Borderland - Linea di confine

I have a problem with the new genre of "torture porn" that has muscled its way into the horror movie limelight with such movies as Hostel and Touristas. It's sick, repugnant, and of virtually no redeeming value, and yet, like a moth to a flame, I can't bring myself to not watch it, even though I end up cursing myself for subjugating my mind to its imagery afterward.

Such was the case when the 2007 edition of Montreal's Fantasia Film Festival scheduled a screening of Borderland. I found myself driving downtown muttering to myself how I was going to regret this. And truth be told, I almost did, except that the movie came packaged in a fully fleshed out story (pun intended) that had the added impact of having been based on a true story.

In 1989, Mexican police unearthed 12 bodies in the town of Matamoros. Their brains and spinal cords had been removed. It was later determined that a gang of drug smugglers had been practicing their own form of Santeria, a religious hybrid of Catholicism and African religions, similar to Voodoo. The leader of the gang, Adolfo de Jesus Constanzo, was worshiped as a living god by his followers and practiced the ritual sacrifice of wayward individuals in the belief that the gods would make them invisible to the police as they went about their drug smuggling operation.

This is the backdrop that Borderland sets itself against as it tells the tale of a trio of Americans from Texas who head for a short stay in Mexico to indulge in some fast women and cheap booze. Along the way they hook up with a stunning and resourcefully independent Mexican barmaid played by Martha Higareda (soon to be seen alongside Keanu Reeves and Hugh Laurie in The Night Watchmen) and, as fate would have it, cross paths with members of the gang. The movie also delivers some truly twisted casting as Sean Austin of Lord of the Rings renown takes a villainous turn as the lone American member of the Santeria drug gang.

Director Zev Berman, for whom this movie marks only his third stint holding the directorial reigns, does a remarkably good job keeping the pacing tight and focused, blending a nice mix of story, action and (I hate to say it) gore, even though it's this latter part that I dearly wish could be toned down. The version I saw had not yet been rated by the MPAA so if there's any hope, the more unnecessarily gory parts of it will be excised before it gets given its cinematic release. While I'm no advocate of censorship, some of the gorier shots were just plain gratuitous. Berman would do well to re-cut the movie taking a cue from the original Saw (as opposed to the sequels), which illustrated just how gory you could make a movie while showing so little.

Still, Borderland plays out to a satisfying pay off, and never let my interest flag along the way, even if it did have me watching large chunks (pun intended, again) through my fingers, which, I suppose, is a good thing for some folks.

Horror movie or docudrama? Both and neither.

The opening scene of this movie deceives, situating it firmly in Hostel territory, with grotesque violence and intense claustrophobic action. In the main action of the film, however, it seems as if the horror movie element of this is compromised by the fact that two of those involved are still alive. If safely dead foreigners can be depicted as the victims of graphic bloodletting, living and dead Americans cannot be. To be blunt, this film cops out. It is selective in what the audience are permitted to see entire and what is merely implied or suggested, presumably with relatives' and survivors' sensibilities in mind. There is nothing wrong with this, if this were packaged as a real life story, but as a horror movie it is a cheat. Instead of becoming more involving or thrilling as the action unwinds, it becomes increasingly distant, chilly and mechanical.

I can't help thinking it would have been far more successful to have taken the basic premise of the story and to have gone down the road of complete fiction, to sustain the energy and darkness of the opening scene, instead of the patchy and undigested amalgam it becomes. That way, it would have been a terrific horror. Instead, it's neither fish nor fowl, and unsatisfactory stuff.

This American/Mexican movie from the border between USA and Mexico is loosely based on a true story, which is hard to accept. But evil exists, and it's awful to get to know about it. And this is a story difficult to see and comprehend.

Three young guys go down to Mexico one summer, where they experience that one of them disappears. One of them is kidnapped by humans believing in human sacrificing to the spirit Nganga. The cult leader is based upon The story of Adolfo de Jesus Constanzo! The so-called Godfather of Matamoros. They found more than fifty corpses where brains and spinal cords had been removed. Well, that's the true story, of a case which still isn't closed, as several members of the cult still is on the run.

The film is technically good, and well done in all aspects. The colors are gritty, made with color filters, like many Latin American film has been lately. In this film it's very suitable. Sometimes maybe a bit too much, as it is sometimes difficult to see clearly, outdoors in the sun. Indoors it's better.

The film is made terrifying, as it should be. many actors are doings terrific job. Maybe not so much Brian Presley and Jake MuxWorthy as Rudef Strong. But the Mexicans are doing great, and I always admire Damian Alcazar (amazing in 2004-film Chronicas/Chronicles). The crook Marco Bacuzzi is amazingly terrifying as a violent evil man. One of the scariest I've seen on film ever. The bad guys here are really disgusting all of them. Well played.

I find this a very good film, Though I don't like this kind of violence. I hate watching it, and definitely more do when it is a true story. This is of course it's not everyone's porridge. If you trouble with graphic films, this is no film for you. It's no constellation "this is just film", 'cause it isn't just. It is based on a true happening, found in the insanity of some human's religion. Embrace yourself.

"Based on true events" is rather ambiguous at best and I think if you go into this film believing it's ALL true it will be quite an experience, however I find that the story too well follows a classic plot to be an entirely true story.

Three guys take a trip to Mexico that goes all wrong when they run into a cult of violent murderers. That's pretty much the gist of things.

The acting is actually rather decent and the story is well told and even believable to some degree and it kept my attention all the way through and proved to be one of the better films I've seen in this genre. I actually had to remind myself half way through that this was supposed to be a gore-filled horror film. There was nothing new in terms of blood, guts, and gore, and there really wasn't a whole lot of it given the length of the movie, but what's there gets the point across well.

Some people have referred to it as "goreporn" also which it really isn't. I'm glad at least some writers feel that gratuitous sex/nudity take away from a story when unnecessary.

Bottom line: If you go in expecting the same garbage this genre pumps out yearly, you'll be quite pleasantly surprised. If you go in expecting a masterpiece in horror theater, you'll likely be disappointed.

In hindsight, I probably shouldn't have watched Borderland first out of the other 2007 horror fest titles I rented, because this film has set the bar pretty high. The plot concerns a trio of college friends who decide, before they each move on to different schools, to take a last minute trip over the border for some uninhibited debauchery. Things soon turn into a hellish nightmare when they become targets of a violent drug ring/cult. What keeps this from being another Hostel knock off is Borderlands realistic approach to the material (what makes the proceedings even more terrifying is that they are based on actual events). Also, I was impressed by the quality of the film making and especially the acting, which helps add to the realism (look for an actor you might remember from the Lord of the Rings in very convincing, un-hobbit like role). From the nerve shattering, horrific opening to the finale, Borderland is great horror film that gets under your skin. I highly recommend it to those with strong stomachs.