DISSECTING THE DIRECTOR: Uwe Boll

Last Updated on July 23, 2021

“UWE BOLL”

I don’t think there’s many out there that haven’t heard of Uwe Boll, he is the man who has been called the worst film director in recent times. But is he all that bad? In all honestly the man does have some decent films, but he certainly does have more which are bad. He is someone who clearly does love film, he makes more than one every year. He seems to find financing no matter what it takes, he doesn’t answer to anybody with the content in his films. Boll is actually one heck of a unique director, there really isn’t anyone else like him out there. Whether you love or hate the man, you can’t deny he has character. This is the man who challenged his harshest critics to boxing matches, and won! You wont see Steven Spielberg doing anything like that I assure you. No matter if his films don’t entertain you, his personality and ego are sure to.

BEST WORK

I guess the question I can see getting asked about this is “Is his best work actually any good?” Well I can say that in my opinion what I consider to be his best is actually a really good film. Darfur (or Attack on Darfur) is Uwe Boll doing a political drama, however while watching this I felt like this was also a horror film. The events in this film are horrific, and what makes them hit so hard is the knowledge that Boll based these events on stories that Sudanese refugees told him. These refugees are also in the film, telling their stories. The film did not have much of a script, the dialogue was mostly improvised by it’s cast. Also to add to the authenticity, the film was shot with hand-held cameras to give it that realism feel. It worked too, it felt like it could have been a documentary, with people right there as these events happened. The story for this film is about a bunch of journalists (played by Kristanna Loken, David O’Hara, Noah Danby, Matt Frewer, Billy Zane and Edward Furlong) who are out to investigate the genocide committed in Darfur. They are taken around by AU (African Union) Captain Jack Tobamke (Hakeem Kae-Kazim), they come across a small untouched village. The journalists hear the stories from the villagers about what the Janjaweed have done to them, and what this war means to them. As they leave the village they see the Janjaweed are approaching, they need to decide if they go back to help or leave.

The film isn’t light at all, it is all taken quite serious, and it holds back nothing. Once the end credits rolled my jaw nearly dropped at seeing ‘Directed By Uwe Boll’ because this did not feel like one of his films. By the end I had forgotten he had anything to do with it, I was so engaged with everything that was happening, I actually cried watching the film. It wasn’t the type of crying that happens whenever one watches Alone in The Dark, the film was that upsetting by the events that took place and knowing this is the way of life for people. Perhaps it was the subject matter, but everyone in the film put in mostly strong performances, yes even Edward Furlong was decent (although he looked terrible but it suited his character). Boll definitely doesn’t hide what he wants the audience to see, and what he wants them to think and feel. This film shows a lot of horror, death, rape, mutilation, child killings and torture. The film is well made, and definitely a direction Boll needs to continue in.

WORST WORK

A chunk of his filmography could go in this section, with just a picture of a turd in the toilet as the explanation. That would be too easy, but even with his worst films, some are worse than others. The absolute worst would have to be without a doubt House Of The Dead, the film has nothing good, or decent about it. Oh wait there is one decent thing in the film which lasts around a minute and it happens at the start, Erica Durance showing her boobs (she probably regrets that now). The film is one of his video game adaptations, I am not familiar with the game so I can’t compare. But as a film, it stinks, badly. Imagine the worst smell ever, times that by a thousand, then imagine crawling through something with that smell for an hour and half, well that experience would be more pleasant than sitting through this film. Acting, story, camera work, sets, location, make-up and even music are all awful. The film starts off with these unnecessary freeze frames, with the worst voice-over work I have ever heard. It has cuts to bits of the game between scenes which look so stupid, not to mention the nausea inducing 360 degree shots which had me ready to vomit. House Of The Dead is quite possibly the worst zombie films, heck one of the worst films ever made. It is so bad, it really is bad. There is no enjoyment factor in the badness of the film, it plain ol’ stinks!

TRADEMARKS

Uwe Boll’s biggest trademark is adapting video games, but not just any video games, oh no. He picks games which are years old, and most people probably don’t remember right away. For example House Of The Dead which was released in 2003, was based upon the 1996 video game. Alone In The Dark which was released in 2005, was based upon the 1992 video game. Well you get the drift, other video game adaptations include Far Cry Bloodrayne, Postal and In The Name Of The King. His other well known trademark (which is popular among directors) is working more than once with the same actor, these include Michael Paré,Will Sanderson, Ralf Moeller, Udo Keir, Kristanna Loken, Edward Furlong, Billy Zane, Natassia Malthe and Clint Howard just to name a few. He often produces his own projects, as well as write them. He uses the hand-held camera technique, which was quite affective in his recent films such as Darfur, Stoic and Rampage. His films definitely have a political agenda, he doesn’t shy away from it either, much like with Postal. And I guess there is his other trademark of making films that are universally panned by critics and audiences alike!

HIDDEN GEM

As it turns out Uwe Boll does have quite a few hidden gems, and it seems as though his good films get forgotten in place of those truly bad ones which everyone remembers. A film I can easily recommend is Rampage, and I think behind Darfur is one of his better films. Rampage is a no holds barred film about one man taking his revenge on society to the limits. This is in a way Boll’s version of Falling Down, but done in the most extreme way. The first 15 minutes or so are probably the weakest of the film, the scene at the breakfast table with Bill (Brendan Fletcher) and his parents (Matt Frewer and Lynda Boyd) is so awkward and natural and it is kind of hard to watch. But once you realise what is happening and what is going to happen, the film kicks in. Bill is a strange character, he’s angry at the world, and he’s going to show them exactly how he feels. There is no sympathy for him, this feels like Boll’s intention. He’s gotten pretty good performances out of everyone involved, some great camera work, one heck of an impressive full body armour suit and a great score. The action is brutal and pretty much non-stop, no one is safe from the rampage. Uwe Boll as I understand loosely based this film on a killing spree which took place in Iowa in 1991. He clearly believes there is some merit in telling stories which are true, while adding his own spin on them. Perhaps this was a story he was moved by, but whatever the case it definitely awoke something in him which resulted in a good Boll film.

NEXT PROJECT

Uwe Boll has a lot of films in the works, he is a busy man, nothing holds him down! Perhaps his most controversial up and coming film is Auschwitz, so much so that critics are planning to boycott the film. Auschwitz is Boll’s interpretation of the Nazi war crimes which took place there, shown in a very gruesome depiction. The trailer itself which runs at around 44 seconds isn’t an easy watch, it starts off with Boll himself as a guard standing while atrocities are happening. Boll apparently wants to show the horrors of what the Nazi’s did, without holding back. Next up, he’s got Bloodrayne: The Third Reich (do you see a pattern here), which is about Rayne fighting you guessed it Nazi’s! While I didn’t mind Bloodrayne in a way it was so bad it was funny, and Bloodrayne 2 was truly awful, I honestly have no idea why a third is coming our way. In another film which has Nazi’s (apparently Boll plays Hitler in this), Bluberella is an exploitation style film about Bluberella who is an over-weight half vampire, who is there to kill Nazi’s and save the day. Can’t say this is something I’d care to see, the trailer looked as cheap as that hooker on the corner street. Finally, Boll is continuing with sequels and has In The Name Of The King 2 in the works with none other than Dolph Lundgren attached.

OVERALL

No matter what you think of the man and his work, you can’t deny there is never a dull moment. Whether you are laughing or crying at his films, or waiting and wondering over what he could possibly do next, there is always some interest in his work. I guess I could compare watching a Boll movie to watching a car wreck, it is something you don’t want to watch but you can’t help but look. He’s proved (at least to me) he does have it in him to make a good film, he does what he wants and when he wants, good or bad. His is definitely a name that will live on, probably for all the wrong reasons. Without Boll I think the genre and industry would be missing out, he’s never dull. Sure his films might be dull, but the man behind them is far from it. He hasn’t won me over yet, his next projects have left a sour taste in my mouth, but he at least started with his more recent efforts.