I started writing for a film website way back in 2013 and at this time Found Footage was the flavour of the month among indie horror filmmakers.
I wrote reviews on Banshee Chapter which starred Ted “Buffalo Bill ” Levine playing a Hunter S. Thompson-type character, an obscure Australian Bigfoot scare flick where the director found my review on Facebook and called it out because I didn’t like their film & The Borderlands directed by Elliot Goldner from the UK.
The film stars Gordon Kennedy as Deacon, a troubled Vatican investigator who must team up with tech expert Gary played by Robin Hill to investigate a small English Church in Devon that has had a possible miracle take place within its walls but is there something more sinister afoot.
When it comes to the found footage genre it’s a type of horror movie that I can take or leave but The Borderlands in terms of its logic when it comes to the events being filmed with our leads having cameras attached to their heads along with how Gary uses tech to film the events going on at the church & at where the team are staying.
But what makes this film effective is the slow build-up where we spend time with our leads, mostly improvisational dialogue as they set up the equipment and go to the local pub to discuss what they are witnessing with both men who address their faith from totally different paths.
The Borderlands final act has genuine moments of terror that linger in my memory as it has since the first time I saw this film way back in 2013 when it messed me up like all great horror final acts should do for its audience even within its limited production budget.
This release from Second Sight is a major step up from the previous Blu-Ray release by the now sadly defunct Metrodome The Borderlands was the only film they financed at a time when they only distributed mostly art movies theatrically and for the home video market where it made a slight wimped Mark Kermode did champion the movie so a lot more people saw it because of his praise.
The disc contains an audio commentary with actors Gordon Kennedy, Rob Hill, Producer Jennifer Handorf & her Special Effects Designer Husband Dan Martin.
It’s an interesting discussion about the film’s production with many funny anecdotes including the experience of shooting the end sequence at Chislehurst Caves the same location used by Led Zeppelin, Jimmi Hendrix, and Norman J Warren when he filmed the Alien knock-off Imseminoid starring Stephanie Beecham plus how The Borderlands Assistant Director went on to produce Barbie with his wife Margot Robbie.
This special edition contains standalone retrospective interviews with the leads filmed in the London location used in the movie South American set opening sequence alongside chats with the producer and Dan Martin plus a behind the scenes video made during the film’s production in a Limited Edition package which also has a booklet of various essays about the movie.
It would have been interesting to have a new interview with The Borderlands director Elliot Goldner but he’s not involved with this release and from looking at his IMDB page has been directing TV shows only appearing in the previously mentioned 30 minute behind the scenes extra.
The Borderlands or as it was known on its American release with the horrible title Final Prayer was a fun film to rediscover and it will be for other horror fans plus those who haven’t experienced this highly underrated British Found Footage movie.
The Borderlands available on Standard & Limited Edition Blu-Ray from April 15th 2024
The Film Collective Scotland 
Leave a comment