Three young Americans travel to a border town just inside Mexico and get tangled up with a vicious cult of Satan worshipers. Sounds a lot like Eli Roth's Hostel or John Stockwell's (ugh) Turistas, doesn't it? That's what I thought at first, but once I realized that Zev Berman's Borderland was based on actual (and truly horrific) events from 1989, I had a whole new perspective on the project. (That fact that Mr. Berman was actually in Mexico went these horrible events went down, and was even questioned by the Mexican authorities, adds a whole new layer of creepiness to the flick.) Borderland is a grim, gruesome and impressively well-mounted piece of genre filmmaking, and one that's a whole lot more unsettling when you realize it was based on an actual massacre.
Rider Strong, Jake Muxworthy and Brian Presley play a trio of recent high school grads who decide to drive down south for a night of drunkenness and debauchery, but when one of the crew gets kidnapped by a gang of Satan-lovin' drug runners, things go from mildly uncomfortable to downright terrifying. As the two other guys look around, question the (predictably unhelpful) authorities, and run up against some local villains, a former cop (now disgraced, of course) does all he can to shed some light on the subject. Of course nobody believes the burnout's raving stories about homicidal "satanicos" -- or they know about the criminals but are simply too terrified to help out.
Posts with tag borderland
SXSW Review: Borderland
Exclusive SXSW Horror Update!
Extra, extra! Read all about it! Professional gore-slinger Eli Roth to attend South By Southwest this March, sit on a horror-geek panel, and show off a brand-new clip from his upcoming movie Hostel: Part 2! Cool!But I'm getting ahead of myself.
First the panel news: The event ("Panel of the Dead: Horror Films of Today") will be held on March 11, with AICN's Harry Knowles moderating the discussion. Panelists will include Mr. Roth, filmmaker Scott Glosserman (Behind the Mask), producer Lauren Moews (Cabin Fever, Borderland) and yes, yours truly, because if you're going to invite a film critic to sit in on a horror panel, you should probably choose one who actually appreciates the fine art of cinematic horror ... as I so definitely do. (There may be some more panelists announced down the road, so stay tuned!)
But what about the movies? Well, in addition to the aforementioned Hostel: Part 2 clip, SXSW attendees will be able to enjoy the following fright-centric flicks:
Borderland (World Premiere) -- Sean Astin, Rider Strong and the amazingly gorgeous Mircea Monroe star in this tale of lost kids, wrong turns and human sacrifices.
Grimm Love (North American Premiere) -- Before he was handed the reins on the upcoming Hills Have Eyes 2, German filmmaker Martin Weisz created this unpredictable (and fairly controversial) tale of hardcore cannibalism. (Over the past year or so, I've been asked "Have you seen Grimm Love yet?" at least a dozen times.)
Mulberry Street (North American Premiere) -- SXSW producer Matt Dentler described this one to me as "Zombies overtake New York, only they're like Rat-Zombies. It's pretty damn wild." Sign me up.
Sisters (U.S. Premiere) -- All I know is that it's a remake of the Brian De Palma flick, and it stars Stephen Rea and Chloe Sevigny ... which is all I need to get at least somewhat interested.
Them (U.S. Premiere) -- A French chiller also known as Ils, it's about a couple who get absolutely terrorized by a group of unseen assailants. And by "unseen," that means by the audience as well.
...and of course the SXSW brain-trust has its collective eye on a few more horror titles, so if you feel like visiting Austin and you really like scary, spooky, splattery movies -- I say you make your trip mid-March.
Lionsgate's Next Horror Slate
As an insatiable horror freak, I maintain a strong affection for both Lionsgate and Bloody-Disgusting.com, so imagine my delight when the two combined for a tantalizing peek at next year's horror slate! Yep, it seems that BD.com does a "horror preview" for each studio every December -- and they logically chose Lionsgate as the first distributor to earn a few spotlights. Nobody snatches up grass-roots film-fest horror titles like Lionsgate does, and I can personally assure you that a good portion of the upcoming genre flicks are actually quite good! Well, a few of 'em, anyway...Aside from the well-established and obvious titles (like Hostel: Part 2 and Saw 4), Lionsgate will unleash a virtual torrent of horror-style offerings next year. Not to steal any thunder from the BD.com boys (cuz they've done a fine job with their research!), but here's how I break down next year's LG offerings:
- Borderland -- Sean Astin and Rider Strong star in a tale of human sacrifice. I know next to nothing about this one.
- Boy Eats Girl -- Been waiting a while for this one. Love the title.
- Bug -- Saw it at Fantastic Fest -- and was really surprised by how much I liked it. This Shannon guy is a force of nature.
- Catacombs -- Wow, I almost forgot about this one! It's been sitting on a shelf for what, three years?
- The Eye -- Another Asian horror remake, this one allegedly starring Jessica Alba. Pass.
- Fido -- All the Cine-staffers who saw it agree: Fido is fun!
- Isolation -- Saw it at Toronto '05! And I definitely look forward to seeing it again. It's creepy.
- Right at Your Door -- Missed it at Sundance. Heard mixed things. Dig the concept.
- Skinwalkers -- Another one that's been "coming soon" for quite some time now. Still fairly psyched to see it...
(And this isn't including the deluge of After Dark Horrorfest titles that LG is releasing (to DVD) next March! Or their as-yet-undetermined parade of low-low-end DTV titles. Heh)
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