Sick Product of a Sick System

In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

The Borderlands (USA Title: Final Prayer)Format: DVD Language: English Released: 2014Director: Elliot GoldnerStarring: Gordon Kennedy, Robin Hill, Aidan McArdleThe Borderlands is the first outing by British director Elliot Goldner, and it's good. While it's not going to revolutionise the horror genre, it certainty does it justice. A simple story pulls together elements from British Folklore, Pagan and Christian beliefs, and intertwines them in such a way that is alien enough to keep you on the edge of seat because your really not sure what is coming next.Goldner approaches the film in a minimalist style that is a hybrid between a found footage film and a documentary; the end result being a rather excellent, eerie moodiness throughout that builds tension all the way to the end.If on top of this, you add a fantastic job by Gordon Kennedy as Deacon as well as some good supporting roles by Robin Hill as Gray and Aidan McArdle as Mark you get a genuinely unnerving film that fits nicely in to any horror fan's collection.Before I get carried away however, I must add that the film ending for me, is a little disappointing. Don't get me wrong, it not that it's bad as such, as it is an interesting take on an old Pagan legend, it just feels out of place with the rest of the film giving it an abrupt finish in what was an other wise well-paced film. Credit however must go to Goldner for trying to bring something new to the table and not relying on an overused run-of-the-mill finish as numerous low budget films do.With that out of the way I would say that this is a must watch film for a fan of horror, it's clever, chilling and at times truly horrifying, the burning sheep scene is one such moment that sticks in my mind. All aspect of a filmmaker's toolkit is used to overcome the budget constraints with special praise going to the sound, editing and cinematography. Elliot Goldner is now firmly on my radar and I look forward to seeing what he comes up with next.

After reading a lot of the reviews for this film I had such high hopes for a scary film with an interesting plot... i'm Afraid all the people who left reviews must have been watching a different film! The only positive I can give is that the Scottish mans acting was great and he was very believable... the plot however was lame and went nowhere... there was not a single frightening moment apart from when one of the guys jumps up from behind a pew and makes you jump... the end left more questions than there were answers and overall it was just pretty terrible. Very disappointed.

I was looking for a found footage film to watch that would let me regain my respect for directors who are practitioners of the art.This was pretty good in terms of cinematography. The footage wasn't artificially jiggly or fuzzy or thrown around like a basketball. In fact at times it wasn't obvious at all. Usually there's some device to let you know where you are watching from, like a counter or CAM1 etc. But most shots were pretty clear and the POV swapped between the characters in an understandable way.The most effective tension mechanism was the villagers. Dour, sullen and uncommunicative. This could have been used more effectively and should have been ramped up progressively.The ending in the caves is horrifying. I was an underground miner so I'm not claustrophobic. But the way they get stuck is... - I'll say no more. Good ending. Wish I had watched it in the dark.

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.