Borderline

"Borderline" had the ingredients to be something truly special, but instead, it settles for being just fine. The film teases a bold and sharp-edged narrative, yet it never fully embraces its potential, leaving an overall experience that is enjoyable in parts but frustratingly uneven.

The movie struggles with pacing. Several scenes drag on far longer than necessary, turning initially amusing or interesting moments into awkward stretches that overstay their welcome. More than once, I found myself thinking, "Why is this scene still going? It was funny a minute ago, but now it's just uncomfortable." This inconsistent rhythm makes the film feel sluggish at times, dampening its impact.

While the humor worked for me in many places-thanks to my appreciation for dark, offbeat comedy-it might not land for everyone. The film walks a fine line between being cleverly absurd and just feeling directionless. There are glimpses of brilliance in the writing, but they often get buried under scenes that lack focus or feel like they're stalling for time.

On the positive side, I really liked the character of Penny. Her dialogue, delivery, and presence (even if minimal) add energy to the film, making it feel brighter and more engaging whenever she's on screen. Her wit and charisma create some of the film's best moments.

Overall, "Borderline" could have been so much more. It had the potential to be a sharp, biting dark comedy, but instead, it settles for being intermittently amusing and frustratingly uneven. It's a film that I wanted to love but could only like-and just barely.

I'm starting to think Jimmy Warden films are not for me. I haven't enjoyed anything I've seen of his to date. His films seem to find an awkward middle ground between serious and humour, and instead of being the best of both worlds, it's the worst of both and just becomes painful to get through.

That's how I found 'Borderline'. I just couldn't find any element of it to grip on to. When it's trying to be funny, it is rarely funny. When it's trying to be serious, it comes across very flat and uninteresting. And when it trying to be stylish and crafty, it just doesn't work.

The one thing I will give it credit for is some good song choices along the way. Otherwise this one was a complete miss for me. A very generous 4/10.

What a disappointment.

Good over-acting by Ryan Nicholson, Samara Weaving was better in 'Ready or Not' or 'Azrael'. Here, she has not that much to do.

The movie has some heavy issues concerning the script and the storytelling: The script starts with a lie and Ryan Nicholson as the first person narrator. The lie tricks the viewer and the first person narrative is never again important for the movie. Emotions are shown through the overuse of playing songs, meaning, the narrative is not confident in its script and storytelling. It has to use this trick in filmmaking showing that the direction is not good. So it's more of style over substance thing for the first time director.

The script takes decissions for a black comedy but the ideas don't really take off.

And: Borderline has nothing to do with hallucinations, so the title of the movie makes no sense.

At the end this movie is like an overlong music video.

Ryan Nicholson is rememberable, the movie unfortunately forgettable after watching.

The trailer was promissing a hilarious, dark comedy about stalking. The movie instead is not funny, not hilarious, has serious issues in storytelling, the characters and the script, but it has some dark, black humour.

Is this the best movie I've ever seen? Obviously not but it's fun. And at least it's not another remake! I don't get why some people are super low balling the rating for this. It's a solid 5/6, not a 2, or the 8s I've seen, but hopefully that counteracts the 2s. It's a fun dark comedy. Definitely silly at times but go with it and allow it to be silly. I thought the cast was good. Though it seems Samara is getting a bit type casted in these roles. Ray Nicholson looks just like his father but hes pretty good at playing crazy. This movie made me laugh and it was a good choice for a rainy weekend afternoon. Not everything has to be a masterpiece, this is original and paced well.

Dark comedy is one of my favorite genres. And everything about the premise of Borderline makes it seem like something I should love. But I found almost no enjoyment or entertainment from watching it.

The mix of horror (barely) and comedy just doesn't work. The tone feels off. Nearly every comedic attempt falls flat (except for one involving practicing for an audition lol).

Idiotic character decisions are common in these types of movies. But here, it's not so much the decisions being idiotic as it is the script just not making sense. There are multiple parts where I thought I missed something, rewatched the previous scene, and realized I wasn't missing anything, the movie is just dumb.

I really hope Samara Weaving can start getting some major theatrical roles. She's too good for this garbage.

(1 viewing, 3/14/2025)