I’m going to be upfront with you; I, with maybe a handful of other like-minded individuals, can find entertainment value within Uwe Boll’s back catalogue of video game adaptations and original features. Many of you might think I have lost my marbles that I, or anyone else for that matter, could find enjoyment with any of Boll’s work. Rest assured that I haven’t. In fact, I’ll often go through phases of watching his video game adaptations as a form of comfort viewing – lunacy, I know. The Bloodrayne trilogy (along with his In The Name of the King trilogy) are entries I’ll revisit every year or so. Even with their glaring faults, I’m still drawn to their low-budget charm.
Despite their position as one of cinema’s leading horror creatures, it’s surprising how little both Vampires and their ever-growing mythology are taken out of the gothic, romanticised settings and plonked into the weird west. How could anyone not like the idea of six-shooting, gun-wielding vampires in a period setting? That’s not to say there aren’t examples – just look at Anthony Hickoxs’ low budget horror-comedy Sundown: The Vampire in Retreat (1989); John Carpenter’s Neo-Western-action-horror Vampires (1999); or the interesting but deeply flawed Gallowwalkers (2012), as proof there is a market (despite being limited) for this Weird West genre hybrid in cinema. One film that sits within these limited ranks, although barely acknowledged, is the DTV sequel to Uwe Boll’s maligned and often cited as the worst video game adaptation ever made Bloodrayne (2005).
With a stigma already attached to it from its predecessor, Bloodrayne 2: Deliverance (2007) is still fun a low-budget vampire flick, with occasional deviations into Euro-shlock. Despite this, and due to the lack of noticeable star power, the recasting of the main character and the significantly reduced budget from the first [1] makes Bloodrayne 2 a bizarre follow-up that no-one cried out for.
Taking place one hundred years after the first entry and within the small western town of Deliverance, the gun-toting Dhampir Rayne stumbles into town on a quest to slay all her vampire brethren and finds it under the vice-like grip of a vampiric Billy the Kid (played with scenery-chewing by Boll regular Zack Ward). Joining forces with gunslinger Pat Garrett (Michael Paré who has a good rapport with Malthe) and a motley crew comprising of, among other things, a pistol-wielding preacher (portrayed by Canadian character actor extordinaire Michael Eklund [2]), Rayne sets out to free Deliverance from Billy’s reign of murder and terror.
A quick peruse online and you’ll undoubtedly see many a reviewer or keyboard crusader bashing this DTV follow-up, just because of Boll’s previous track record – which seems a tad overblown or incendiary at times. And while this entry is not without its faults (more on that later), its a more engaging entry than the first, despite lacking the expertly crafted grue from Olaf Ittenbach [3] (Legion of the Dead (2001), Permutos (1997)) which added to the ridiculous entertainment of the original Bloodrayne.
The recasting of Rayne from Kristanna Loken [4] to Norwegian actress and model Natassia Malthe (who would become a Boll main-stay post-Bloodrayne 2) is an interesting choice. Where Loken exuded an almost feral-like ferocity mixed with raw sexuality (was she going to kill someone, fuck them or both), Malthe’s performance is a little more understated and reflects a seasoned, world wary Rayne. Often channeling the stoic, icy cool of lone gun-toting warrior. My only complaint is that she’s not given much to do in this first sequel, nor is she as darkly humorous as Laura Bailey’s performance from the games.
Whether it was budgetary or lack of preparation (or a combination of both), the action is unabashedly old-school with no fancy flourishes that most DTV features try to implement (such as Battle Drone (2018) and the overuse of bullet-time), which makes it personally more endearing. But it’s not without a genuinely unsettling moment, in particular, Billy the Kid’s dark trap for Rayne which involves several local children hanging from nooses rigged to fall as she comes through the door, is almost Jigsaw killer levels of twisted.
Plus points are given for its use of practical locations, which is always one of the great highlights in Boll’s work, regardless of budget constraints. The town of Deliverance is dirty and muddy, with ramshackle buildings, dispelling that romanticised version of how in the wild west everything was rustic and pristine. Characters wade through mounds of mud, and the raw handheld cinematography only further adds to that sense of realism. It is clear how freezing the cast and crew were during production, particularly during the Preacher’s introduction, where the freezing breath from his religious rants being visible. Nothing says realism quite like clearly freezing in the scene. And to think, bigger-budgeted features add frosted breath in post.
One particular highlight is the score from Jessica de Rooij – Boll regular from In the Name of the King (2007), through to Boll’s (at present) final feature Rampage: President Down (2016). The opening theme invokes that classical sense of western adventure, the inspiration from Morricone’s Dollars Trilogy looms large, but this has a uniquely modern flavour to proceedings. Harmonicas, banjos, and all the classical audio trappings that the western genre is known for, are present and correct, but de Rooij creates a sense of fun and mystery with each of the tracks.
On the odd occasion, the steady-cam can be a little too loose and fancy-free, which could lead to nausea if you suffer from motion sickness. Thankfully this isn’t nearly as frequent as it first appears. Ultimately, when the camera isn’t shaking too much, it does add an element of rawness and lack of polish that endears me to it more. It’s also about 15 minutes too long, which often leads to pacing issues that can then make it slow to a snail’s pace. The irony is its successor – Bloodrayne: The Third Reich (2009) – is a tight 79-minute exploitation picture which sadly ends just as it begins getting interesting.
Despite it never quite reaching the levels of the weird-west brilliance found within some of the better know genre hybrids; Bloodrayne 2 remains a schlocky DTV treat that is ripe (like many of Boll’s video game adaptations) for Friday night viewing with like-minded friends. In this modern age of cinema, Boll’s films (this sequel in particular) are very much cut from the Euro-horror cloth of the 70s and 80s that so many genre connoisseurs now salivate over once they receive HD re-releases (yes, I went there).
Look, this isn’t some underrated gem that you’ve been missing your whole life, but what we do have is a gory, rough and ready, low-budget popcorn entertainment that, in all honesty won’t be many viewers cup-of-tea due to its numerous faults or director’s track record. Its interesting ideas are sadly hampered by some technical faults (steady-cam issues) and an often dull mid-section. Despite these flaws, there is plenty of enjoyment to garner from this low-budget sequel in you’re in the right frame of mind. Saying that, its Bloodrayne: The Third Reich where the series is really at its peak.
[1] The budget for Bloodrayne was an impressive $25 million and remains Boll’s second most expensive film, with In the Name of the King being his highest budget ever ($60 million with a worldwide earning of $13.7 million). In comparison Bloodrayne 2: Deliverance and its sequel Bloodrayne: The Third Reich were financed on $10 million each. Whereas the In the Name of the King sequels (Two Worlds (2011) and The Last Mission (2013)) were shot for $4.5 million and $3.5 million respectfully, yet had more extensive effects work compared to the Bloodrayne sequels. My brain hurts!
[2] Eklund, despite his short appearance, manages to add some much needed energy into the dull second half.
[3] Ittenbach would return a final time to do the gory effects work for Boll’s controversial Vietnam feature Tunnel Rats aka 1968 Tunnel Rats (2008). The prosthetic effects work on Bloodrayne 2 was taken over by Joel Echallier and Vancouver effects house SFX Studio, who had previously worked on In the Name of the King for Boll and would go on to do Mortal Kombat: Legacy (2011-2013); 12 Rounds 2: Reloaded (2013), and David Hayter’s highly underrated werewolf biker flick, Wolves (2014).
[4] If IMDb is to be believed, Loken declined to return as Rayne not because of the critical backlash from the first entry, but rather due to scheduling conflicts with two projects she was working on (namely episodes of The L Word and shortlived TV series Painkiller Jane). Loken would return to work with Boll a few years later on sudan war drama Attack on Darfur (2009)
DOM O'BRIEN 
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