an engaging, excellently paced, and a superbly filmed visceral crime movie with subtle supernatural overtones
Video:
I´m usually not a fan of the in-your-face, shaky, handheld styles of filming that has become exceedingly popular in recent years. Generally, that format is used to cover up the genuine lack of storytelling ability in the filmmaker. But in "Borderland" Berman uses the style to accentuate the impact of his film rather than cover up the faults of the film. The widescreen presentation shown in a 2.35:1 aspect ratio looks a bit washed out and dry, but it doesn´t hurt the film; in fact, it accentuates its impact.
Audio:
The Dolby Digital 5.1 audio track sounds terrific. "Borderland" is full of great music and audio effects, and its sound mix never lets the background overpower the dialogue.
Extras:
"Borderland" is one of the few films released to DVD as part of the After Dark Horrorfest that actually has real special features besides the stupid "Miss Horrorfest Webisodes" that are found on all eight discs. "Inside Zev´s Head" is a great twenty-minute featurette that begins with the director´s decades-long interest in the case that inspired the film. From there, we´re taken through the film´s preproduction and the month-long shoot. It´s full of behind-the-scenes footage and is a great showcase for this extremely bright and likeable director.
The feature-length commentary with writer-director Zev Berman, actor Brian Presley, cinematographer Scott Kevan, and producer Lauren Moews is fairly informative but rather dry. The commentary´s best moments come during the discussion about having to cut scenes to appease the MPAA. "Rituals De Sangre," a twenty-nine-minute documentary covering the real-life crimes committed by the drug cult is extremely well done. It was made by the director of "Borderland," but "Rituals" keeps its edge by never referring to the fictionalized accounts used in the film. It´s full of video footage of the exhumation of victims´ bodies, as cult members coldly point out graves to police officers.
Film Value:
"Borderland" is a brutally realistic film with great moments of gore that never feel exploitive or unnecessary. It´s a shame that this film didn´t get a solo theatrical release that would have distanced it from the rest of the crap included in this year´s After Dark Horrorfest. I even hesitate to label "Borderland" as a "horror" film; while it is filled with horrific moments and gut-churning imagery, it is miles away from what most people would consider as a horror flick.
I´m usually not a fan of the in-your-face, shaky, handheld styles of filming that has become exceedingly popular in recent years. Generally, that format is used to cover up the genuine lack of storytelling ability in the filmmaker. But in "Borderland" Berman uses the style to accentuate the impact of his film rather than cover up the faults of the film. The widescreen presentation shown in a 2.35:1 aspect ratio looks a bit washed out and dry, but it doesn´t hurt the film; in fact, it accentuates its impact.
Audio:
The Dolby Digital 5.1 audio track sounds terrific. "Borderland" is full of great music and audio effects, and its sound mix never lets the background overpower the dialogue.
Extras:
"Borderland" is one of the few films released to DVD as part of the After Dark Horrorfest that actually has real special features besides the stupid "Miss Horrorfest Webisodes" that are found on all eight discs. "Inside Zev´s Head" is a great twenty-minute featurette that begins with the director´s decades-long interest in the case that inspired the film. From there, we´re taken through the film´s preproduction and the month-long shoot. It´s full of behind-the-scenes footage and is a great showcase for this extremely bright and likeable director.
The feature-length commentary with writer-director Zev Berman, actor Brian Presley, cinematographer Scott Kevan, and producer Lauren Moews is fairly informative but rather dry. The commentary´s best moments come during the discussion about having to cut scenes to appease the MPAA. "Rituals De Sangre," a twenty-nine-minute documentary covering the real-life crimes committed by the drug cult is extremely well done. It was made by the director of "Borderland," but "Rituals" keeps its edge by never referring to the fictionalized accounts used in the film. It´s full of video footage of the exhumation of victims´ bodies, as cult members coldly point out graves to police officers.
Film Value:
"Borderland" is a brutally realistic film with great moments of gore that never feel exploitive or unnecessary. It´s a shame that this film didn´t get a solo theatrical release that would have distanced it from the rest of the crap included in this year´s After Dark Horrorfest. I even hesitate to label "Borderland" as a "horror" film; while it is filled with horrific moments and gut-churning imagery, it is miles away from what most people would consider as a horror flick.
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