When adapting a video game into a movie, Boll intends to stay true to the character and the atmosphere of a game. However, in order to meet the goal of appealing to a world audience, he will change the plot, environment, and anything else he deems necessary. For example Alone in the Dark was criticized for departing from the video game's survival-horror style (the original game was set in New England in the beginning of the 20th century and featured a detective trapped in a haunted Victorian house) to a more action-oriented one (the movie is set in a modern/sci-fi megalopolis, and features a super-powered detective with assault rifles). These deviations from the source material tend to irritate fans of the original video game the movie is based on, as well as those who work with Boll to produce the movies.
Boll has made statements comparing himself to directors such as Sergio Leone and David Lynch.
Boll's movies, particularly his video game adaptations, are frequently panned by movie critics. As of January 24, 2006, all three of Boll's video game adaptations appeared on IMDb's Bottom 100 list, a list based on IMDb visitor's rankings of the movie. House of the Dead is consistently ranked in the bottom 20 (at #14), Alone in the Dark was ranked at #20, and BloodRayne was ranked at #19 having received over 2,000 votes despite being in theatres for only a few months. [6].
One oft-cited review of Alone in the Dark, by Rob Vaux, sarcastically states that the movie should make all other "bad" movie directors feel better in comparison: "It's okay," they'll tell themselves. "I didn't make Alone in the Dark." [7]
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House of the Dead
Fans of the series sometimes claim that Boll strayed too much from the source material, as nothing in the movie could be remotely connected to the actual game series despite the movie being a prequel to the events in the game (except for a subtle game reference in the end of the movie). Also, many fans think that a lot of the gimmick imagery used made the movie more comical than it was intended to be.
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Alone in the Dark
Blair Erickson, a writer of a treatment for Alone in the Dark, has written a highly critical account of his experience working with Boll. It includes allegations that Boll blatantly ripped off prior movies, and requests to add elements to the story that were completely opposite the tone of the source material. Blair's script was ultimately not chosen, and Uwe went with another script.