This movie kicks off brilliant. It starts right in the middle of a brutal torture and killing scene. Leaving not much to your imagination, which isn't always a good thing, but it really worked for this movie. You better install yourself well before the movie starts, because you will have no time to open that bag of crisps in the first minutes.
After this promising start, we meet the protagonists during an outdoor party in Texas, one year after the opening events. One of them (Ed, played by Brian Presley) is the calm and serious type, but two of his friends convince him to go on a short trip to Mexico. We already know that they will meet trouble, so all we have to do is wait for it. Together with some girls they decide to go to a funfair where they take magic mushrooms. This really adds to the chill, as it is not surprising that something must happen during this sensitive state of mind. And so it does, while Ed and Henry party on with their new love interests, Phil decides that he is the fifth wheel on the wagon and takes off. While walking on the streets alone he meets a friendly stranger asking for a light. Phil at that time is totally peaking from the mushrooms and sort of collapses. A car passes by with the friends of the stranger, and they offer him a ride. Which he better had refused. When he comes by, he is tied up and soon finds out that 'he is the special one', but for what he doesn't know.
The cult leader is well played by Beto Cuevas. When he appears to Phil he does so in a charming and caring way, which makes it more chilling as we know from the opening sequence what he is capable off. (A critical note here, his tattoos are far too black which makes them look too fake. Real black tattoos turn more to the blue side. And since he had a lot of 'ink', they should have done that better.) At the same time Phil's friends try to find out what happened to him and go to the police, where they are turned down. They soon meet the first-scene-surviving policeman, who brings them on the right track.
Some of the cult members are really creepy. I was much impressed by the appearance of the big bald guy Gustavo, played by Marco Bacuzzi. Sean Astin plays an American follower of the cult, and he does so pretty well too.
So where did it all get a bit disappointing then? Well, somehow after that real promising start, and after the abduction, it just get's a bit boring. Things could have been worked out better. For example, Ed's girlfriend Valeria is introduced as a tough girl, but in the biggest part of the movie not much is done with that. Also, I am not so sure about the stereo typing. The friendly virgin of the boys gets abducted, the rougher guy eventually turns into tears and becomes the coward, and the good old promising American kid becomes the hero. Hmmm. I don't know, that was just a tiny bit too Christian Heroic for me. Even though the tension rises, it doesn't rise enough. More could have been done with poor Phil awaiting his destiny, more could have been done with the cult, and the same goes for the surviving police guy. It just feels like it goes.. a bit flat. The start is so strong, and then it turns more to a.. well, nothing-special kind of movie. It just didn't hold it's magic on me. I would have liked to know more about this cult, especially because it is vaguely based om real events (the kidnapping and murder of Mark Kilroy, which brought light to a much bigger murder case). Also, after such a strong opening scene, I would have expected that the scene in which Phil meets his fate would have been done much stronger. So, that was quite a disappointment. The abrupt ending also just didn't do it for me. I don't mind abrupt endings, but then at least leave me behind totally stunned. And I wasn't.
All in all, Borderland has it's strong moments, but slowly slips into a more run-off-the-mill horror movie. Which is a pity. Still, it has enough of an atmosphere and good moments to not being rubbish.
After this promising start, we meet the protagonists during an outdoor party in Texas, one year after the opening events. One of them (Ed, played by Brian Presley) is the calm and serious type, but two of his friends convince him to go on a short trip to Mexico. We already know that they will meet trouble, so all we have to do is wait for it. Together with some girls they decide to go to a funfair where they take magic mushrooms. This really adds to the chill, as it is not surprising that something must happen during this sensitive state of mind. And so it does, while Ed and Henry party on with their new love interests, Phil decides that he is the fifth wheel on the wagon and takes off. While walking on the streets alone he meets a friendly stranger asking for a light. Phil at that time is totally peaking from the mushrooms and sort of collapses. A car passes by with the friends of the stranger, and they offer him a ride. Which he better had refused. When he comes by, he is tied up and soon finds out that 'he is the special one', but for what he doesn't know.
The cult leader is well played by Beto Cuevas. When he appears to Phil he does so in a charming and caring way, which makes it more chilling as we know from the opening sequence what he is capable off. (A critical note here, his tattoos are far too black which makes them look too fake. Real black tattoos turn more to the blue side. And since he had a lot of 'ink', they should have done that better.) At the same time Phil's friends try to find out what happened to him and go to the police, where they are turned down. They soon meet the first-scene-surviving policeman, who brings them on the right track.
Some of the cult members are really creepy. I was much impressed by the appearance of the big bald guy Gustavo, played by Marco Bacuzzi. Sean Astin plays an American follower of the cult, and he does so pretty well too.
So where did it all get a bit disappointing then? Well, somehow after that real promising start, and after the abduction, it just get's a bit boring. Things could have been worked out better. For example, Ed's girlfriend Valeria is introduced as a tough girl, but in the biggest part of the movie not much is done with that. Also, I am not so sure about the stereo typing. The friendly virgin of the boys gets abducted, the rougher guy eventually turns into tears and becomes the coward, and the good old promising American kid becomes the hero. Hmmm. I don't know, that was just a tiny bit too Christian Heroic for me. Even though the tension rises, it doesn't rise enough. More could have been done with poor Phil awaiting his destiny, more could have been done with the cult, and the same goes for the surviving police guy. It just feels like it goes.. a bit flat. The start is so strong, and then it turns more to a.. well, nothing-special kind of movie. It just didn't hold it's magic on me. I would have liked to know more about this cult, especially because it is vaguely based om real events (the kidnapping and murder of Mark Kilroy, which brought light to a much bigger murder case). Also, after such a strong opening scene, I would have expected that the scene in which Phil meets his fate would have been done much stronger. So, that was quite a disappointment. The abrupt ending also just didn't do it for me. I don't mind abrupt endings, but then at least leave me behind totally stunned. And I wasn't.
All in all, Borderland has it's strong moments, but slowly slips into a more run-off-the-mill horror movie. Which is a pity. Still, it has enough of an atmosphere and good moments to not being rubbish.