The Borderlands (2015)

Clever, believable, and super fun to watch. It totally has replay value.

This story has more twists and turns than a second-rate soap opera.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

The movie really just wants to entertain people.

While Final Prayer can be slow at times, the overall atmosphere is very unsettling, the acting actually decent, and the ending, well, just give the film a chance. Fans of Lovecraft will enjoy this one.

Whilst being a fan of the first two Rec films and enjoying some of the Paranormal Activity flicks,I'm well aware that the "Found Footage" Horror sub-genre is seen in the mainstream as being at the bottom of the ladder. Taking a look at the BBC listings recently,I was happily surprised to find a Found Footage flick being given a good time slot!,which led to me setting the recorder and crossing the border.The plot:Getting reports of a "miracle" taking place in a church,The Vatican send Deacon and Gray in to find out if a miracle has taken place,and are ordered to film their investigation. Locating the church in a country town,Gray and Deacon find the locals less than keen to talk about the past of the town. Whilst initially believing that it was all a hoax,Gray and Deacon soon nail a dark secret in the church on the cross.View on the film:Openly having the lads joke about The Wicker Man to the locals for his debut feature,the screenplay by writer/director Elliot Goldner features a refreshing playfulness,as Deacon and Gray's investigations at the church are inter-cut with them exchanging banter over the alleged miracle in the country pub. While taking some leaps with the horror, (no one bothers to check what is being recorded at the church) Goldner makes these flaws easy to overlook,thanks to building a real relationship between Gray and Deacon,who go from arguing about every minor thing the other one does,to praying that they can help each other survive.Shot on location,director Elliot Goldner & cinematographer Eben Bolter hold back on the shaky cam of Found Footage to use the format for a claustrophobic atmosphere,where the viewer sees every murmur from the church run down Gray's spine. Shaking a Gothic Horror shadow over the lands,Goldner wonderfully records the Found Footage with expert sound effects giving the eerie impression of something crawling under the border.

The Borderlands is one of the better found-footage films that has come out of late, and is one of the best British horror films to come out in a seriously long time.Initially a little unconvincing, and with a slightly irritating character played by Robin Hill, it may take a short while to settle into. But as events unfold and things get darker, I guarantee you will be glued to the screen, as creepy and sinister becomes terrifying and horrific. The acting is great, the tension never falters, and the ending is one of the nastiest to feature in a horror film in years. A good film.

A low budget British gem that delivers. Don't let the found- footage sub-genre put you off as this isn't your typical-shaky-cam film. I love the way the friendship develops between the two leads. Deacon, the cynic is having doubts about his faith and spends half the film finding solace in the bottom of a wine bottle. Grey, the cheeky-geezerish bloke who you take an instant like to, though not a believer per se, Grey can't entirely discount the possibility of a more cosmic force guiding our lives in unseen ways. Together they uncover a sinister truth more horrifying than either of them could have imagined.The film has ambition that transcends its meager budgetary constraints. There are some terrifically unsettling set-piecesIt uses gore sparingly, focusing more on claustrophobic chills and general edit room trickery to build up a picture of a world on the verge of ripping itself apart.The ending will probably stay with you for some time. I still feel uneasy just thinking about it. Enjoy!