Similar to how I was checking out the Bloody Disgusting Selects film series months back, I recently starting watching the movies released in the After Dark Originals series. I’ve seen a bunch of great films already, including Zev Berman’s 2007 flick, Borderland.
Three friends take an impromptu road trip to a town on the Mexican border. What starts out as a fun getaway with drugs, beautiful women, and a promise of a good time, quickly turns into a nightmare. One of the young men, Phil (Rider Strong, Cabin Fever) disappears and when his friends find out who took him, they realize just how dangerous things around these parts can be.
Borderland has everything you want in a horror movie — a horrifying storyline, great acting, impressive gore effects, and an overall gritty feel to the entire production.
The cast mostly consists of unknowns with the exception of Rider Strong and Sean Astin (The Lord of the Rings). I loved seeing Astin in a film like this, adding some slight humor to a pretty terrifying situation, as the lost gringo, who has been brainwashed to be a part of this satanic cult. Rider Strong was great in this film, as well, leaving me wondering why I haven’t seen him in other horror films besides this and Cabin Fever. Brian Presley, Jake Muxworthy, and Martha Higareda also did wonderfully, displaying a range of emotions throughout the film, adding to the authenticity tremendously.
The members of this drug gang/cult are keen on using machetes as their main weapon. There are a number of pretty brutal scenes and although there is gunfire, which most horror fans may not like, there are plenty of slices and chops to satiate the most extreme gore fans around.
Don’t be fooled by Borderland’s premise. Although it is a film revolving around a bunch of buddies in a foreign land, it’s not your typical “road trip gone wrong” horror movie. There is much more going on here, taking cues from police crime films, while still presenting a gritty and intense atmosphere as seen in horror greats like Texas Chainsaw Massacre and The Devil’s Rejects.
If you have not done so already, you definitely need to check this movie out. Borderland is a heart pounding experience you don’t want to miss out on.
I give it 4 spinal cords out of 5.
