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Directed by Written by Starring Presented by 108 minutes |
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BORDERLAND Review
Out of all the films part of the After Dark Horrorfest, BORDERLAND is the only one to be based on a true story, one of a cult that specializes in human sacrifice. On the surface, it does have a familiar formula regarding its main characters, but as the film progresses, it is a good exercise on realistic brutality that makes it an underrated film in the After Dark library. After an excellent opening in which members of a cult kidnap two cops, slaughter one, and keep the other alive to warn others who enter their realm, the film focuses on male college students Ed (Brian Presley), Henry, (Jake Muxworthy), and Phil (Rider Strong) who celebrate their impending graduation by spending a night across the border into Mexico. While celebrating, Ed hooks up with a resourceful barmaid (beautiful Mexican soap star Martha Higaretha).Phil encounters members of the cult and is abducted to be set up as their next sacrifice. Ed and Henry start to search their missing friend and encounter the cop left alive (Damian Alcazar) who is intent on avenging his partner’s death. The newfound group bands together to rescue their friend before he becomes the cult’s next victim, but soon discover that they are also being hunted by members of the cult themselves. BORDERLAND is such a brutal film to watch and it may draw comparisons to HOSTEL in the story revolving the college students but this is a much better film. For starters, the students are not party hounds; they are just looking for a good time, and present many likeable qualities. In addition, although there are scenes of the cult slaughtering humans with eye gouging and severed limbs (all on screen), this is not a torture porn film. The fact that this is based on a true story (which HOSTEL claimed to be) makes the story that much frightening. It feels more like a crime drama than a horror film at times, and the film’s denouement shows just that. The film is also well acted, with Damian Alcazar exceptional as Ulises, the detective out to avenge the death of his partner. The pain and determination in his face as he seeks out the cult, mixed with his complete fear in the beginning of the film, shows his failure to save his partner and his guilt for allowing him to die. It rises above the usual cliché of the character. Rider Strong gives his best performance as Phil, who is set up for the slaughter and engages in some gut wrenching dialogue with members of the cult pleading for his life. The reason why this is so is due to the performance of the central member of the cult, Sean Astin (yes, that Sean Astin), a smooth talking American who talks normally to Phil, knowing what he’s going to do to him, but using his charm to set the audience at an uneasy tension. Some of these scenes are more difficult to watch than the gory scenes. Brian Presley is a good lead as Ed, who becomes the protagonist in search for his friend and takes command of the search, even when Ulises helps out. It’s a shame that BORDERLAND will be compared to both of Eli Roth’s HOSTEL movies, because it is such a better made film than those, that it won’t get the attention it deserves. Hopefully on DVD it will get its notice, because it is a film definitely worth seeing. Zev Berman does a masterful job directing this film, and the script, co-written with Eric Poppen, is also very well done. It’s a film of many genres, and each genre is done very well, with horror, suspense, action, and crime well represented. In all, BORDERLAND is an exceptionally made film, very uneasy to watch for many reasons, but a well structured, horrifying look at a cult that shows just how barbaric and brutal the human mind can be. Its roots in reality make it that much more frightening, and has just enough to satisfy fans of many genres. This is the film that HOSTEL should’ve been, and really not for the squeamish. BORDERLAND: 8 Out Of 10 Maggots
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