Uwe Boll fascinates me. Not so much as a filmmaker but as a pop culture figure. He’s not that good of a filmmakers, but there is a certain coherency to his movies.

There are some people who would say that Boll is the worst filmmaker around today. But that’s unfair. It’s as unfair as calling “Plan 9 From Outer Space” the worst movie ever made. Trust me, I have seen far, far worse than “Plan 9” or anything Uwe Boll could throw at us.

It’s more accurate to say that “Plan 9 From Outer Space” is one of the most unintentionally funny good “bad” movies ever made. In that respect, Uwe Boll is one of the best filmmakers of junk cinema around.

I’ll give Boll a lot of credit. He makes his movies regardless of what the critics say. He manages to fund his own films outside of the mainstream industry. He’s got a slate of projects in the works longer than most directors working today. Whatever the game is for movie making, Boll has figured it out.

“BloodRayne” was not a great film. It’s not as bad as I thought it was when I first saw it, but I still can’t bring myself to give it a great rating. However, in reflection, it’s not that bad. And furthermore, “Alone in the Dark” wasn’t that bad, considering what it was: a low-budget action/horror film starring Tara Reid as a brilliant scientist.

Like all of Boll’s films of late, “BloodRayne” is based on a popular video game. Set in medieval times, “BloodRayne” tells the origin of Rayne, a dhampir, which is a human/vampire hybrid. She emerges from a carnival sideshow to fulfill a prophecy of overpowering the leader of the vampires.

The film has a solid cast, all of whom don’t take their jobs too seriously. Having Ben Kingsley in your movie won’t make the movie good, but it helps in the marketing. Other stars include Billy Zane, Meat Loaf, Michael Madsen and everyone’s favorite drunk driver Michelle Rodriguez.

This unrated version of the film has plenty more gore, which is silly and cartoonish. Overall, these new effects add to the unintentional humor of the piece. What makes the film such a scream to watch is the undying seriousness of delivery by Boll and company.

This becomes very apparent when you delve into the bonus features of this disc. In addition to a handful of storyboards and a weird demo reel of the CGI effects, there is a commentary by Boll and his stars. I loved the fact that at some points, even they laughed at the goofiness of the film. As an added bonus, for gaming fans, the DVD comes with the “BloodRayne 2” PC video game.

However, the gem of this DVD is “Dinner with Uwe” in which two reporters from IGN interview the director over Thai food and some wine. The beginning of the interview is somewhat rote, with Uwe talking about his early career and how he found success with English language video game horror (bolstered by a strong show on DVD of “House of the Dead,” no less).

The ending, however, is the best. Here’s where Uwe has a chance to speak out against his critics and talk about how he handles the flames on the internet. In listening to the director’s comments, I gained a new respect for him. Even if I don’t particularly like his films, I’ve gotta give the guy kudos for making things work in his favor.

In the end, “BloodRayne” is actually a lot of fun, especially if you’ve had a few to drink while watching it. You have to understand Uwe Boll as a filmmaker, and accept the fact that he makes junk food cinema. He’s never gonna win an Oscar, and he’s never going to be taken seriously. But he’s comfortable with that, and if you can be too, you might just find something enjoyable about his films.



Specifications: Dolby Digital 5.1 Sound. Widescreen (2.35:1. Spanish and language track. Spanish subtitles. English subtitles for the hearing impaired.