10 Horror Movie Franchises You've (Probably) Never Seen
6. Subspecies
It's incredibly rare for the same director to helm every single entry in any long-running horror franchise, and so there's something innately charming about the fact that the direct-to-video vampire franchise Subspecies has retained the same filmmaker, Ted Nicolaou, across all five movies spanning a stonking 32 years.
Now, it's easy to knock these films for their low budgets and cheesy, nonsensical storylines, but it's also easy to fall in love with the sheer atmosphere and vibes-rich nature of Nicolaou's filmmaking.
A big plus here is that he shot all five films on location in Romania, lending them a unique flavour far from the generic "Los Angeles soundstage" look you might otherwise expect.
Nicolaou's deference towards stop-motion effects also helps, as does a genuinely terrific performance from Anders Hove as central vampire Radu, with Hove appearing in all five films.
It's not for everyone, but Subspecies is a far more effort-filled enterprise than you might expect from a cursory glance.