BloodRayne

The short answer to that question is yes. But for the long one, scroll down for my opinion on BloodRayne. The infamous video game adaptation of the iconic video game, which is yet again directed by… none other than Uwe Boll.

First Far Cry Then BloodRayne

Believe it or not, this is my second Uwe Boll movie in just a couple of months. The first was Far Cry if you’re interested. But I figured, what else am I going to do in lock-down? Hey, I already binged on Cobra Kai, and The Stand as well. So, naturally, I suffered through yet again, with another Uwe Boll video game adaptation. It’s more of a business than a pleasure type of a feeling, to be honest, but hey… Someone’s gotta do it right?.

What Is BloodRayne All About?

For clarity, I’ll start with the actual video game series here. Since we do have it on sale here at IndieGala, and since it’s the OG material for the movie (at least it should be). Indeed, the BloodRayne game predates the movie, and I’m going to start there. However, what I’m going to referrer here is BloodRayne: Terminal Cut. The re-release of the game which came out back in November of 2020.

And in it, Agent BloodRayne works as a killing machine for The Brimstone Society. Aa top secret fraternity that hunts down and destroys supernatural threats. Two missions, five years apart, turn out to be connected by one man. For years, this man has been searching the world for powerful occult relics. All to bring about a new age of domination for the Third Reich. Likewise, the dhampir Rayne will face horrific creatures, hordes of soldiers with an array of tools and firepower. And every Nazi officer that stands between her and the one she must stop.

There are no Nazis in the Uwe Boll version. But there are plenty of great actors in the cast.

There Are Really Good Actors Over Here

Personally I was baffled by some of the actors here. Did Uwe Boll do some magic tricks to lure Ben Kingsley, Michael Madsen, Michelle Rodriguez and Billy Zane in this movie? But you know what? I’m getting way ahead of myself. Let’s start from the beginning. Kristanna Locken is Rayne. A half-vampire/half-human hybrid (also known as a dhampir) that’s on a revenge mission. Along with a team of vampire slayers (Madsen, Rodriguez and Matthew Davis), she must kill the vampire lord Kagan/her father (Ben Kingsley). Therefore, to complete her quest, she must also collect three powerful talismans. And gain the strength that’s needed for the job.

In addition to everyone else, Meatloaf is in this movie too. But let’s not waste the time on him. There are far more atrocious things to worry about. How about the fact that this movie has a budget of 25 million dollars? Indeed, 25 million dollars. And sadly still looks like it was made for about 2500. 1. I’m not joking about the budget. And 2. The King’s Speech, Birdman and The Shape Of Water all cost under 20 million dollars. Hence, my confusion with the finished product. But yeah. BloodRayne looks cheap in pretty much every single possible way. From the set design to the costumes and wigs. Not to mention the bad editing, and similarly poor cinematography. Forget about the poor direction from Boll. The other aspects of the movie are pretty bad as well in case you’re wondering. Most notably the acting… But I’ll get to that in a second.

BloodRayne

Speaking of the wigs, I can’t seem to decide which actor has the worse hair-piece. Sir Ben Kingsley, Meatloaf, or Michael Madsen? I can’t really tell. Let me know what you think? I’m going with Kingsley and his pancake makeup.

Almost No Acting Efforts Whatsoever

Well, considering the list of actors that occupy this movie, there’s very little effort to do some decent acting. If I have to pick a silver lining in that department, I’d have to with Miss Locken. She seems like the only one that’s actually trying to act (while everyone crashed). Moreover, from the other side of the spectrum, I’d single out Madsen, Rodriguez, Meatloaf. And even Kingsley too, for exactly that. Crashing and burning the movie with their indifference.

First and foremost, there’s Madsen. Well, Michael Madsen acts like he had woken up from a coma just before the production began. Michelle bless her heart, and her horrible, failed attempt to do an English accent is also bad. Kingsley spends most of his screen-time sitting in a chair, looking bored and uninterested. And the Udo Kier/Meatfloaf/Billy Zane/Geraldine Chaplin cameos…. We’ll they’re short and lack any momentum to be impressionable. Completely devoid of emotion or artistic endeavor. Except for Billy Zane’s constant blinking. The man couldn’t stop blinking in his barely-there scenes. What’s up with that Billy?

BloodRayne

What About Uwe Boll/Guinevere Turner Contributions?

To start with, Guinevere wrote the first draft of the script, but instead of working on improvement (with second, third, fourth draft)… Boll used the first in the final cut. And it clearly shows. I mean, there’s no context between the scenes, the plot (let’s call it that) is incoherent and sloppy. Seems like there’s no intelligent proper character development (Katarin is the perfect example). Or any type of other development for that matter. And the dialogue. Oh, man. Where to even begin with the dialogue? At times the movie feels like a bunch of sketches that were poorly compressed into a 100-minute long movie. Likewise, the movie feels like it’s way longer than those 100 minutes. Feels like ages. I suppose Uwe Boll’s retirement from the movie industry is for the best. For everyone, not just the audience.

Add the poor special effects to the equation and well, you get the picture. Seriously. Just take a good look at the dismembering, beheading, slaughtering and fighting scenes. They’re ridiculous and not in a good way. Some competent director could have shown them in a much less gratuitous, vulgar way. But I suppose competence is out of the picture when you’re watching an Uwe Boll movie. Am I right?

Far Cry Was A Guilty Pleasure: BloodRayne… Not So Much

For me, BloodRayne is a step-down. So, after watching 2 Uwe Boll movies in total, I finally have something to compare them. In terms of commitment, quality or lack thereof. But yeah, while Far Cry seemed like a dumb yet fun guilty pleasure, BloodRayne is anything but. I can’t seem to find any redeeming qualities in it. Not even the presence of Kingsley and Madsen is redeemable. This is a hard pass for me. However, I do want to know your opinion of the movie. Let me know in the comment section.

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