Filmmakers are always looking for a way to challenge themselves, to push their limits. One has to give German director Uwe Boll credit for always looking for news ways to challenge himself as a filmmaker, and in many ways he is succeeding. With Bloodrayne II: Deliverance Uwe Boll comes to the Wild West and it will never be the same again.

Set in the backdrop of the American frontier, the half human, half vampire Rayne (Natassia Malthe) has been trekking her way cross country hunting down murderous, bloodsucking creatures of the night wherever they lurk. We meet up with the sexy, videogame turned movie star as she makes her way to the town of Deliverance, which is surprisingly light on the sodomy, yet heavy on the bloodletting. Rayne quickly discovers that the murderous Billy the Kid (Zak Ward) is planning on using the town’s cross-country railroad as a means to turn hapless visitors of Deliverance into slaves of his ever increasing undead army.

While the challenge of shooting a Western seems to have sparked some creativity from the German doctor, especially in his visual language which pays homage to John Ford and Sergio Leone, one has to wonder if a plot involving vampires really was the right material to force upon Western conventions. While the first Bloodrayne proved to be an infuriating disaster, not because of its absurd plot, but rather for the moments where Boll flirted with improving as a filmmaker, the sequel is even more aggravating.

Perhaps it was the greater amount of time spent in preproduction, but the first half of Bloodrayne II: Deliverance is fairly solid. While some of the acting is a bit spotty, Boll manages to show off not only a sense of style, but manages to carry the awkward balance of thrusting vampires into the Western genre. Notable examples such as the humorous, yet rotund reporter and a creepy scene which introduces Ward’s Billy the Kid exemplify Boll’s growth in style. Even when Malthe enters the picture, accompanied by one of the worst musical scores ever, and plays a game of poker that nearly kills the film’s established pacing; Bloodrayne II still manages to work infinitely better than the first picture.

However a disaster on set, which forced an immediate retooling of the film’s explosive original ending was just the first of the problems that plagued the sequel’s second half. During this act Rayne quickly collects a posse of fellow vampire hunters willing to challenge Billy the Kid, however each of these characters receive little to no development. Aside from The Preacher, who delivers a bizarre, yet undeniably entertaining sermon, the audience is given little motivation to care for the heroes. Even Rayne is given the shaft in this department. As the principle character we never truly understand her motivation for leaving Eastern Europe and heading to the States. We are instead shown Rayne riding in as a lone ranger, a hero with no home or identity, and without giving her context it ultimately makes the idea of vampires in the Wild West seem all the more silly.

Perhaps the weakest part of the picture is the climax. Instead of matching the pacing established in earlier battles, where the action stays fairly constant, we are instead treated to long, drawn out scenes intercutting between Rayne and the rest of her wild bunch. While some might be offended by the liberties Boll takes with children, the death trap that he and screenwriters Christopher Donaldson and Niel Every have devised is so twisted that it makes some of Jigsaw’s best work look like it was devised by little girls.

Another flaw during the action scenes, aside from the slow as molasses cutting between the action pieces, was the use of slow-motion, Matrix like special effects that quickly remove audiences from the piece’s period setting. Another distracting style element was the use of handheld camerawork throughout the majority of the picture, which seemed disjointed compared to the stable, John Ford-like establishing shots.

While Bloodrayne II: Deliverance is an unsurprisingly mixed bag, one has to give Boll credit. His talent as a director continues to improve with each picture and the faults in this sequel lie not in the director’s hands but rather in the poorly structured screenplay and the weak concept. To paraphrase Zak Ward, one thing is for sure when it comes to Bloodrayne II; it smokes the original like a pack of Kools.

-Joe Russo