Borderland (2007)

Wednesday, 28 May 2008 00:00

Reviewed by Carol Sullivan

Genre: Horror
Released: March 18th, 2008
Rating: Unrated

Director: Zev Berman
Starring: Brian Presley, Martha Higareda, Jake Muxworthy, Rider Strong, Damián Alcázar, Sean Astin
Studio: After Dark Films

Features
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Rituales de Sangre – The True Story Behind the Cult Murder Investigation featurette

Audio commentary with director Zev Berman, actor Brian Presley and director of photography Scott Kevan and producer Lauren Moews

Inside Zev’s Head: A Filmmaker’s Diary featurette

“Miss Horrorfest Contest” Webisodes

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"I do not believe in violence that has no purpose..." - 'Papa' Santillan (Beto Cuevas)

Borderland, is the sixth in the series that I have tackled, out of the After Dark Horrorfest - 8 Films to Die For collection. I found this movie to be better than some, and worse than others; my main complaint being that this film did not seem to be a horror movie at all. Directed by Zev Berman (Angelmaker), Borderland is peppered with the facts of a real Santeria-cult kidnapping and murder in Mexico, and feels more like a cautionary tale about ill-advised international travel and drug-abuse than anything supernatural or eerie.

The movie is based on the events surrounding the kidnapping of a young Texas college student. He and two of his handsome friends head for the Mexican border towns; hell bent on living 'La Vida Loca' with some magic mushrooms and the local seedy strip-clubs. But, the area is controlled by a voodoo type cult, led by priest 'Papa' Santillan (Beto Cuevas). The powerful cult needs a sacrificial victim for their next Santeria ceremony, and one of three young gringos from Texas is kidnapped. Though his two friends will try to save him, the grimy town, and even its police force, fear the cult above all else. With the help of a disgruntled police-officer, the two friends will make one last attempt to save their friend from the cult's final ceremony.

While violent, bloody and brutal the film is not anything surprising. Every U.S. citizen has heard the tales of horrible things happening to unsuspecting tourists in Mexico; kidnapping, extortion, etc. The film is more about crime than anything else - the only reference to horror is the brief glimpse of a Santeria ceremonial room. But, a few severed goat's head and chalked voodoo symbols were not nearly enough to be scary.

Borderland makes for only an amusing rental; as a resident of Southern California and an occasional visitor to Tijuana, Mexico, the only way that this movie affected me was that I may reconsider visiting there again anytime soon, and I'm staying far away from the goat stew.

Overall Rating: 1 1/2

VIDEO | Original Trailer

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Last Updated ( Thursday, 19 February 2009 11:09 )