The band-wagon grows daily. And its a band-wagon full of banners and petitions, hatred and crazy comments, and as extreme judgements as people can come out with. Yes, it is of course the Uwe Boll-hate-train.

Now initially I read about Uwe Boll as making the worst films in the world, and cheaply gaining a financial advantage through a tax-loophole. And I instanly figured he was a douchebag. Next, someone told me that he was the worlds most arrogant prick, an essential money-grabbing cunt who tried to piss people off. Then I heard that he beat up his lightweight critics whilst declining fights with legitimate fighters. Again, it was pretty easy to say “Man, I hate this guy, what a bastard”

I left the topic alone for a couple years, really forgetting about Uwe Boll entirely. I was brought back to it when I joined Lovefilm and suddenly had every rental known to man at my fingertips, and could watch a ‘bad’ movie without buying it and owning it for all eternity. So off to the land of Uwe Boll I went.

And of course for a man who loves nothing but to stir up debate, it was a potential gold-mine. A resource with which to bash modern horror in the skull with, showing just how low the industry can go for a quick buck. That was the attitude I had coming in, so that was the attitude I thought I’d leave with when I watched Heart of America, House of the Dead, and Alone in the Dark. I’d started warming to Uwe Boll even before watching a single film, as I saw in Uwe yet another fellow European who wasn’t afraid to say “Fuck you” to US supremacy in all its forms, including Hollywoods ‘monopoly’ on good films. But I also thought I might find a failure worth laughing at. Laughing long, and laughing hard.

Of course that was before I saw the movies. Now I’ve seen the movies. And I know that everyone wants to hear a rant about how bad his films are, but such a rant would be wrong and undeserved. So far, what I’ve seen from Uwe Boll is nothing short of perfectly watchable, in every film. And that includes Alone In the Dark. Are they perfection? Not really. There are flaws, and things I wouldn’t have done, but at the same time there are some really cool things, some good performances mixed in with the bad, and some impressive stuff being done outside of Hollywood. And one thing I don’t think enough people pick up on is the fact that he’s making some absolutely fantastic action sequences and some really interesting shots that not many people in B-movie horror and independent film are willing or indeed able to make. The fact that not everything translates into pure gold to me is just a sign of how difficult it must be to actually make a film outside of hollywood. and yet for me, Uwe Boll really does tick more boxes than he misses with his films.

Does this mean everyone should like him? Not at all. We all have different tastes, and we all have stuff that we absolutely loathe and despise even if it might be well made. I can safely say that I will not rewatch Titanic for any reason. I don’t even leave it on if it’s on late night TV. That’s how little I cared for it. Does it deserve my disgust? Possibly. Does that make it a bad film? Only to me. And this is the thing that many have lost sight of over the past few years when they try to bash Uwe Boll, and try to ban him, and try to equate him to the satan of the cinema world. They’re taking their opinion as the word of God and trying to impose it on the rest of us. Sometimes for comedy effect, they ask for his head on a plate, literally. Death threats online? Really?

My point with this comical and somewhat mean-spirited photo is not that you should never argue about anything on the internet, but rather that the way that Uwe Boll bashers are talking online is giving a very false and odd image for independent directors, and the comments being thrown out there barely match reality. When friends of mine tell me they hated House of the Dead because the zombies looked bad, I can simply say that I disagree and tell them why. When someone says everything Uwe Boll does is like wading in ones own feculence, where can you go from there? Not only is it dishonest debate, it’s as pointless as it is retarded. People should surely try and be more constructive even in criticism so that rather than trying to initiate some flaming campaign of hatred, we try to improve the industry we have and try to get more independent film-makers working outside of Hollywood, and get more of their films to the big screen.

At the end of the day, I can say very little to change people’s minds about Uwe Boll, but hopefully people will at the very least give him a chance before dismissing him. And at the very least, perhaps there can be some honest debate about him and his films. All I am asking, is for a bit of internet civility and reason.