Bloodrayne: The Third Reich – Blu-ray Review

The Film:

Holy Uwe Boll!

If his name doesn’t immediately make you smile or groan than this film certainly won’t be for you, despite the accessibility of the subject – video game adaptation, hot girls, vampires, and Nazis – Bloodrayne: The Third Reich is well, I hate to delve into cliches when writing, but damn it, here it goes: it’s easily his best film. I think maybe the cliched statement there won’t be my issue, it’ll be the paradox I just threw myself into.

I think Boll is an odd paradox. Here’s a director that to escape obscurity in the DTV market, purposely bit his lip and exclaimed “I’m not a bad director!” only to evoke the Internet base into pouncing on top of him. Luckily, he’s somewhat protected by a small, loyal group, that agree. We all know the awful Bollness: House of the Dead, Alone in the Dark, In the Name of the King. But truthfully, his Bloodrayne wasn’t that bad, and in fact, is mildly fun in all of the ways we would expect. Bad acting, hot chicks, silly costumes, and the like. Or maybe I’m just too consumed in thinking about Kristanna Loken, but I recall Bloodrayne not being that bad.

So for The Third Reich,  Boll has listened to fans (?) in returning this loosely adapted video game movie to its origins: Nazi Germany. So there’s little to this addition besides the time and place, and that’s a shame, because its mindless fun, actually. So Rayne teams up with some rebels who love killing Nazis, the Nazis have her blood and are turning into Daywalkers for the ultimate supremacy, and we got time for a threesome (all girls), and a random sex scene. Star Natassia Malthe is easy on the eyes, but she lacks the strength Loken gave the character at times naturally. Clint Howard turns in a devilishly cheesy performance as a Nazi scientist.

The snow-filled roads and landscapes really aid the cold cinematography, making the production slick and of quality. Of course, this film mimics Selene and the Underworld series to a fault, but it’s perfect, mindless, campy fun, which is what you want for a time-waster until Screen Gems releases the next Underworld. I mean, things ain’t all that bad when there’s an all-girl threesome sequence and the film with Rayne surprising Nazi scum with this exclaim: “Guten Tag, motherf*ckers!” Oh, and it’s barely 75 minutes (which makes us curious to what would have been cut? It’s a super short movie anyway!).

The Blu-ray:

Audio/Video: Phase 4 Films offers up a slick looking transfer in HD. Colors are often just blue or gray, but they’re eye-catching and somewhat gorgeous. You might be surprised by the HD video, it’s really well done. The DTS track is nice; loud, bass-heavy, and active, just like any decent action sound mix should be.

Commentary: Director Uwe Boll and writer Michael Nachoff offer up a chatty, candid look at the film. While both are a little too serious, there’s plenty of info and Boll’s candid display of affection, yet realization that some things are up to stuff, is refreshing.

A plain Jane Making of that offers up plenty of interviews, but no real insight, Trailers, and a quick interview with screenwriter Nachoff, round out the extras.

The Film: Rating:

The Blu-ray: Rating: