Good POV style horror with a great balance of realism and demonic supernaturalism with one of the most horrifying endings I can recall.
125 Reviews
WTF ENDING.
andrewchristianjr25 August 2021
One of the best British horror films in a long time
InaneSwine20 February 2016
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.
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.
Fun and Fear
horizon20089 April 2014
I gotta say, The Borderlands is actually very funny in places, they took a great risk tying together humour and scares but for some bizarre reason, it certainly works.
I fully enjoyed both elements of the film, and it's acted really, really well (and filmed the same). The tale follows some investigators sent by the Vatican to check out a claim by a local priest of a possession in an old church. One of the investigators isn't a religious man however, just a tech guy there to do all the video stuff etc. Hes the funny one, and I kinda felt the humour amplified the scares when they came. When it gets to a screaming sheep set on fire (yes really) it is quite shocking as it's unexpected. And from there it swings from light hearted banter (never forced) to heavy shocks. I enjoyed it, and thought I wouldn't. Definitely worth a watch.
I fully enjoyed both elements of the film, and it's acted really, really well (and filmed the same). The tale follows some investigators sent by the Vatican to check out a claim by a local priest of a possession in an old church. One of the investigators isn't a religious man however, just a tech guy there to do all the video stuff etc. Hes the funny one, and I kinda felt the humour amplified the scares when they came. When it gets to a screaming sheep set on fire (yes really) it is quite shocking as it's unexpected. And from there it swings from light hearted banter (never forced) to heavy shocks. I enjoyed it, and thought I wouldn't. Definitely worth a watch.
The middle of nowhere without aspirins
Gretchen_X30 October 2018
A small team of investigators head off to a typical English village to find out what's been going on in the church. Apparently The Vatican are the ones asking the questions, which is questionable in that it all seems very Anglican. Still, nice to know that the His Holiness is willing to allocate resources to the C of E ; clearly the manifestion of Evil is a universal issue.
It's really the familar 'Most Haunted' style set up, but with some new angles, particularly with the technology. And there's the sceptic guy/veteran guy double act, which is played with good humour and minimal exposition. Later on explanations are offered as characters' suggestions and therefore explorable, not the clumsily implausible to be found in lesser works.
The supernatural occupiers, rather than wanting to communicate, seem to be mostly interested in throwing stuff around. Spooky but grainy visuals which don't tread on the toes of your imagination abound.
The script is witty and interesting. In a particularly good scene where one character is reading from a dusty old witness journal the material is exceptionally well conceived and poetic. These few moments are worth your full attention. If you like that sort of thing.
I also enjoyed the photography - scenes from the front of a speeding car down a narrow lane put the viewer right in the middle of the action - again, something which someone appears to have taken care over.
What I found most surprising was the quality of the acting. In most cases films in this bracket only have the budget for one decent actor, so to find two or three among the tombstones was a bonus.
It's a pretty much a sausagefest, the only exception I spotted a background girl who went to the aid of a boy in cameo. Unusual these days. But this just means the screaming is lower pitch.
The plot unfolds in a measured way while the action accelerates; the final scenes are a bit of an endurance test, especially if like me you have a bit of a phobia. It is testimony to the excellent execution that I became very uncomfortable and internally urged them to call a retreat, because the way back was evaporating. That such a location exists is in itself a kind of horror.
Fans of low budget goreless Brit fodder will have this gem in their collection.
I hope to see lots more like this from Elliot Goldner.
It's really the familar 'Most Haunted' style set up, but with some new angles, particularly with the technology. And there's the sceptic guy/veteran guy double act, which is played with good humour and minimal exposition. Later on explanations are offered as characters' suggestions and therefore explorable, not the clumsily implausible to be found in lesser works.
The supernatural occupiers, rather than wanting to communicate, seem to be mostly interested in throwing stuff around. Spooky but grainy visuals which don't tread on the toes of your imagination abound.
The script is witty and interesting. In a particularly good scene where one character is reading from a dusty old witness journal the material is exceptionally well conceived and poetic. These few moments are worth your full attention. If you like that sort of thing.
I also enjoyed the photography - scenes from the front of a speeding car down a narrow lane put the viewer right in the middle of the action - again, something which someone appears to have taken care over.
What I found most surprising was the quality of the acting. In most cases films in this bracket only have the budget for one decent actor, so to find two or three among the tombstones was a bonus.
It's a pretty much a sausagefest, the only exception I spotted a background girl who went to the aid of a boy in cameo. Unusual these days. But this just means the screaming is lower pitch.
The plot unfolds in a measured way while the action accelerates; the final scenes are a bit of an endurance test, especially if like me you have a bit of a phobia. It is testimony to the excellent execution that I became very uncomfortable and internally urged them to call a retreat, because the way back was evaporating. That such a location exists is in itself a kind of horror.
Fans of low budget goreless Brit fodder will have this gem in their collection.
I hope to see lots more like this from Elliot Goldner.
Creepy, Claustrophobic, Anxiety and heart palpitations
leilaesxx17 September 2015
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-pieces
It 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!
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-pieces
It 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!
A little messy but still worth a watch
kuarinofu8 August 2020
The Borderlands is a nice take at FF horror story.
It definitely has its moments, and even though the ending is a little messy, it still delivers good claustrophobic scares.
There are some interesting details here and there, and overall you can kinda see how the characters called this kind of horrible ending upon themselves.
This really feels like a well-done urban legend or a dark fairy tale someone would tell you to scare you sitting near a campfire on a dark night.
Worth a watch.
It definitely has its moments, and even though the ending is a little messy, it still delivers good claustrophobic scares.
There are some interesting details here and there, and overall you can kinda see how the characters called this kind of horrible ending upon themselves.
This really feels like a well-done urban legend or a dark fairy tale someone would tell you to scare you sitting near a campfire on a dark night.
Worth a watch.
Disappointing
mcdonald_jules20 March 2017
I'm glad i watched this on BBC iPlayer and didn't waste a trip to the cinema. It was embarrassingly badly acted. The story line was promising but didn't deliver. The filming technique was disorientating and annoying. It was full of horror clichés but done badly. I didn't like the "unfriendly locals" stereotype. The Tech character was an excruciating caricature of a Tech bloke. It would have worked better if we could have seen the wires and the whole thing had been filmed as a spoof documentary.
Not a great horror, but worth watching for some great horror
eonbluedan-119 April 2014
Last year a film was released named 'In Fear', which managed to make the premise of two people getting lost in a maze of country roads as night draws in surprisingly creepy and gripping, before the final act gave way to a more pedestrian nature and the film lost its footing. 'The Borderlands', a British entry into the canon of handy-cam/found footage horror, manages to work it the other way round. Not to say the first hour or so is pedestrian as such, but going by the premise, no doubt many people will think they have seen it all before and skip this film. They would be partly right, although to the film's credit, it manages to tread that old ground with a good enough script and performances to not seem tired.
Deacon, Gray and Mark are Vatican sanctioned, paranormal investigators who arrive in a small, west country town to look into a claim of miracles at a local, old church. Things take a darker turn as their investigation leads them to increasingly unrealistic scientific explanations for the claim. The characters are very real and their relationship is not weighed down by forced efforts to be unnecessarily scary. Indeed, there is an occasional moment of brevity and humour between them, which nicely offsets the apparently tedious nature of their job; one could draw a comparison with the first act of Neil Marshall's 'The Descent', coincidentally another well regarded British horror. Another intelligent point arises in the form of the characters' set of beliefs; refreshingly, it is the agnostic technical supervisor who is most inclined to believe the extraordinary explanation, whilst the believers are the ones jaded by the claims so often proved false. It must also be said that where in other, similar fare, the explanation of the use of home video cameras and the like seems forced and a little intrusive, here it makes perfect sense and you do actually forget that is what you are watching.
Then we hit the last 20 minutes! Some earlier chatter about belief proves to not just be screenplay-filling fodder, but real groundwork that actually comes back to bite hard in claustrophobic scenes. This final act's power to disturb is akin to the final moments of 'The Blair Witch Project', 'Rosemary's Baby', or perhaps more pertinently 'The Wicker Man', to which the smart screenplay has actually made humorous and perhaps not purely incidental reference. In these cases, the horrible reality of the story is made truly tangible in such a way as to cause a palpable discomfort within the gut of the audience; it creates a creeping unease that is hard to express in words. So it is the case with 'The Borderlands', although how unnerved you are is not completely clear until after the film, when the imagery of the idea being brought to its fruition cements in your mind's eye, and as with Edward Woodward's final, defiant yelling, or Mia Farrow's famous last lines, a character's dreadful cries become horribly haunting in a way that is tough to shake off simply by saying, "It's only a movie'.
'The Borderlands' is not overcooked and has much about it that will probably be admired by fans of writer/director Ben Wheatley, who is maybe most noted right now for 'Kill List'. Overall, not one we might call a great horror film, but without doubt, within the film are moments of great horror!
Deacon, Gray and Mark are Vatican sanctioned, paranormal investigators who arrive in a small, west country town to look into a claim of miracles at a local, old church. Things take a darker turn as their investigation leads them to increasingly unrealistic scientific explanations for the claim. The characters are very real and their relationship is not weighed down by forced efforts to be unnecessarily scary. Indeed, there is an occasional moment of brevity and humour between them, which nicely offsets the apparently tedious nature of their job; one could draw a comparison with the first act of Neil Marshall's 'The Descent', coincidentally another well regarded British horror. Another intelligent point arises in the form of the characters' set of beliefs; refreshingly, it is the agnostic technical supervisor who is most inclined to believe the extraordinary explanation, whilst the believers are the ones jaded by the claims so often proved false. It must also be said that where in other, similar fare, the explanation of the use of home video cameras and the like seems forced and a little intrusive, here it makes perfect sense and you do actually forget that is what you are watching.
Then we hit the last 20 minutes! Some earlier chatter about belief proves to not just be screenplay-filling fodder, but real groundwork that actually comes back to bite hard in claustrophobic scenes. This final act's power to disturb is akin to the final moments of 'The Blair Witch Project', 'Rosemary's Baby', or perhaps more pertinently 'The Wicker Man', to which the smart screenplay has actually made humorous and perhaps not purely incidental reference. In these cases, the horrible reality of the story is made truly tangible in such a way as to cause a palpable discomfort within the gut of the audience; it creates a creeping unease that is hard to express in words. So it is the case with 'The Borderlands', although how unnerved you are is not completely clear until after the film, when the imagery of the idea being brought to its fruition cements in your mind's eye, and as with Edward Woodward's final, defiant yelling, or Mia Farrow's famous last lines, a character's dreadful cries become horribly haunting in a way that is tough to shake off simply by saying, "It's only a movie'.
'The Borderlands' is not overcooked and has much about it that will probably be admired by fans of writer/director Ben Wheatley, who is maybe most noted right now for 'Kill List'. Overall, not one we might call a great horror film, but without doubt, within the film are moments of great horror!
The movie that tripped over before the finish line!
b-guihot16 March 2015
Warning: Spoilers
I gave this movie a 7 out of 10 in my head almost the whole way through while watching. The film built suspense and kept building quite well. Mid to late movie you would be jumping at even a subtle movement or sound, but then the ending came. All that palpable tension was more or less discarded and instead of being provided with what could have been a jump scare fiesta we are provided with (Spoiler alert) nothing. Literally 10 minutes of de-escalation to finish in one of the worst endings I have seen. Had this movie not been as good as it was before the ending it would have received a 2. Despite an ending which seemed like an afterthought that someone threw together two days before it went to the screens I'll give it a 5 due to the rest of the film being quite solid. Watch it but be warned, turn it off 2 minutes before the credits because leaving the story unfinished is better than the actual finish!
Superior Found Footage shocker with an unsettling ending
mwilson197617 March 2019
A superior found footage horror movie that is heavy on atmosphere rather than scares, and is all the more unsettling for it. A team of Vatican investigators is sent to the British countryside following reports of paranormal activity at a remote church. They encounter hostile locals who set fire to sheep as events start to take a darker turn, and they discover far too late that something much more sinister and ancient has been awakened.
Awful
badscene3 March 2019
I don't understand the positive reviews here.
This was trite, poorly executed, and mind numbingly simplistic. It has nothing to say and inspires to do nothing short of carve its way into what little room is left in the religious found footage horror niche. That said, those comparing this to the Exorcist should have their internet taken away because they need a time out.
I found the characters all to be flat and the acting to be below average. The film definitely falls victim to that forced realism you find so often in these often partially unscripted found footage films, wherein amateur actors are trying so hard to make unneccesarily mundane interactions between one another come off as natural, that it has the complete opposite effect, which is amateurish and cringeworthy. The sets are depressingly lazy and unflattering, as are the array of cargo shorts and camo decked rags that hang off the unphotogenic actors.
The glitchy camera effect cliche is overdone, and there really is no resolution. I was never scared, intrigued, interested, or provoked into thought. This is religious horror for dummies.
There are some claustraphobic scenes toward the end which I found effective, but that's owed largely to the setting in which it was shot, a series of catacomb like tunnels. Try harder next time. I hated this.
This was trite, poorly executed, and mind numbingly simplistic. It has nothing to say and inspires to do nothing short of carve its way into what little room is left in the religious found footage horror niche. That said, those comparing this to the Exorcist should have their internet taken away because they need a time out.
I found the characters all to be flat and the acting to be below average. The film definitely falls victim to that forced realism you find so often in these often partially unscripted found footage films, wherein amateur actors are trying so hard to make unneccesarily mundane interactions between one another come off as natural, that it has the complete opposite effect, which is amateurish and cringeworthy. The sets are depressingly lazy and unflattering, as are the array of cargo shorts and camo decked rags that hang off the unphotogenic actors.
The glitchy camera effect cliche is overdone, and there really is no resolution. I was never scared, intrigued, interested, or provoked into thought. This is religious horror for dummies.
There are some claustraphobic scenes toward the end which I found effective, but that's owed largely to the setting in which it was shot, a series of catacomb like tunnels. Try harder next time. I hated this.
Above average footage style low on gore high on mystery and creeps
jonnytheshirt20 May 2014
This is a generous 8 many because its low budget and particularly for some reason it just hit the spot for me. I'm a veteran horror movie buff and started watching this 'found footage' style movie with a meh, another one. It isn't actually found footage but more a footage style in that due to the Vatican team experiencing some grizzly occurrences previously the Vatican wants everything filmed as part of new regulations. Hence we have characters with camera headsets on and fixed static cameras in places. All the shots are then taken from these points of view so we do experience some viewing as what the characters see but it's a tool not 'found footage' so shaky cam does not go over the top. Its a bit of a slow burner but sucked me in unexpectedly within minutes. There's something quite natural about the lead characters and its so far removed from the majority of US generic stuff that I was totally intrigued instantly. This movie also did something very rare - it creeped me out. Everything is quite subtle even the humour and religious and life philosophy is touched upon in what seems like normal interactive banter. It had me guessing all the way through and surprised me with its ending, which I was even able to trace back many subtle references to throughout the movie. I actually laughed as it is very rare I'm surprised by a movies ending. If you want pizzaz and action and gore this is not for you I've never actually read HP Lovecraft but I think this is something somewhat in that vein. A kinda creepy slow burning mystery would suit the description and there is not one single young attractive woman who can't run straight without falling over in it.
The Church
Screen_O_Genic18 August 2020
Churches are said to be among the most haunted places on earth. There's something about the most holiest of edifices that is said to house the supernatural more than any other. "The Borderlands" is a take on this phenomenon in documentary-like footage. Paranormal investigators are sent to a rural church where an unexplainable incident occurred which was caught on camera. At first not much occurs with some of the group wanting to pack it in and leave. But shortly after events transpire to alter their perceptions leading to a downward spiral that sends everyone and everything crashing down into one infernal and bloody hell. The film keeps the frights raw and spare heightening the sense of realism with moving objects, disappearing apparitions, loud crashes, unholy sounds and eerie silences that permeate the sense of dread and fear. Credit to the actors with their flawless natural acting as they show how man is when faced with the unknown and highlighting the shallow and unpleasant nature of human interaction in the present. As with these kinds of film's the pace is slow-going made worse with a disappointing ending. While no classic "The Borderlands" is a good watch to get some of those thrills and chills up and going on cold rainy nights.
Better than I expected for a found footage horror flick
KineticSeoul20 May 2014
Warning: Spoilers
This is actually a very well made low budget found footage movie. That actually has the capability to intrigue the audiences with the interesting characters and chemistry. Sure, most of the things happening has been done before, but it's still one of the best interactions between characters I have seen in a found footage horror flick. Usually the build up for movies like these bore me to death sometimes. That wasn't the case for this movie, the build up is one of the best part about this one. This is a well crafted horror film, that you as the audience can tell that is was well thought out and put together. The plot revolves around a Vatican team of investigator who is trying to disprove the creepy things happening at the church at all cost and a atheist camera guy that is starting to believe what is going on. This is actually a effective found footage horror movie that actually entertained me most of the way through. Despite the climax that I just didn't find to be all that satisfying. However sometimes the unknown makes things more mysterious and creepy.
7.6/10
7.6/10
An intelligent movie with a chilling finale
mungflesh10 April 2014
With all the 'found footage' around these days, creating something fresh and interesting is pretty tough. The Borderlands is not exactly original but it is very well made.
The movie shows two guys, a Deacon and an audio/visual tech heading to a small church in a rural area, where some weird stuff (referred to in the movie as a possible miracle), was caught on camera and needs validating by the Vatican.
The religious guys involved seem hell-bent on disproving the incident whereas the atheist is only interested in facts. At any rate, they are heading towards the same fate ... which proves to be pretty chilling when we get to it.
Goldner has got the pacing just about perfect in this movie and steered clear of tedious jump-scares which plague the likes of Paranormal Activity and other mainstream camcorder productions. The plot is interesting and maintains believability in not trying to explain what's going on in pseudo religious/scientific jargon. It rightly lets us make up our minds.
A nice theme running throughout is the non-stereotypical way in which the atheists religious guys interact. The atheist is far more willing to accept that some freaky stuff is going down in The Church than the priests, who repeatedly turn to science to explain it away. It's almost as if the priests are so accustomed to their day job that they forget the bigger picture.
The script is witty and engaging, with Gray's character especially so: a typically British guy just getting on with things, whilst caught in the middle of a lot of Vatican politics. To me it feels like the writers spent a long time getting things right; these lower budget productions can be awfully thin without some intelligence in the writing.
All in all, this is still just a found-footage movie, so don't go expecting the next Conjuring or Sinister or you might be disappointed. To the fans of Blair Witch and Grave Encounters, you should make your next outing to The Borderlands.
The movie shows two guys, a Deacon and an audio/visual tech heading to a small church in a rural area, where some weird stuff (referred to in the movie as a possible miracle), was caught on camera and needs validating by the Vatican.
The religious guys involved seem hell-bent on disproving the incident whereas the atheist is only interested in facts. At any rate, they are heading towards the same fate ... which proves to be pretty chilling when we get to it.
Goldner has got the pacing just about perfect in this movie and steered clear of tedious jump-scares which plague the likes of Paranormal Activity and other mainstream camcorder productions. The plot is interesting and maintains believability in not trying to explain what's going on in pseudo religious/scientific jargon. It rightly lets us make up our minds.
A nice theme running throughout is the non-stereotypical way in which the atheists religious guys interact. The atheist is far more willing to accept that some freaky stuff is going down in The Church than the priests, who repeatedly turn to science to explain it away. It's almost as if the priests are so accustomed to their day job that they forget the bigger picture.
The script is witty and engaging, with Gray's character especially so: a typically British guy just getting on with things, whilst caught in the middle of a lot of Vatican politics. To me it feels like the writers spent a long time getting things right; these lower budget productions can be awfully thin without some intelligence in the writing.
All in all, this is still just a found-footage movie, so don't go expecting the next Conjuring or Sinister or you might be disappointed. To the fans of Blair Witch and Grave Encounters, you should make your next outing to The Borderlands.
Too little to offer.
Patient4447 April 2014
Well at least it is better than "Heretic" cause it does offer some tension, but still fails flat. For around 60 minutes, nothing kinda happens, just some shots, some jokes, and afterwards it does deliver for a B- found footage horror.
Lately I've seen some good such movies, like "Wer", "Alien abduction" or "Banshee chapter" but this one fails to deliver big time, you just wait and wait till you can't decide either to skip it forward or just end it. It is a weak attempt that goes hand in hand with "Children of sorrow" or "The Paranormal Diaries: Clophill", it will bore you out of your mind. The end couldn't save it, the premise, those black-out moments, nothing, it's one of the bad ones sadly.
So I'll recommend to stay away from "The borderlands" and do try something else. Shame to waste the time like this.
Cheers!
Lately I've seen some good such movies, like "Wer", "Alien abduction" or "Banshee chapter" but this one fails to deliver big time, you just wait and wait till you can't decide either to skip it forward or just end it. It is a weak attempt that goes hand in hand with "Children of sorrow" or "The Paranormal Diaries: Clophill", it will bore you out of your mind. The end couldn't save it, the premise, those black-out moments, nothing, it's one of the bad ones sadly.
So I'll recommend to stay away from "The borderlands" and do try something else. Shame to waste the time like this.
Cheers!
Slow burner that delivers magnificently.
j-cronje7 December 2014
Before I write this, I have to confess that I love found footage films. There are excellent ones (The original PA, Cloverfield, REC), good ones (Troll Hunter/V.H.S.) and some seriously flawed (Willow Creek anyone?). But the way this seemingly slow paced film gets my mark for being between excellent and good is the characters. While things go quietly bump in the night, we learn about the characters themselves. Whilst every character has their agenda/bonus for completing the investigation, the most flawed character stands out as the one that wants to know the truth, and this film delivers in spades. There are just a few of these films that gives me chills when absolutely nothing is happening on screen, but the tension is rapidly building up, this happens to be one of them.
My only question that would give this an eight. If it is found footage? How was it found?
My only question that would give this an eight. If it is found footage? How was it found?
Boring and silly
brynyoung7713 April 2014
I had high hopes for this film as the trailer looked promising however I was wrong.
The story is so slow and ends up going nowhere and the ending! well I must have missed something because it made no sense.
3 priests go on a ghost buster adventure to an old English church, doesn't sound too bad but it is.
Any positive reviews of this film must have been made by the family of the cast.
I gave 2/10 and i'm being nice.
Honestly save your money.
The story is so slow and ends up going nowhere and the ending! well I must have missed something because it made no sense.
3 priests go on a ghost buster adventure to an old English church, doesn't sound too bad but it is.
Any positive reviews of this film must have been made by the family of the cast.
I gave 2/10 and i'm being nice.
Honestly save your money.
Hardcore Enthusiasts of this Genre Would Definitely Understand Better!
SoumikBanerjee199618 June 2021
"The Borderlands" strictly capitalizes orthodox tropes of horror fundamentals! Places of Worship, Altars, Demonic Activities; all standard textbook stuff! Now mix it up with British Humor, A creepy church house & an engaging cast; and Voila you get yourself a fairly decent piece of work!
Everything's not been flawless though like they never come to be! This too had its fair share of issues and almost all of them come forth due to its rather inferior writing! Especially as we move towards the end. Which, in all honesty; gave the impression of asininity & impreciseness!
Albeit a bit outstretched, luckily; we got enough suspense, shocks & fiery character moments to sail us through the entire runtime! In a nutshell, this is an above average execution that would only appeal to enthusiasts and to those who have a soft spot for this specific genre!
Everything's not been flawless though like they never come to be! This too had its fair share of issues and almost all of them come forth due to its rather inferior writing! Especially as we move towards the end. Which, in all honesty; gave the impression of asininity & impreciseness!
Albeit a bit outstretched, luckily; we got enough suspense, shocks & fiery character moments to sail us through the entire runtime! In a nutshell, this is an above average execution that would only appeal to enthusiasts and to those who have a soft spot for this specific genre!
Pointless meandering twaddle with no payoff
johnatrott11 March 2017
So-called "found footage" movie making annoys me. It is disorientating, head ache inducing and, in my experience has absolutely NOTHING in its favour. It is completely repellent. The idiotic, too close framing and jittering do absolutely nothing to make a movie more convincing or "feel real". Everything about this ill-considered fad is awful and absolutely nothing is good. After only a couple of minutes, I was tempted to walk out and, having sat through this boring garbage to the bitter, pointless end, I really wished I had. Putting the jittery camera work completely to one side, the "story" was so weak and unconvincing as to be barely existent. I didn't give a flying one for any of the characters and the end was a total flop. There were no saving graces. I have seen a huge number of horror films and this was one of the most disappointing, mainly because hopes were raised too high by overly enthusiastic, self-indulgent scribes who are far too easily impressed by pretentious, vacuous, utterly pointless nonsense.
Good luck with Edward Woodward......
FlashCallahan17 April 2014
Warning: Spoilers
Another found footage movie gets released, and seeing as this was released on DVD literally a week after its cinema release, with the cover bearing quotes like 'best British horror released in a long time', alarm bells did begin to ring.
But Mark Kermode, one of the most prolific British film critics recommended it, and if you know his work, you will know that this would make the film seem very intriguing.
It starts off like any other found footage film. Cameras are set up, and we have the believer, and the non believer, who work together as there has been a disturbance at a village church.
Gray is there to set up all the audio and cameras (after all, it's the main focus point of the narrative), and Deacon is the man who does this for a living, much like Karras in The Exorcist, but this is played by Gordon Kennedy, who you may remember from the little seen sitcom Absolutely in the early nineties.
The film then follows the rules of the found footage film down to a tee. It's all pretty familiar to begin with, we have the two bonding and drinking etc. and then it fades to the church, where sinister things are afoot at night.
As always, there is a scene where you, the viewer says ''I'd leave by that point', and then the locals start to be funny with them.
All sounds a little samey doesn't it?
But then it just goes down the straight horror route, and believe me, the final ten minutes are almost unbearable to watch, not because its scary, the film isn't necessarily scary at all, it's just very tense, and the word despair comes into mind.
The two leads are wonderful, one annoying, and the other calm, to begin with. And then the tables turn, Deacon begins to doubt, and Gray the opposite.
It's been almost a week since I've seen it, but that very last scene, is still playing on my mind, not because it's anything groundbreaking, it truly isn't, it's just the air of desperation and despair that surrounds it, a film that will definitely stay with you.
It's haunting and eerie, and thank heavens it doesn't go for the loud noises jump scares that infect all horror movies now.
Really worth seeking out.
But Mark Kermode, one of the most prolific British film critics recommended it, and if you know his work, you will know that this would make the film seem very intriguing.
It starts off like any other found footage film. Cameras are set up, and we have the believer, and the non believer, who work together as there has been a disturbance at a village church.
Gray is there to set up all the audio and cameras (after all, it's the main focus point of the narrative), and Deacon is the man who does this for a living, much like Karras in The Exorcist, but this is played by Gordon Kennedy, who you may remember from the little seen sitcom Absolutely in the early nineties.
The film then follows the rules of the found footage film down to a tee. It's all pretty familiar to begin with, we have the two bonding and drinking etc. and then it fades to the church, where sinister things are afoot at night.
As always, there is a scene where you, the viewer says ''I'd leave by that point', and then the locals start to be funny with them.
All sounds a little samey doesn't it?
But then it just goes down the straight horror route, and believe me, the final ten minutes are almost unbearable to watch, not because its scary, the film isn't necessarily scary at all, it's just very tense, and the word despair comes into mind.
The two leads are wonderful, one annoying, and the other calm, to begin with. And then the tables turn, Deacon begins to doubt, and Gray the opposite.
It's been almost a week since I've seen it, but that very last scene, is still playing on my mind, not because it's anything groundbreaking, it truly isn't, it's just the air of desperation and despair that surrounds it, a film that will definitely stay with you.
It's haunting and eerie, and thank heavens it doesn't go for the loud noises jump scares that infect all horror movies now.
Really worth seeking out.
Boarding the borderlands.
morrison-dylan-fan16 October 2017
Warning: Spoilers
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 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 reason why people no longer go to the movies
NeilJThomas17 January 2016
Warning: Spoilers
--major, MMMAJOR spoiler alert-- . . i seriously do not understand how movies of this sort achieve 5+ rating, i'm not venting right now, i wish i could ask some of the people that rated it as such, 'cause i truly fail to understand this. well done, once again you made me waste time and money on this horrendous, childish nonsense.
the characters are flat and meaningless, deacon and michael especially who are just both awful, unlikeable and poorly acted cardboard cutouts of people, why would you care about anything that happens to these two is beyond me. gray likewise gives the impression he just popped into existence: no story, bland meaningless character with a single, recurring 1-sided phone call that links his character to anything happening beyond the perimeter of these "borderlands", and to whom it's given the sad task to inject an attempt at pitiful humour into the story, and what story? what is it that happens in this movie, exactly? a single, exceedingly (no. not enough. Exceedingly. nope. EXCEEEEEDINGLY, better... i so hope never to see this man in movies again. EVER. AGAIN.) poorly acted and equally 2-dimensional character who's thankfully been on screen all of 3 minutes total commits suicide, and a single, actual gem of brilliance gives me hope (yet dashed) for future development when gray goes out for a cigarette break and amazingly fails to see his own headstone. mhhh... sheep on fire? OK... that was a moment... but why? who were those guys? what motivated them? why do they wear hoods? why do they harass the protagonists? why does anything happen here AT ALL? well, viewers, that's why it's a horror/"MYS-TE-RY" movie, get it?
no.
once again, Once a-freakking-gain, another movie that, having just had a scene with a sliver of genius that makes you hope for something better to come, then devolves into a senseless, pointless underground chase for a character who just refuses to stop or at least reply, and who's always just out of reach (see: "as above, so below", the twin to this reeking pile of dog doo, and a dozen of the other 2p movies i've watched in the last 6 months) with nobody ever questioning why would they do that, or where are we going here, 'cause of course it's a friggin labirynth... leading to what i believe is the scene for which the entire movie was greenlit, the "final minute".
i would bet my "final dollar" they made the entire mess of a movie on the back of that last minute, they even changed the title, right? from "borderlands" (which borderlands, what are they on about for the love of Bob) to "final prayer"? the directing writer obviously couldn't find a sane a-leads-to-b-leads-to-something-plausible reason for why "our" characters all of a sudden find themselves inside Satan's rectum (...AH YES... (note 1)), so have them blindly follow someone and just find themselves there, OK so we manouvered ourselves so that there's no-one left to "lampshade" the stupidity of it for the viewers, let's just throw it out there, it'll work, they're horror watchers, so morons after all.
well, yes, if you managed to give a 5+ to this movie, yes, sorry, but yes, you are.
Neil, London, UK. (note 1) and now that you've read that you're going to rent the movie aren't you? aren't you? i'm warning you, don't, it's not going to be even half as much fun as this post was.
the characters are flat and meaningless, deacon and michael especially who are just both awful, unlikeable and poorly acted cardboard cutouts of people, why would you care about anything that happens to these two is beyond me. gray likewise gives the impression he just popped into existence: no story, bland meaningless character with a single, recurring 1-sided phone call that links his character to anything happening beyond the perimeter of these "borderlands", and to whom it's given the sad task to inject an attempt at pitiful humour into the story, and what story? what is it that happens in this movie, exactly? a single, exceedingly (no. not enough. Exceedingly. nope. EXCEEEEEDINGLY, better... i so hope never to see this man in movies again. EVER. AGAIN.) poorly acted and equally 2-dimensional character who's thankfully been on screen all of 3 minutes total commits suicide, and a single, actual gem of brilliance gives me hope (yet dashed) for future development when gray goes out for a cigarette break and amazingly fails to see his own headstone. mhhh... sheep on fire? OK... that was a moment... but why? who were those guys? what motivated them? why do they wear hoods? why do they harass the protagonists? why does anything happen here AT ALL? well, viewers, that's why it's a horror/"MYS-TE-RY" movie, get it?
no.
once again, Once a-freakking-gain, another movie that, having just had a scene with a sliver of genius that makes you hope for something better to come, then devolves into a senseless, pointless underground chase for a character who just refuses to stop or at least reply, and who's always just out of reach (see: "as above, so below", the twin to this reeking pile of dog doo, and a dozen of the other 2p movies i've watched in the last 6 months) with nobody ever questioning why would they do that, or where are we going here, 'cause of course it's a friggin labirynth... leading to what i believe is the scene for which the entire movie was greenlit, the "final minute".
i would bet my "final dollar" they made the entire mess of a movie on the back of that last minute, they even changed the title, right? from "borderlands" (which borderlands, what are they on about for the love of Bob) to "final prayer"? the directing writer obviously couldn't find a sane a-leads-to-b-leads-to-something-plausible reason for why "our" characters all of a sudden find themselves inside Satan's rectum (...AH YES... (note 1)), so have them blindly follow someone and just find themselves there, OK so we manouvered ourselves so that there's no-one left to "lampshade" the stupidity of it for the viewers, let's just throw it out there, it'll work, they're horror watchers, so morons after all.
well, yes, if you managed to give a 5+ to this movie, yes, sorry, but yes, you are.
Neil, London, UK. (note 1) and now that you've read that you're going to rent the movie aren't you? aren't you? i'm warning you, don't, it's not going to be even half as much fun as this post was.
Solid but uninspiring horror.
fstapleton-7554312 June 2019
So we have good acting, script, creepy atmosphere and good use is made of the multiple camera set up. So far so good. But then we get every cliche you can think of in a team investigating strange activity in a remote church. Unoriginal with a weak backstory to explain things. Still well made with some good scares and certainly worth a look.
A good idea let down by lazy ending
kevin-3824215 September 2015
Warning: Spoilers
Film-makers can't really win with stories of this sort. The plot moves along, the characters do their thing, and then tension gradually increases. But, in the end, we either have to be shown the monster (or whatever), or we don't. Either way, we go away disappointed. If we see the monster, then our reaction is (to paraphrase Stephen King) "Ugh! It's a 30-foot bug. But at least it's not a 300-foot bug!" If we don't see the monster, we're left wondering what on earth it was all about.
Sometimes not showing us the monster can work; for example, the story might be cleverly ambiguous about whether there really is a monster at all. In this movie, however, we know there is a monster. And that makes the ending particularly lazy and inept because, if the film-makers aren't going to show us the monster whose existence has been increasingly strongly hinted at, the film has to offer us something else. But it doesn't -- it's just curtains down, at no particular point.
Still, credit where it's due. The small cast of characters is convincingly written and portrayed well. The scenery/environment is engaging and atmospheric, and the church where a lot of the action takes place is creepy, but not unbelievably so. In fact, I enjoyed the movie right up until the last twenty minutes or so, when it became heart-sinkingly clear that there wasn't going to be any plot resolution.
I don't mind a movie that leaves me wondering what happens next. What irks me is a movie in which it's patently obvious that even the writer had no idea what happens next, and probably didn't much care. On the whole, I'd rather have seen a 30-foot bug.
Sometimes not showing us the monster can work; for example, the story might be cleverly ambiguous about whether there really is a monster at all. In this movie, however, we know there is a monster. And that makes the ending particularly lazy and inept because, if the film-makers aren't going to show us the monster whose existence has been increasingly strongly hinted at, the film has to offer us something else. But it doesn't -- it's just curtains down, at no particular point.
Still, credit where it's due. The small cast of characters is convincingly written and portrayed well. The scenery/environment is engaging and atmospheric, and the church where a lot of the action takes place is creepy, but not unbelievably so. In fact, I enjoyed the movie right up until the last twenty minutes or so, when it became heart-sinkingly clear that there wasn't going to be any plot resolution.
I don't mind a movie that leaves me wondering what happens next. What irks me is a movie in which it's patently obvious that even the writer had no idea what happens next, and probably didn't much care. On the whole, I'd rather have seen a 30-foot bug.
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