Borderland
Nowadays it seems all horror
movies ever try to do is to top the other by
loading themselves with talent-less,
adolescent MTV idols, excessive computer
effects and over the top gore. With the
exception of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre,
Dawn of the Dead, and The Hills Have Eyes
remakes mainstream horror movies have really
left an acrid smell of shit and popcorn in
theaters all across the country. And as far
as I’m concerned, with the exception of a
few directors, the underground hasn’t really
been much of a safety haven. The reason I
say this is because the underground has
become preoccupied by trumping themselves
with shitty acting and super-brutal, yet
pointless action. I had just about had it
with the horror genre until I laid my eyes
upon Borderland.
Written and directed by Zev
(Briar Patch, Angelmaker) Berman and
co-written by Eric Popper, Borderland is a
part of 2007’s Eight Films To Die For. It is
roughly based upon the gruesome true story
of the horrific cult murders that took place
during the 80’s in the Mexican border-town
of Matamoros . Adolfo Constanzo was the
leader of a deadly, murderous cult that
dealt in death, fear and terror just as
easily as it did drugs. There is a ton of
info about Constanzo all over the internet,
but I took my info from the ever-so-trusty
Wikipedia.com. On there you can
find info about the life of Constanzo as
well as a brief synopsis of the Borderland
movie. Now, onto the show!!!
Borderland opens up with an
investigation by two Mexican detectives in
what appears to be an abandoned house. Upon
entering the house the officers find
Satan-Worship kits purchased at your local
Wal-Mart or El Wal-Marto if
you’re Mexican (that’s Spanish for El
Wal-Mart). The officers are apprehended by
some cult members lead by the mondo-spooky
Gustavo. Ulises played by Damian Alcazar is
made to watch as his partner has his right
arm sawed off and his eye ripped out, his
partner is then murdered in front of Ulises,
despite pleas for his life.
We fast forward to 3 college
friends from Texas who decide to go on a
wild romp through the Mexican border town
before they head to grad school. Rider (Boy
Meets World, Cabin Fever 1 and 2) Strong
does a fantastic job of playing Phil, the
son of a preacher who is bent on going to
the border-town to get laid. Jake
(Waterborne, I Heart Huckabees) Muxworthy
turns in an intense and cool performance as
Henry, the All-American, arrogant,
pretty-boy ringleader of the 3 soon-to-be
doomed jueros. Ed, the hero of Borderland is
played by fellow pretty-boy Brian (End Game)
Presley. To me Presley has the look of the
bad-ass character that drinks soda instead
of milk in a 7th Heaven episode,
so needless to say I wasn’t expecting much.
However I was pleasantly surprised to see
that he actually has the chops for violent
cinema, this role was made for him.
I was really taken aback by the grimy about
face choice of character that the usual
nice-guy Sean Astin has chosen. He plays the
part of Randall who is a low-level, weak,
angry, gringo servant who is in charge of
guarding Phil who, is about to be the cult’s
next sacrifice. The head honcho “The
Santillan” is played by Beto Cuevas; it is
this character that is based off of
Constanzo. Now unless you’re a fan of MTV’s
La Ley Unplugged you’re not going to know
who the fuck Cuevas is. However, he has to
be one of the coolest looking bad-guys
going. He looks like what would happen if
Uncle Jesse from Full House went Roadhouse
and joined Motorhead. His delivery is
chilling to the bone. Santillan is as
mesmerizing as a new-age Dracula and exudes
a Charles Manson aura that enthralls as much
as it does frighten.
When Phil is captured by Santillan’s cult,
Ed and Henry start a frantic search that is
halted by the reluctance of the Mexican
police and citizens to tangle with Santillan.
After Henry’s brutal rooftop murder Ed, his
new girlfriend, tough-girl Valeria (Martha
Higareda), and the now shelled-out, chemical
dependent burn-out that is now Ulises storm
the cult’s compound in a race for Phil’s
life.
. I don’t want to give you a blow
by blow of Borderland, I don’t think I could
do it any justice by merely describing the
sickening sounds of flesh giving way to a
bunch of angry hatchets cutting away at the
body of a cornered and helpless Henry. Or
the gurgled cries of prayer by Phil who,
right before he is ritually sacrificed has
his tongue chewed out by the Santillan. Give
Borderland an hour and forty-five minutes of
your time and it will fuck you up for life.
What struck me is that Borderland has the
gritty feel of Traffic meets Texas Chainsaw
and has a hell of a lot more cajones( Latin
for Spanish nuts) than Hostel. The ending
plays out like a jacked up revenge flick
accented by an adrenalin-charged shoot-out
scene that ends with the violent
transformation of Ed’s character who
hatchets the remaining cult members to
death.
I’ve seen a lot of horror movies
in my day. I’ve seen movies that were dumb,
funny, cute, and violent but none of them as
disturbing as Borderland. A desperate cry
for help could have just as much impact as a
machete to the head, and listening to Phil
cry out in desperation and excruciating pain
does the trick. What makes Borderland even
more heavy is the fact that these
occurrences did actually take place,
although Constanzo was never killed by
police, he and a couple of other followers
were cornered by police and shot themselves.
So if you get a chance stop by and check out
this diamond in the pile of shit that is The
Eight Films To Die For, cause being this
disturbed never felt so good.
|
|
