The Borderlands (2013 film)

The Borderlands, released in the United States as Final Prayer, is a 2013 British found footage horror film and the feature film directorial debut of Elliot Goldner, who also wrote the movie's script.[1] It had its world premiere on 24 August 2013 at the London FrightFest Film Festival and centres upon a group of Vatican investigators researching an old church rumoured to be the site of a miracle.[2]

The Borderlands
Theatrical poster
Directed byElliot Goldner
Produced byJennifer Handorf
Jezz Vernon
Written byElliot Goldner
StarringGordon Kennedy
Aidan McArdle
Robin Hill
Luke Neal
Patrick Godfrey
CinematographyEben Bolter
Edited byWill Gilbey
Jacob Proctor
Mark Towns
Production
companies
Metrodome Distribution
Release date
  • 24 August 2013 (2013-08-24) (FrightFest)
Running time
89 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish

Synopsis

Three men – Deacon, a sceptical religious brother, Gray, an English layman and technology expert, and the stringent Father Mark Amidon – are sent by the Vatican to investigate reports of supernatural activity in an old, recently reopened, thirteenth century church located in the Devon countryside.

Upon their first visit to the church, local priest Father Crellick tells them a miracle has taken place, while Gray sets up recording equipment. Crellick shows them footage of objects on the altar mysteriously moving but Deacon remains sceptical. The next day, Mark discovers a hidden side panel but he is disturbed by an unseen force before he can enter. A multi-mic radio setup detects the sound of deep growls and whispers, followed by the sound of an infant crying. Mark pursues a despondent Crellick up the bell tower to the roof; Crellick questions whether he has witnessed a miracle or something far worse – he leaps to his death before a horrified Mark.

The inhabitants of the village start to behave with hostility towards the team. Local youths burn a sheep to death outside the men's cottage. The local pub landlord evicts Deacon and Gray from his premises after overhearing the two men discussing local folklore and the credibility of the tenets of old pagan religions versus those of Christianity. Deacon continues to investigate and traces whispers and creaks to a hidden door, inscribed with a pagan sigil he has seen in the diaries of the last minister to serve at the church until it was closed in the 1880s. Behind the door, a set of stairs leads down into darkness and Deacon is assailed by the sounds of a baby crying and Crellick screaming.

Deacon brings in his elderly mentor from the Vatican, exorcist Father Calvino, in an attempt to purify the church grounds. Calvino explains that during the founding of Christianity in England, priests built churches upon the sites of pagan temples. He has evidence that the church is situated on a site - still visible in aerial photographs - of human sacrifices to an unnamed pagan deity.

That night, during the exorcism, violent and invisible forces shake the church. Mark is apparently killed and Calvino's eyes bleed before their bodies mysteriously vanish. Deacon traces distant cries to the hidden staircase. As Gray and Deacon descend into a subterranean labyrinth, they find evidence of child sacrifice and realise that the former minister had converted to worshipping the pagan deity. Seemingly spotting Mark, who walks into the darkness heedless of their calls, the pair find Calvino's ornamental crucifix on the floor of one of the tunnels. Following the sound of Mark's voice, they crawl through a narrow, foul-smelling passageway whose exits suddenly contract via a membranous material before the tunnel itself begins to move. The walls begin to secrete a powerful digestive enzyme which horribly burns the two men. As their lights go out, Gray screams in agony and terror while a tormented Deacon recites the Lord's Prayer.

Cast

Reception

Critical reception for The Borderlands has been predominantly positive and the film holds a rating of 81% on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 16 reviews.[3][4] Common elements of praise centred upon the acting and the interactions between Gordon Kennedy and Robin Hill's characters,[5][6] and Radio Times commented that "It's the pair's easy-going chemistry that firmly anchors this slow-burning shocker, whose rural setting deliberately evokes The Wicker Man".[7] Time Out London and The Hollywood Reporter both gave mixed reviews for the film,[8] and The Hollywood Reporter wrote that it has "plenty of chilling atmosphere but lacks bite".[9]

References
  1. Zimmerman, Samuel. "EXCL Stills: Beyond Fest British Invasion Film, "THE BORDERLANDS"". Fangoria. Retrieved 15 October 2014.
  2. Wiseman, Andreas. "Buyers take to Salt's Borderlands". Screen Daily. Retrieved 15 October 2014.
  3. "THE BORDERLANDS (2014)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 15 October 2014.
  4. Hatfull, Jonathan. "THE BORDERLANDS FILM REVIEW". SciFiNow. Retrieved 15 October 2014.
  5. Jones, Gareth. "Borderlands, The (review)". Dread Central. Retrieved 15 October 2014.
  6. Lambie, Ryan. "The Borderlands (review)". Den of Geek. Retrieved 15 October 2014.
  7. Jones, Alan. "The Borderlands (review)". Radio Times. Retrieved 15 October 2014.
  8. Huddleston, Tom. "The Borderlands (review)". Time Out London. Retrieved 15 October 2014.
  9. Dalton, Stephen. "The Borderlands: Film Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 15 October 2014.
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