In the last film in our coverage of the After Dark Horrorfest fims, we take a look at Borderland, a film based on actual events. I’m happy to say that Borderland is the best of the four films that I reviewed. On the other hand, the bar was so low with the previous entries, that this isn’t saying too much. Three college buddies, Eddie, Henry, and Phil head to a small Mexican bordertown for a few days of booze and babes. Naïve Phil (Rider Strong) is plucked off the streets by members of a cult who practice human sacrifice.
Eddie and Henry have little luck with getting help from the police who themselves are terrified of the cult. Their only aid comes from a local girl, Valeria (Higareda) who helps the guys with the translations although she is new to the town herself. They finally meet a Mexico City cop whose partner was killed by the cult a year ago and has been tracking them down ever since. They plan a desperate rescue attempt to try and save Phil before the cult’s charismatic leader, Santillan, can sacrifice him.
Now if the film truly is based on real events then Mexico has moved into my Top 1 spot of places that I will NEVER visit. While not a true horror in the strictest sense, the thriller’s themes are horrific and it is suitably bloody. Victims of the cult have limbs chopped off and are hacked to bits with machetes. Sean Astin of The Lord of the Rings Trilogy is almost unrecognizable as a fat, sadistic lackey of Santillans. It took me several scenes to realize that was him, as I had not checked out the credits before watching the film.
Borderland had the best performances of any of the four Horrorfest films that I reviewed. Damian Alcazar was outstanding as the beaten down, and crippled cop trying to avenge his partner’s murder. Martha Higareda is extraordinarily beautiful and hopefully she will be in more American film productions as most of her previous credits have been in her native Mexico. Rider Strong, who also starred in another of this year’s Horrorfest films, Tooth and Nail, is also very good as the innocent, baby-faced Phil. Chilean Beto Cuevas who plays the ruthless cult-leader, fronts a rock band.
Director Zev Berman moves the film along briskly and dispenses with a lot of the usual low-budget horror film plot devices like gratuitous sex scenes and the like. He goes after the viewer with a visceral intensity and doesn’t stop until the final credits roll. Borderland isn’t a great film but it’s certainly on of the best in this year’s batch of Horrorfest films.
The disc features a commentary track with director Zev Berman, actor Brian Presley and director of photography Scott Kevanand producer Lauren Moews.
There are also two featurettes:
“Inside Zev’s Head: A Filmmaker’s Diary” runs 24:00 and is basically your “making of” piece with comments from the actors and director.
“Rituales de Sangre – The True Story Behind the Cult Murder Investigation” featuring interviews with the actual investigators of the real life case. 28:00
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