The centuries-old conflict that has plagued the villages of Transylvania explodes
into bloodshed. The mad
vampire Radu (ANDERS HOVE) becomes obsessed with
Michelle (DENICE DUFF), who loves his half-mortal brother Stefan. In his quest to
possess Michelle and the sacred relic, the Bloodstone, Radu destroys Stefan as he
sleeps. Michelle steals the Bloodstone and escapes from Radu’s castle. She finds a lair
beneath a theatre in Bucharest and stalks the streets in torment, torn between her
fading humanity and her growing thirst for blood. She phones her sister Rebecca (MELANIE SHATNER) and begs her to come to
Bucharest to help her. With the aid of Mel Thompson (KEVIN BLAIR) of the US
Embassy and Romanian policeman Lt. Marin (ION HAIDUC) she hunts for Michelle in
the shadows of the sinister city. Radu, desperate to regain the Bloodstone, seeks help from his monstrous mother,
the ageless sorceress Mummy , who demands the he destroy Michelle before she
destroys him. Rebecca becomes Radu’s unwitting pawn in the race to find Michelle and the
Bloodstone.
Review: Bloodstone is one of those rare sequels that I see as being better than the original, now that is not to say that I didn't like the original because I actually really like it. This film for me just seems to work better and it could be due to the pacing and overall feel. I think I may of stated before that I really am not a big fan of vampire films outside of the Hammer films and Universal Monsters films, for me it's a rare occasion when I find a good and entertaining vampire film. I can say rightnow that the character of Radu looks amazing and reminds me very much of the classic vampire Nosferatu. Even the way they do his shadow as it casts over building and other objects reminds me of Nosferatu as well.
The atmosphere and mood of Bloodstone is very dark and brooding and there is no room for jokes and laughs which is an excellent thing. Also this film is very fucking bloody and has some exquisite practical makeup and gore effects. The look of Radu as well as his mother "The Mummy" which each of them have their own beautifully grotesque look that proves no matter how hard big studios try CGI will never beat these kind of effects. Adding to what I said about how the atmosphere of Bloodstone was very dark and brooding I think what helps that is it was shot in Romania and the way the lighting was done. You just can't fully reproduce authentic scenery like that in a studio.
The acting involved is surprisingly very good and each character is quite likable. I didn't see there to be any stale performances or annoying characters you wish would just die off. This film amongst others came from a time when straight to video releases from companies like Full Moon were actually worth checking out. Overall this is a damn good vampire film that to me does shine above most I have ever seen and deserves those who have not seen it yet to give it a chance!
Now one last thing I do want to talk about is the presentation of this blu-ray. What you get here is truly an awesome presentation that is well cleaned up and is actually in widescreen. Now I can't compare it to the previous DVD releases, but I can say it looks a hell of alot better than the VHS I seen it on so many years back. At the same time it's not overly polished to the point where it would destroy the feel and look of the film. I actually think this HD release helps the film out. Along with the excellent film you also get the classic "Video Zone" from it's original release! I give the presentation 10 out of 10 scalpels and the film 8 out of 10!
-Daniel "Damnation" Lee
Director: Ted Nicolaou
Genre: Horror
Blu-ray Release Year: 2013
Home Video Release Year:1993
Time Length: 107 mins.
Company: Full Moon Features
Website:
www.fullmoondirect.com
The centuries-old conflict that has plagued the villages of Transylvania explodes
into bloodshed. The mad vampire Radu (ANDERS HOVE) becomes obsessed with
Michelle (DENICE DUFF), who loves his half-mortal brother Stefan. In his quest to
possess Michelle and the sacred relic, the Bloodstone, Radu destroys Stefan as he
sleeps. Michelle steals the Bloodstone and escapes from Radu’s castle. She finds a lair
beneath a theatre in Bucharest and stalks the streets in torment, torn between her
fading humanity and her growing thirst for blood. She phones her sister Rebecca (MELANIE SHATNER) and begs her to come to
Bucharest to help her. With the aid of Mel Thompson (KEVIN BLAIR) of the US
Embassy and Romanian policeman Lt. Marin (ION HAIDUC) she hunts for Michelle in
the shadows of the sinister city. Radu, desperate to regain the Bloodstone, seeks help from his monstrous mother,
the ageless sorceress Mummy , who demands the he destroy Michelle before she
destroys him. Rebecca becomes Radu’s unwitting pawn in the race to find Michelle and the
Bloodstone.
