Bloodrayne: The Third Reich

Released by: Phase 4 Films
Released on: 7/5/2011
Director: Uwe Boll
Cast: Natassia Malthe, Brendan Fletcher, William Belli, Michael Pare, Clint Howard
Year: 2010
Purchase from Amazon

The Movie:

As the title may indicate, this is the third installment in the Uwe Boll franchise, this time around putting the story smack dab in the middle of the Second World War. Fans of the video game, of which this film series is based on, will notice that the very first game took place during the same period as this film. The first movie was set in the 1700s, the second in the 1800s, and this third in the 1900s. See what they're doing there? Next one can be in the 2000s and take place in the present day if they see fit.

For anyone not familiar with the Bloodrayne mythos, she's a damphir, half-human, and half-vampire. She has the strengths of the vampires but not the weakness and her sole mission in life is to kill vampires. This episode places the hunter smack dab in the middle of World War II, but not in combat. Bloodrayne (Natassia Malthe) aides a group of rebels in liberating a train full of people doomed to a concentration camp. The leader of the rebels, Nathaniel (Brendan Fletcher), knows her for what she is and tries to gain her aid. During the raid, the Commandant (Michael Pare) is bitten by her, but gets some of her blood splashed into his mouth due to a last second bullet ripping through her, shot by his second in command (Steffen Mennekes). Bloodrayne of course is not overly affected by the wound and doesn't notice he ingested her blood, She and impales and drains him.

Because he drank her blood, Commandant doesn't die and has the same abilities she does, and along with the mad scientist in the camp Doctor Mangler (Clint Howard), wants to inject Hitler with her blood and create an army of super soldiers. Bloodrayne is upset with her self having turned someone into a vampire so she goes after the Commandant, and with the help of the rebels she commits to right the wrong.

Filled with boobs, blood, Nazis, fangs, and sex it's got all the ingredients to be something special. And while it doesn't end up being anything special, there's no denying the entertainment it delivers. At a short 79 minutes running time (72 if you take out the credits), there's not a lot of room for slow spots (other than the sex scenes) and is pretty much wall-to-wall action. Yes, it looks like so many other movies made nowadays, with that green tinted look at times, with choppy/jumpy images during the action sequences that make things tough to follow. And yeah there's hero dialogue like like “Guten tag, mother fuckers!”, and those that try to speak with a German accent fail (most don't even try). But there's lot of bloodshed, and not computer blood but real geysering liquid, plenty of nudity, a lesbian scene, fan favorite Clint Howard, plus Michael Pare who is great in his role despite not even attempting to sound German.

There're quite a few scenes that might leave the viewer saying “huh?” or “what the-?” but things don't ever get off track. It's a fun action flick that has elements of a number of different successful vampire series (Blade, Underworld) but turns the up the sleaze factor substantially. Not having seen the first two Bloodrayne movies, this writer can't offer a comparison, but one thing is for sure, this gives its target audience what they're looking for.

Video/Audio/Extras:

The disc is shown in 1.78:1 anamorphic widescreen and it looks great. Good colors, black levels seem solid, the image is clear and has grain present. There are no artifacts to report or authoring issues to mention. It's a nice presentation. The audio is on par with the video, with 5.1 Dolby Digital sound. Lots of subwoofer action and rear speaker use, and a good balance. It's a loud movie for sure, but not irritatingly so.

The supplements shouldn't disappoint. A “making of” (28:00) which is pretty informative. A good overview of the production and a some great Uwe Boll scenes. In one he talks about the bad rap he has on the internet, and in another he talks about how prude American actresses can be concerning performing in the nude. There are a number of scenes from the movie that play too long, which bogs down the piece a bit, but overall it's a good watch. An interview with the writer (5:58) follows which is decent. Two different trailers for the movie are included and a digital copy as well. Then there's the commentary. Uwe Boll and the writer Michael Nachoff talk about the movie and other things, with squeaking chairs and slurping straws to help with the fun. Listening to Ewe Boll is fun. Say what you want about him, it's hard to deny him he's entertaining to listen to. Pretend hes General Burkhalter from Hogan's Heroes and it makes it even more fun.

The Final Word:

Much better than one might expect, but by no means a great movie, Bloodrayne The Third Reich delivers the goods and it delivers the Uwe.