Borderland (2007)

A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.

A clunky actioner with a handful of cool moments.

First of all i like to elucidate whom the ratings go for , 1 for Jake Muxworthy , he really worth the star since i don't see that Brian Presley did better performance , and 1 for Martha Higareda merely because she's gorgeous , and the remaining three for the costume designer ,and the makeup department for the exquisite work they made to make the Spanish actors "henchmen" to look scary . Initially , i was expecting to see a better suspenseful horror movie and that because of the frightening begging ,but soon later i've discovered that it was disappointing , but to be honest! my speculations even before i watch the movie were like the views i got after i've done watching it , for one reason , which is the director 'Zen Berman' is inexperienced ,and a beginner filmmaker , The only movie he directed that worth mentioning is 'Briar Patch' he won prize for it in Houston international film festival probably he achieved it by virtue of good screen writing by 'Deborah Pryor' i mean it was easy directing it as i reckon , but anyways this movie Highlighted and focused on the true story of the drug dealer "Constanzo" and his gory rituals that the scenarist ascribed it to the Palo religion , therefor, i'd like to demonstrate something which is that palo has many denominations and non of it has such a brutal rituals , i mean they do rituals include sacrificing but not with human blood, he invented it, i guess constanzo learned it from his Voodoo teacher in his trip to Haiti , finally i'd like to inform that names in the movie weren't like the names of the real people in the true event , and the way constanzo got killed in the film , wasn't like the real reason of his death in real life , because in reality , he committed a suicide . Thank you for reading this :) .

The first nine minutes, the first scene, followed by the opening credits, contain more true, gritty and believable horror than you can find in all of the Teenage Idiot slasher/gore/horror genre movies, save The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Like Massacre, its violence is uncompromising but, unlike Massacre, it lies on a bed of realism rather than silly, pre-adolescent wet-dreams of empowerment or the producers' simple-minded intent of soiling theater seats.From that first scene to the final confrontation, Borderland maintains its tone: edgy to the point of its Damocles sword threatening to fall at any moment. Which it does, literally, at the end.The three main, male, characters, all way older than yet-to-be college freshmen, are introduced as the usual narcissistic-stupid jerks with one exception - they're human; flesh and bone individuals. Petty, self-involved, unpleasant but real. And it's that sense of realism that raises Borderland to the status of 'serious' cine - a real movie, not just a splash of images designed to pick teenage pockets.The secondary characters are just as real, from the working girls on the street to the strippers in the bar to the primary villains and their henchmen. The extras are given little pieces of business that humanize and individualize them while the main characters, like those over-aged college males, come across as being unique, flesh and blood characters. So much so that even the over-agedness of those males dissipates and loses its potential as a flaw. In reality, Borderline's debt to slasher movies is slight, just those males going off to Mexico to raise hell. Once that allusion is made, Borderline turns the genre on its head in one short take - the virgin male talking and holding hands in the far focus with an under-age and very cute hooker. Already a Real Movie, that scene seals the deal and emphasizes that Borderline should be a film-school staple - as demonstrated by its use of a lot of Euro-cine techniques: extreme close-ups, dizzying angle shoots, strobe effects, rapid cuts, etc. - to effect; to helping drive the storyline. A storyline that is about as horrific as imaginable. Real fleshed-out characters being treated like the disposable teens of slasher movies.Cinematically, from character development (those three male are very much shocked out of their narcissism, made very much aware of their vulnerability) to pacing to framing to editing, all dedicated to telling the story, Borderland is virtually perfect. The only change I'd make is dropping the 'flyers' declaring that Borderline is based on a true story.The true story Borderline is based on is truly depraved but its villains were pathetic, damaged, spineless little critters deluding themselves into believing that they could fill the holes in their psyches by mimicking evil.Borderline is an exposition of true evil. It's to slasher films what Blood Simple is to revenge movies - both transcend, far transcend, the genres they spring from.Bottom line: if you're expecting a shock-fest adjust your expectations. Borderline is not about excuses for grabbing your date's boobs or sliding eager fingers under her skirt; it's a real movie that demands serious attention.Some reviewers have mentioned flaws, especially in the plot line. They may be there but you're going to have to dig deep to find them and even then it's a fuzzy call - like the status and motivation of the cop who survived the opening scene, and which fall more into the area of 'suspension of disbelief' than story-jarring, audience-yanking mistakes. One of Borderline's strengths is the seamless flow of its storyline, beginning to end.

One of the most disturbing things about BORDERLAND is that the real life events upon which it's based are even MORE shocking than what's shown in the movie. (Which brought to mind the grisly WONDERLAND, with Val Kilmer as pornformer John Holmes: the actual crime scene video taken by the police in both cases is featured on the dvds. The horrors in the fictional versions pale by comparison.) BORDERLAND, in its depictions of depravity (which are, mercifully, brief), also calls to mind Charles Bowden's chronicle of narco carnage, the nonfiction book, MURDER CITY. Taken hand in hand, it's easy to equate one with the other. Read the book, see the movie; it's out there...

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.