The Borderlands — The Borderlands( Blu Ray)
The Borderlands is an early 2010 British-made found footage film that regards a group of Vatican investigators being sent to a countryside church, to find out whether a claimed miracle is real or faked. The film is creepy and eerie, at points downright horrific- with a well-conceived story/ concept, and a believable cast, who manage to balance drama & subtle humour well. All making this not only the best example of British found footage, but one of the greats of the genre. Here from Second Sight is a most welcome new release of the film.
The Borderlands ( aka Final Prayer) is from 2013. It was directed/ written by Elliot Goldner- this was his one & only feature-length, with his other nine credits being TV-related with episodes of shows such as Paranormal Witness, Terror In The Woods, and Locked Up Abroad.
After the film’s pre-credits showing the disproving of a miracle in another country by the Vatican’s team. We meet our two leads who are setting down in a rental property in a small British village- we have bespeckled & shorts-wearing tech Grey(Robin Hill), and the rather jaded/ cynical middle-aged Scott Deacon(Gordon Kenndey) who is a priest- though just wear casual clothes. Both Grey & Deacon are given head cams, which they must wear at all times.
The pair are part of a team being sent to investigate footage of the village's church, which shows the objects rattling/ moving & strange visual glitches. They set out to find the church with all their kit- meeting a few less-than-helpful locals along the way. At the grass hill set building they meet the rather washed out local presist Father Crellick(Luke Neal)- who is a little disappointed that they’ve not just accepted the video as proof- as the pair put up small cameras around the church/ start to disprove the footage. In time the priest in charge of the investigator Mark (Aidan McArdle) turns up- he’s a very officious / by the -book-character, and from the off it’s clear he & Deacon don’t get on.
As the just under hour-and-a-half film unfolds- we get amusing banter between Deacon & Grey, as the pair move from their frosty first meeting. There’s a keen feeling of unease/ creepy tension rising. The church setting is subtly unsettling- often filmed either in the grey half-light or via latten lite darkness- there is a use of unnerving sound elements, which build in disquiet/ intensity. With the film moving towards its claustrophobic terror set resolve
I first saw The Borderlands around it came out- and it still stands up today, with its good blend of drama, light humour, and mystery in the first half. Then slowly & surely the feeling of foreboding dread, horror, and later real fear grows. All of the relatively unknown cast do very well- giving both naturalistic & believable performances, which of course sells the whole thing even more.
Moving onto this new Blu-Ray disc, we get a nice selection of new extras. First off we have a commentary track featuring actors Robin Hill and Gordon Kennedy, producer Jennifer Handorf, and special effects designer Dan Martin. This is a nicely chatty, and largely informative/ entertaining. They start off by discussing the film's credit fonts. We find out there were no real rehearses, and they did a few reshoots to fill in the film's back story a year later. They mentioned how a lot of funny improv moments were removed, and point out foreshadowing in the background of some of the shots. They talk about the great extras in the film, and how they selected/ settled on the church. They chat about the glitches and hidden images in them. Later on, they discuss how the two leads are archetypes-one is an idiot who knows everything, and an idiot who knows nothing. They talk about how they dealt with twenty-five kilos of worms, how filming at night was generally creepy, and more.
We get three sets of new filmed interviews. Dressed the Part( 30.02) with Robin Hill and Gordon Kennedy. They talk about how they got the roles and their own approach to acting in the film. How the cast/ crew of ten all stayed in the same hotel, filming in the caves, and the decent press/ reviews the film got when it came out. Losing Faith (30.11) interview with producer Jennifer Handorf. Monster Goo (15.41) interview with effects artist Dan Martin. Lastly we get an archive behind the scene featurette.
The finished release comes presented in a rigid slipcase with new artwork by Christopher Shy. Taking in a seventy-page book with new essays by Tim Coleman, Martyn Conterio, Shellie McMurdo, and Johnny Walker, and six collectors' art cards
As film genres go Found Footage Horror can be very decidedly mixed- going from cliches & badly rejigged story concepts, onto the original & impactful. And The Borderlands squarely fits in the latter- with a well-written/ effective script, convincing acting, and some very effective moments of both uneasy/downright horror. It’s truly wonderful to see the film getting the Second Slight treatment- with a great section of extras, and the seventy-page booklet.