Director: Elliot Goldner.
Starring: Robin Hill, Gordon Kennedy, Aidan McArdle, Luke Neal.
Certificate: 15.
Running Time: 89 Minutes.
Synopsis: Three paranormal investigators for the Vatican must work together to work out if a rural English church was visited by God, or if it’s the ramblings of a desperate priest. Once onsite, they realise that things may not be quite what they seem.
British films have come a long way in the last couple of decades and thanks to the likes of Neil Marshall, we also have a steady trickle of horror coming out of our fair isle, with the latest being Elliot Goldner’s THE BORDERLANDS.
THE BORDERLANDS is an intense, found-footage based film that follows a deacon, a priest and a tech-specialist, who all work for the Vatican and are investigating another in a long line of potentially hoaxed miracles.
The premise has been covered countless times in films such as RED LIGHTS, THE RITE and THE AWAKENING, however here the found footage element adds an interesting spin. In this case, they’re using cameras to document every aspect of their investigation. Those of you who can’t stomach the jerky camerawork that so often features in this genre can rest easy; most of the camerawork is either static shots through security cameras, or mounted to the teams head aka ALIENS-style.
The title itself is a bit ambiguous, I’ll admit I heard the name and expected it to have something to do with the Mexican border. The film is instead delightfully English and is set deep with rural England. The borderlands aspect potentially pointing to the veil between the natural and the supernatural.
Location is also vital here, and is impressively represented. The church is suitably remote and sinister, the cottage where they’re staying is surrounded by picturesque country, and the pub is perfectly backwater. The stand-out location though is highlighted during a wonderful sequence using underground tunnels that brings back all the claustrophobic feelings of THE DESCENT, with one particularly creepy section taking place in broad-daylight atop the church.
While many are praying for the deluge of found-footage films to end, THE BORDERLANDS showcases that you don’t have to be as paint-by-numbers as some within the genre. By merging the age-old paranormal investigation plot with new-age technology, and adding a healthy mix of Paganism and Christianity, THE BORDERLANDS shows that there’s still innovation in the old dog yet.
[usr=4] THE BORDERLANDS is released in selected in cinemas in the UK now, and available to buy on DVD from Monday 7th April.
