Octoblur 2014 - #10: The Borderlands (2013)
Written by dorrk |
Where most "found footage"-style indie horror movies lean heavily on the crutches of inspid bickering and jump scares, The Borderlands is a fine example of avoiding those pitfalls through well-drawn characters and original vision.
A small team of investigators is sent by the Vatican to inspect a church in rural England where the priest has reported supernatural occurrences.
With shades of Ben Wheatley (Kill List, Sightseeers), director Elliot Goldner has created a quirky and confident entry in the relentless of supply of found-footage horror that gets right what most of its brethren gets wrong.
Although all found-footage horror movies suffer from a degree of sameness, The Borderlands does a neat job of establishing likable characters who, even though often at-odds with each other, are never reduced to the kind of contrived argument machines that populated The Blair Witch Project and most of its imitators.
The Borderlands does seem at times like it may lack ambition and fizzle out before the end, but that's a deception. Its ending is mysterious, tense, claustrophobic, and shocking — and the most fun I've had so far this Octoblur.
