Full Moon’s expansive catalogue and is definitely worth seeking out today.
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