Review of The Borderlands (2014) by James G — 25 Apr 2015

Deacon (Gordon Kennedy), an investigator sent by the Vatican to confirm whether or not miracles are actually miracles and not just hoaxes (most of the time they are fake), and Gray, an agnostic technician, are both sent to investigate the paranormal goings on at an old church on a hill in the heart of the British countryside. It does indeed appear to be a hoax at first, but then it seems there is more to things than they realise, as it all takes a stranger, much darker turn and the series of events that follows reveals something is behind all this...an ancient evil that existed long before Christianity that lies beneath the church itself.

Now I haven't seen many found footage films. In fact, I've only seen "Troll Hunter" and "Man Bites Dog", both excellent films and I can happily say "The Borderlands" is no exception. While it does fall into the trap that found footage films fall into, such as shaky cam, jump scares, being slightly predictable, and characters making silly decisions (for instance, while I will not spoil the ending, I kept thinking during the last ten minutes "There's a dark tunnel full of bones and nasty stuff, and you're just going to keep running further in?!"). However, the pros outweigh the cons. The acting is great, the characters are believable enough to actually care about, and the dialogue is very witty and made me chuckle a few times, which caught me off guard for when things start getting...well, scary. The atmosphere is brooding and grim, and there seems to be a build up of dread, which really kicks in at some point after we're halfway through the film, and throughout the whole thing there are scenes and imagery which is pretty damn disturbing and horrifying (A sheep being burned alive by youths, anyone?). It also has some interesting themes, mainly concerning religion, such as the clash between faith and skepticism, the real and the unreal, and also poses some questions and ideas which are somewhat terrifying when you think about them.

Don't let the fact it's a found footage film put you off. This is very much worth a watch and I highly recommend checking it out to see for yourself.