There are worse directors out there than Uwe Boll. That's probably a statement a lot of you won't agree with but you have to consider the fact that he has such a large resume of films that it's easy to point at him and say he's "the worst". This isn't to say he's a particularly good filmmaker either and Bloodrayne: The Third Reich doesn't help disprove this. Originally based on a generally unmemorable video game series; Boll has taken its leather-clad, vampire killing heroine and delivered three equally forgettable (and mostly inane) flicks.

Natassia Malthe returns as our title day-walking vampire and things start off on a mildly promising note as a Nazi camp is assaulted by Rayne and a group of rebels led by Nathaniel (Brendan Fletcher) that delivers a whole lot of low-budget gunfire and sword slashing goings on. After they've eliminated the German scum they both enter into a loose pact since they both have similar goals. However, it's not likely they counted on Nazi commander Brand (Michael Pare), who she apparently killed by skewering him on a metal rod, coming back as an undead bloodsucker looking to give Hitler the gift of immortality.

From here Boll peppers in a few quick action scenes but wedges in way more talking than is necessary. There's a whole lot of stilted dialogue as Rayne stumbles from being in a brothel (giving us a completely pointless, but nonetheless welcome, lesbian scene), hanging out with Nathaniel and his backers while they plan more raids, and trying to avoid being captured and killed by a power-hungry Brand who's also brought in eccentric doctor Mangler (Clint Howard) to learn her secrets and use them to produce an unstoppable Nazi army. Then comes a rushed ending which does trot out some ridiculous action and is the flick's best moments along with the opening - not exactly a good sign when there's so much dull bullshit shoehorned between them.

Bloodrayne: The Third Reich is better than the first two but that's not saying much. By now, if you've seen enough Boll movies, you know what to expect. Made in Croatia with a budget of about ten-million this does sport some decent production values but there's little else here to make it watchable - and that's including the fact Malthe spends most of the movie with her cleavage on prominent display.

Speaking of Malthe, this is her second go-around as the titular character and she's not nearly bad-ass enough. She carves up a striking look, even if her red hair streaks wouldn't exist in the 1940's, but isn't given enough scenes to beat people up. Even Kate Beckinsale in Underworld battered a bunch of vamps around. Still, she's acceptable in the lead. Cult favourite Howard would pretty much be wasted if he wasn't purposely playing things so over-the-top. Pare seems to be becoming a Boll regular with this being their eighth collaboration (he appeared in the first two Bloodrayne flicks also) and he's passable at best with not nearly enough scene chewing. But they're all better than Fletcher who's one of the dullest male leads in recently memory.

In the commentary track Boll mentions that he's always looked upon Bloodrayne as a trilogy of movies. This means he can now stop making them. While the basic idea behind the character isn't bad, the execution is lackluster at best. We've now seen her traverse through medieval times, the old west, and World War II and if the last thing I see from Rayne is her bursting out of the back of a transport truck proclaiming "Guten Tag, motherf*kers!" that's fine with me.

Released on DVD/Blu-Ray by Phase 4 in an "Unrated Director's Cut", Bloodrayne: The Third Reich looks pretty good and we get two trailers, a digital copy, a brief interview with writer Michael C. Nachoff, a jokey 28 minute "Making of", and a commentary track with Boll and Nachoff. (Chris Hartley, 7/26/11)

Directed By: Uwe Boll.
Written By: Michael C. Nachoff.

Starring: Natassia Malthe, Brendan Fletcher, William Belli, Michael Pare.