Category Archives: Blu-ray & DVD Reviews

(R)
MOVIE: **1/2 (out of 5)
DVD EXPERIENCE: *** (out of 5)

WHAT IT’S ABOUT
Uwe Boll directs the third film in his notorious “BloodRayne” franchise. Where the first took place during the Dark Ages and the second took place in the American West, “BloodRayne: The Third Reich” takes place during World War II, pitting the vampire hybrid against the Nazis. Rayne (Natassia Malthe) joins with some European freedom fighters with guerilla tactics against the Third Reich. However, they soon stumble into the evil plans of Dr. Mengele… to create a super soldier with the powers of a vampire.

WHAT I LIKED
I am not going to sit here and defend Uwe Boll to you. He is a terrible filmmaker. Maybe not the worst ever, but he definitely makes piles and piles of manure on screen. However, I have to admire the man’s vision and ambition. And I admire the fact that no matter how awful his films are, he’s still making them. The guy definitely has passion, and he has a machine that works for him. So while this doesn’t give any actual props to this or any of Boll’s films, there’s a certain tip of the hat I’ll give him.

Now, on to the film itself. It’s not saying much, but this movie is the best of the “BloodRayne” series. The story is there more than the other two, and it’s not as overtly cheesy. As far as a direct-to-DVD horror action flick, it’s not bad. Honestly, if I didn’t know about Boll and his notorious filmmaking, and I wasn’t familiar with the overall series, this wouldn’t be half bad to watch after stumbling across it on late-night cable.

What’s also nice is the presence of Natassia Malthe, who is sizzling hot. And to top it off, she gets plenty of skin scenes, including some sexy moments with the other girls in the cast. At the very least, Boll knows how to push the buttons of his audience.

WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE
Moving on to the films problems… well, it does have plenty of them. While Boll doesn’t violate the decency of filmmaking quite to the level he has in the past, he isn’t making any friends here, either. Every problem – from a clunky script and uneven editing to bad acting and two-dimensional characters – are problems here. But if you’re renting an Uwe Boll movie, you’re ignoring the scores of warnings you’ve gotten over the years.

DVD FEATURES
The DVD comes with a “Making of BloodRayne: The Third Reich,” which gives some interesting insights into Uwe Boll’s filmmaking process, including how he deals with nudity. There’s also a commentary track and an interview with writer Michael C. Nachoff. All-in-all, some of these bonus features are actually more entertaining at times than Boll’s own film.

WHO’S GOING TO LIKE THIS MOVIE
Fans of Uwe Boll… and you know they’re out there.