The Borderlands

Wow, what a great little film. I'd seen trailers for this quite a while ago and was waiting for this to come out on the big screen. However, it seems that this has just played at a few film festivals and then been released on DVD, so this film will pass quite a lot of viewers by, which is a huge shame.

The story concerns a Vatican team of investigators, conducting an investigation into a 12th (I think) century church in rural England. The local priest has reported supernatural goings on that he considers to be miracles, but these so called miracles soon turn out to be something far more unpleasant.

Most write ups of this film have focused on the fact that this is a found footage film. Please ignore this, as I find that this does the film a huge disservice. Found footage these days has mostly negative connotations, but The Borderlands effectively avoids the pitfalls of this most lazy of filming styles. There is very little time spent here watching empty rooms, or being confused by wildly shaky camera work. This is no half hearted causally thrown together film. Instead, this is an expertly crafted little film, with lots of great ideas and wonderful characters.

What surprised me the most about this film were the characters. The two central characters, Deacon and Gray, are the warm beating heart of this film. Watching their relationship develop from awkwardness and barely concealed disdain for one another to something much more akin to friendship was great. I had worried that Gray, who serves as the film's comic relief, would begin to grate after a while, but he serves effectively as our guide into the film's darkness, at first full of quips and digs aimed at everyone and everything around him, but he then becomes more serious and increasingly uncomfortable and alarmed as the situation spins out of control.

The religious aspect of this film also serves to add to the film's depth, with the religious characters serving as the skeptics and Gray, the only non religious member of the investigation team, being the most willing to believe. This, plus the dawning realisation that the supernatural elements at play here may be something altogether more malevolent and older even than Christianity, means that this is a very human film and one filled with chills and effective scares.

And then there's the end, and this goes back to my comment on the film's ideas. Wow! I loved the end to this film, although I have read comments from those who feel that this was out of keeping with the rest of the film. Without going into spoilers, I will say that the film's final section delves into altogether deeper and darker territory, but as long as you're paying attention, this is well built towards throughout the entire film. The film drip feeds in information and nods in the direction of what is a superbly original and downright horrible sting in the tail of this wonderful film.

No, it isn't the 'scariest film ever!!!!' as some of the critics have described it. But then again I'm not easily scared when it comes to this type of film. But it is a darkly creepy and nasty little film, with a great plot and nicely developed characters. And as such, I thoroughly enjoyed The Borderlands and would recommend it highly.

"The Borderlands" strictly capitalizes orthodox tropes of horror fundamentals! Places of Worship, Altars, Demonic Activities; all standard textbook stuff! Now mix it up with British Humor, A creepy church house & an engaging cast; and Voila you get yourself a fairly decent piece of work!

Everything's not been flawless though like they never come to be! This too had its fair share of issues and almost all of them come forth due to its rather inferior writing! Especially as we move towards the end. Which, in all honesty; gave the impression of asininity & impreciseness!

Albeit a bit outstretched, luckily; we got enough suspense, shocks & fiery character moments to sail us through the entire runtime! In a nutshell, this is an above average execution that would only appeal to enthusiasts and to those who have a soft spot for this specific genre!

Good POV style horror with a great balance of realism and demonic supernaturalism with one of the most horrifying endings I can recall.

This is a generous 8 many because its low budget and particularly for some reason it just hit the spot for me. I'm a veteran horror movie buff and started watching this 'found footage' style movie with a meh, another one. It isn't actually found footage but more a footage style in that due to the Vatican team experiencing some grizzly occurrences previously the Vatican wants everything filmed as part of new regulations. Hence we have characters with camera headsets on and fixed static cameras in places. All the shots are then taken from these points of view so we do experience some viewing as what the characters see but it's a tool not 'found footage' so shaky cam does not go over the top. Its a bit of a slow burner but sucked me in unexpectedly within minutes. There's something quite natural about the lead characters and its so far removed from the majority of US generic stuff that I was totally intrigued instantly. This movie also did something very rare - it creeped me out. Everything is quite subtle even the humour and religious and life philosophy is touched upon in what seems like normal interactive banter. It had me guessing all the way through and surprised me with its ending, which I was even able to trace back many subtle references to throughout the movie. I actually laughed as it is very rare I'm surprised by a movies ending. If you want pizzaz and action and gore this is not for you I've never actually read HP Lovecraft but I think this is something somewhat in that vein. A kinda creepy slow burning mystery would suit the description and there is not one single young attractive woman who can't run straight without falling over in it.

A small team of investigators head off to a typical English village to find out what's been going on in the church. Apparently The Vatican are the ones asking the questions, which is questionable in that it all seems very Anglican. Still, nice to know that the His Holiness is willing to allocate resources to the C of E ; clearly the manifestion of Evil is a universal issue.

It's really the familar 'Most Haunted' style set up, but with some new angles, particularly with the technology. And there's the sceptic guy/veteran guy double act, which is played with good humour and minimal exposition. Later on explanations are offered as characters' suggestions and therefore explorable, not the clumsily implausible to be found in lesser works.

The supernatural occupiers, rather than wanting to communicate, seem to be mostly interested in throwing stuff around. Spooky but grainy visuals which don't tread on the toes of your imagination abound.

The script is witty and interesting. In a particularly good scene where one character is reading from a dusty old witness journal the material is exceptionally well conceived and poetic. These few moments are worth your full attention. If you like that sort of thing.

I also enjoyed the photography - scenes from the front of a speeding car down a narrow lane put the viewer right in the middle of the action - again, something which someone appears to have taken care over.

What I found most surprising was the quality of the acting. In most cases films in this bracket only have the budget for one decent actor, so to find two or three among the tombstones was a bonus.

It's a pretty much a sausagefest, the only exception I spotted a background girl who went to the aid of a boy in cameo. Unusual these days. But this just means the screaming is lower pitch.

The plot unfolds in a measured way while the action accelerates; the final scenes are a bit of an endurance test, especially if like me you have a bit of a phobia. It is testimony to the excellent execution that I became very uncomfortable and internally urged them to call a retreat, because the way back was evaporating. That such a location exists is in itself a kind of horror.

Fans of low budget goreless Brit fodder will have this gem in their collection.

I hope to see lots more like this from Elliot Goldner.