the borderlands ( 2013 film )
the borderlands (2013). found footage film. director - elliot goldner. moria - the science - fiction, horror and fantasy film review .
brannum, julianna (comanche). ladonna harris: indian 101. 2013 .
frankel, glenn. the searchers: the making of an american legend. bloomsbury, 2013 .
the frankenstein theory trailer 1 (2013) - timothy v. murphy sci - fi thriller hd
, hmz film had the pleasure of sitting down with the creators and cast of sensational horror film ‘the borderlands’ for an in depth discussion .
the borderlands (2013) is a found footage film and found footage horror paranormal film. a team of vatican investigators descends upon a church in a remote area to demystify the unusual happenings, but what they discover is more disturbing than they had first imagined .
this entry was posted in review and tagged aiden mcardle, elliot goldner, gordon kennedy, horror, horror film 2013, horror films, lovecraft, religious, robin hill, the borderlands, the descent. bookmark the permalink .
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we' ve got our hands on the terrifying trailer for british horror film the borderlands, which went down a storm at frightfest 2013. called
genuinely horrifying
by our very own jamie graham, dare you watch it ?
the performances were excellent and the scenery and location of the film and ...
gearbox, of course, was working on borderlands at the time and had run into the big 11th hour art style change, with the vast bulk of gearbox' s development resources poured into the overhaul. after the wild success of borderlands, the studio dove directly into development of borderlands 2 .
umbartha (translation: threshold) is a 1982 marathi film directed by well known marathi director, jabbar patel. the film’s main protagonist sulaba mahajan, played by smita patil, struggles with the demands of family and her role as the superintendent of a women’s home. the film was adjudged the best feature film in marathi at the 29th national film awards. smita patil’s performance in this film inspired well known film maker costa gavars to organize the first ever retrospective on an indian female actor (smita patil) in paris .
. it’s hard to top the prestige factor of just his presence in the film, and then you throw in francis ford coppola’s screenplay along with the film’s two oscars .
the central characters are brilliantly acted, the film offers genuine scares and the atmospheric setting is creepily effective .
is a great fan of the film and the horror genre in itself. the first time he saw the film, he was half tempted to walk out of the cinema, he was so unsettled .
prof. dipesh chakrabarty will introduce the film. discussion and reception with the director to follow .
the borderlands gets the edge as far as i' m concerned because of its two main characters and a fantastic final act .
the most surprising thing about the borderlands, a brilliant british found - footage horror, is that it has such good characters .
they' d been in touch with the film' s creator prior to the game' s release .
a brief look at borderlands and aliens: colonial marines developer gearbox and its peculiar place in the video game business .
soundtrack. it makes the film infinitely more marketable, especially to the coveted younger crowds filling multiplexes this summer .
jennifer: metrodome in the uk are putting the film out in april so buy your tickets early! it will have a small theatrical release, please do pimp our facebook page as likes do matter for us. the film is being premiered at the american film market shortly which will heavily dictate our us release .
the color palette is different. codehunters is basically sepia - toned. borderlands is more vibrant. but the similarities are impossible to ignore .
the words
low - budget found - footage horror film
usually signal disaster... not so for the borderlands, which turns out to be a smart, funny and genuinely spooky movie, and british to boot .
anchoring the film in the everyday stands the film in very good stead as the borderlands enters its second half. some well - deployed boo - scares keep the tension high, and the mystery of what exactly is going on is developed at a deliberate, effective pace. there’s a real sense of atmosphere and menace here that doesn’t just come from its chosen camera technique .
codehunters was the brainchild of ben hibon, who had been commissioned to produce the film by mtv back in 2006 .
rural devon' s the setting for the off - beat found - footage horror, the borderlands. here' s ryan' s review ...
though the exact details of gearbox' s involvement (or lack thereof) in the development of colonial marines remains somewhat murky, it' s become clear over time that the bulk of the studio' s efforts and resources went into the development of borderlands and borderlands 2 rather than the licensed aliens ip .
suman mukhopadhyay’s film kangal malsat (2013, 1 hour 53 minutes) depicts groups of choktars (wizards) and fyataroos (flying humans) jointly launching guerilla attacks against the ruling communist party in west bengal. they are advised by an ageless primordial talking crow and an indo - colonial half - breed. total chaos in calcutta ensues .
that was the hard question facing gearbox. the vast bulk of work on borderlands had already been completed but something obviously needed to be done .
the project may not have materialized, but borderlands certainly did, and hibon says he' s more than a little confused by the outcome .
borderlands is an international thriller following morgan anderson as he searches for his missing girlfriend across california, london and stockholm .
excellent sound design and that strong sense of pacing ensure that the film’s grip on the viewer doesn’t stop tightening. there’s a wobble or two as the film heads into its final third, but the mystery of the church’s past is handled with the right combination of hints and exposition (hp lovecraft is an obvious and welcome inspiration) as the film builds towards a strong finish .
the relationship between robin hill’s jolly techie character gray and gordon kennedy’s tormented priest father deacon is one of the great pleasures of the film .
further investigation shows the cracks in the film’s seemingly - fine foundation. the two oscars it won were for costume design and music, and they were the only nominations the film received. coppola—a staple of cinema and the oscars throughout the 1970s—was nowhere to be found. redford was also missing from the nominations’ list .
borderlands and borderlands 2 are games that are truly unique in their own right .
halo meets diablo
is a concept that really hadn' t been tried before, and gearbox did a solid job at genre - blending. so it is strange that the games would borrow so much from an animated short film, especially without involving hibon or anyone else on the project .
this film is not currently playing on mubi but 30 other great films are. see what’s now showing
the tomatometer score — based on the opinions of hundreds of film and television critics — is a trusted measurement of critical recommendation for millions of fans. it represents the percentage of professional critic reviews that are positive for a given film or television show .
a feature film based on the popular video game set on the abandoned fictional planet of pandora where people search for a mysterious relic .
culture crypt is the most reliable website for genre movie reviews and the best in popular culture, specializing in independent horror film entertainment .
jonathan hatfull at scifinow, (link) -
atmospheric british horror the borderlands reminds us how effective found - footage can be ...
engaged in a fascinating discussion on all aspects of the borderlands. we discussed the initial conception of the film, the decision to shoot in a found footage style format, the blend between the comic and terrifying plus the religious aspects of the story. with plans in place for a limited theatrical release in the uk in april 2014, this is definitely one to look out for .
if you choose to ignore all that or baz somehow botches the retelling, the misunderstood romance at the film’s center should still resonate with lovelorn theater patrons everywhere .
dont believe the blurb on the dvd case, it has many good reviews but it is a boring found footgear film in which nothing happens .
in fact, gearbox was very much aware of codehunters when they made the art - style changes, though no credit was given to the film by the studio .
through interdisciplinary scholarship in sound studies, cultural studies, and popular music, this course critically listens to and analyzes soundways (i. e. , interpretive beliefs, modes, and practices concerning sound) and soundscapes in relation to cultural identities in the u. s. - mexico borderlands. how, the course asks, does sound matter in and around the borderlands? how are borderland identities sonically and musically represented? how does sound construct, critique, remix, or otherwise complicate perceptions of the borderlands ?
culture crypt looks at a few fantasia film festival features shaping up to be hot topics among horror fans in 2018 .
the borderlands provides all the requisite jump - scares, blasts of static and long shadows, yet the film’s at its strongest when the three characters are talking and pondering the nature of what they’re investigating - it’s the stumbling around in the dark and screaming that feels more by - the - numbers. this in itself marks the film out as something slightly unusual, since most found - footage films - see, for a recent example, devil’s due - feature leads so generic and unremarkable that it’s almost a relief when they do stop talking .
eliot goldner ’s film refutes the rulebook when it comes to the modern day found footage rulebook, in that every handy - cam film must have gobby teenage characters (in fact that stereotype is literally punched in the face here). the borderlands is not only good because it breaks new ground or because it is scary (which it genuinely is) but it is the strength of the characters and acting that enthralls. there are few horrors where you hope there will be inactivity to listen to more of the character’s unashamedly british banter but this is one of them. on top of that it is an excellent horror film too. a film thats influences span as wide as tv’s the league of gentleman and peep show to the annals of hammer horror and h. p. lovecraft .
this out - sourcing reportedly took place in 2010 around the same time as work on borderlands 2 began and a whopping four years after aliens was announced by publisher sega .
virginie sélavy: the film has a great sense of the moody, ominous british countryside in the tradition of the wicker man. there has been a resurgence of the british rural - horror genre in recent years, with ben wheatley ’s films, and most recently in fear. did you consciously try to make the film fit this sub - genre ?
thoroughly enjoyable found footage horror film, with a lot of decent scares. i' ve seen it 2 times since getting it the other day. the performances were excellent and the scenery and location of the film and how it was shot really impressed me. it' s like a remake of the blair witch with an actual script and fleshed out plot. the big problem i had with it is the high amount of unanswered questions in the film. even the dvd packaging has a picture on it that leaves me wondering whether it' s supposed to be a comment on one of the characters in the film. the idea that these mysterious
why the hell did that character do that
moments are up to the interpretation of the viewer are not properly earned by the filmakers in my opinion. still it' s a fairly small criticism on an otherwise great and frightening horror film .
it' s important to note, also, that borderlands didn' t always look this way. once upon a time, it looked like this :
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elliot: the title, that’s interesting, we didn’t really talk about it until a very erudite journalist at fangoria picked up on a book called house on the borderlands which is a victorian horror novel about a guy finding a diary that contains stories about stuff that happens. it’s very different to our film but it was one of the early inspirations for it and the borderlands title saw its way through to the end. it felt kind of relevant even though it’s not clear immediately why the film is titled that way; it has a lot of resonance to a number of things. it’s definitely worth checking out, it’s quite an interesting piece which was written in the late 1800s
like many of the best comedies and tragedies, this weimar - era silent film understands how each mode is often a hair' s breadth from the other .
before borderlands, the studio had developed a number of brothers in arms games, some half - life spin - offs, and a number of other titles, but it wasn' t until borderlands caught fire that the company really staked out its place as a major game developer doing important - - - some might say groundbreaking - - - work .
i honestly think this is the best british horror film in ten years. it' s simple, original, thought provoking and truly scary .
the found footage film has become colonised and almost completely overworked by the horror genre in recent years to the point that one greets yet another attempt to mine the form here with ennui. the greatest success among these was
it is far from perfect and there are some flaws in there, but the borderlands is a really good found footage movie as it puts more emphasis on character than scares, at least for the first two thirds. the final act could have done with a bit more refinement and there were a few unanswered questions, but the borderlands is easily one of the better found footage movies produced in recent memory and could rival frankenstein’s army for the best of the year .
the film will be introduced by program curator ashish rajadhyaksha, senior fellow at the centre for the study of culture & society, bangalore and co - author of the encyclopedia of indian cinema. a reception with the program curator will follow the screening .
2015 also marks the long awaited by some united states release of the uk thriller “the borderlands” under its new name of “final prayer. ” interestingly, the copyright notice seemingly cites the film as “devil lies beneath, ” which would have been a title superior to the other two in spite of being a touch of a spoiler. destined to be deigned “yet another” first - person horror film by the grumpy bunch alluded to above, “final prayer” nevertheless has the ability to instill eerie chills into anyone still susceptible to the unique appeal of “found footage, ” even if the movie grabs from a familiar bag of tricks to do so .
footage from the question and answer session after the screening of the borderlands, a uk found footage horror film, at the mayhem horror film festival (nottingham, england). in attendance is producer jennifer handorf, writer / director elliot goldner and actors robin hill and gordon kennedy. to read my review of the movie, head here - http: / / mavensmovievaultofhorror. blogs... warning: the sound isn' t perfect as i shot this on my phone sat quite a few rows away. there' s also a spoiler towards the end of the q & a; session .
critical reception for the borderlands has been predominantly positive and the film holds a rating of 79% on rotten tomatoes, based on 14 reviews. common elements of praise centred upon the acting and the interactions between gordon kennedy and robin hill' s characters, 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
. time out london and the hollywood reporter both gave mixed reviews for the film, and the hollywood reporter wrote that it has
plenty of chilling atmosphere but lacks bite
.
it is an early, self - conscious hint that t he borderlands is conjuring the spirit of robin hardy‘s woodward - starring the wicker man, which also features smalltown conspiracy and heathen heterodoxy. meanwhile, the opening sequence of the borderlands, in which catholic investigator deacon (gordon kennedy), is shown looking into an unexplained incident abroad – in this case in belem, brazil – has pointed instead to the structure of another 1973 picture: william friedkin‘s the exorcist .
this course introduces 20th and 21st century literature and film featuring real and fictional comanches in the comanchería and u. s. - mexico borderlands. from silent films to hollywood and independent productions, from historical fiction to literary analysis, we will compare texts and their diverse portrayals of comanche identity and intercultural relations. goals of the course include placing the readings and films into historical and cultural contexts, comparing comanche, indigenous mexican, and anglo representation in literature and film, and strengthening critical reading and viewing skills .
the borderlands is a game changer. elliot goldner shifts through the gears as action ranges from the utterly hilarious to the devastatingly terrifying. underpinned by an important religious subtext, the borderlands has reinvigorated the found footage sub - genre. fine lead performances from robin hill (down terrace, kill list) and gordon kennedy ground proceedings with a gritty realism. the tonal shift is expertly built into the church investigation; the setting is inherently creepy which lends itself to the deeply haunting and often startling moments of shock. the memorable ending is bold and will send shockwaves through the genre. a must see .
much of this may sound familiar, but the borderlands' crafty virtue is that it understands that hand - held camerawork and boo scares aren' t an excuse to neglect plot, dialogue or characters .
instead of drawing so much on folklore, old ghost stories or menacing hoodies (although all these things play a part), the strongest element of the borderlands ’ identity as a british horror film is its central relationship. deacon and grey’s bickering, boredom and bonding has the easy chemistry of a flat - share comedy in the best possible way (the head - cam shots are occasionally a little reminsicent of peep show), and if we didn’t like the characters so much, their fear in the face of the unknown would be far less affecting. as it is, the borderlands is a tense, atmospheric chiller that will send a shiver down your spine and definitely make you jump .
some classics are timeless solely for their quality, but the great gatsby carries remarkable relevancy for today' s audiences. can baz luhrmann make a film worthy of the great gatsby name ?
you have to watch this film to the end to truly appreciate it. the' found footage' genre is rightly criticised but sometimes little gems come through. this is one of them. a lot has been made of the ending, but the rest of the film is quite good as well. i don' t want to say too much regarding the film as several others will have done so before me, but you should perservere with the irritating' techie' and the scottish priest. the vatican team leader is an irritation. watch it with an open mind and appreciate the ending... ...... .
the sort of god would be chthonic. of the earth or underworld, took sacrifices... not quite lovecraftian, but the beast in the borderlands reminded of chthonians, which have been added into lovecraft' s mythos by other authors. the tone of the rest of the movie has very much a traditional lovecraftian worship vibe .
plano, tx based game developer gearbox has been in the game - making business for a long time. in fact, this past february marked the developer' s 14th anniversary. but prior to the release of borderlands in 2009, gearbox flew largely under the radar .
the sudden overhaul of the game was a brash gamble that ultimately paid off, with borderlands selling well over 4 million copies since its release. the combination of rpg elements and a very unique art style led to a welcome critical and consumer reaction .
( 1988) you keep thinking. this quasi - lovecraftian ending leaves the film ending on a question mark where you are never sure what is happening or what the agency behind everything is .
elliot: that’s right, that’s the number one! i mean i’m sure there are faults in this film but i’m sure there not the usual ones. i wanted to get past that .
the works presented in this exhibit were all created between 2011 and 2013. a seemingly disconnected range of
emotional states
, as the artist calls it, has led to the creation of each of these. nonetheless, the viewer is drawn in by recurring patterns and motives, sometimes articulated to varying degrees and translated into multiple moods. bhaduri views her rapid shifting and transitioning between varying media and color themes as exemplary of her current personal response to the complexities of modern life .
as his comic gray plays against kennedy’s straight man deacon, hill brings an earthy humour here that’s reminiscent of his rôle in ben wheatley‘s down terrace, grounding the borderlands ‘ weirder narrative byroads in absurdly mundane hilarity. this, combined with the shakicam and the banal ordinariness of the wiltshire village, with its “betting shop, fish bar, laundry”, and of course pub, lends the film a low authenticity that soon clashes with its more unsettling elements .
a film for the ages may appear an impossible task. just look at gatsby himself: an in - his - prime robert redford coming off his first academy award nomination for
he’s just a funny person who’s wandered into a horror film as opposed to it being a comedy film. the situations aren’t funny and the lines aren’t. as my character becomes progressively involved in the events of the story, there aren’t any more jokes. he doesn’t say anything funny after a certain point in the film, i mean he’s genuinely scared and you see the character go from being quite light hearted to being terrified. the progression is hopefully reflected by the audience, from when you can be more laissez fare and then gradually becoming increasingly serious and terrified. this is not pick myself up but the idea is to continuously play it seriously. you play the jokes and horror in the spirit of the character and it’s all the same essentially .
found footage movies are nothing new and ones based around religious / paranormal events are even more cliché. but the borderlands manages to do something that all the others have failed at doing – it’s entertaining, tense and incredibly well put together .
in 2013 america—depending on who you talk to—we’re either living in a continued recession or recovering from the worst economic collapse since the one so close to gatsby ’s original release. the various causes to america’s latest recession have created a furthering of the class divide. occupy wall street. a fierce hatred of corporations. anything ostentatious being scaled back to avoid reproach. the american dream has become something modest. it’s closer to just getting by, with many afraid to hope for the lavish lifestyle that seems so far out of reach .
a huge thank you from hmz film to mayhem festival and jennifer, elliot, robin and gordon for taking the time out to engage in such a fascinating interview. you guys will
a film can be horrible, but there' s a difference between that and it searching for a purpose. if a film can' t grab my interest or attention in the first 40 minutes, i may give up on it. even if, pretend, the last 50 minutes are brilliant. that' s not better in my eyes, quality for me means that it' s well planned even when badly done. this film plays like a brainstorm, akin to some stories that i saw in undergrad .
this all came to light when moss expressed his disappointment over the artwork via twitter :
i' m a huge gearbox fan so i was really disappointed to see this image inside the borderlands 2 box ,
he said, including an image of the box art .
critical reception for the borderlands has been predominantly positive and the film holds a rating of 80% on rotten tomatoes, based on 15 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 ]
falters when it comes to the pay off. this smacks of not really knowing how to end the film more than anything else. we get the two principal characters following the path of patrick godfrey who has disappeared down under the church, finding a vast labyrinth of tunnels. [ plot spoilers ] this is followed by several minutes of the two characters running / crawling through tunnels by torchlight  the point where the film starts to travel into more standard found footage territory. finally the characters become trapped in a narrow defile, finding that it is organic matter that starts to close in around them before it would seem (the film is never very clear) that they are inside the gullet of a creature  some giant worm a la
elliot: i felt quite bad for aiden (who plays mark in the film) actually. i think it worked really well for the dynamic of the film, you two had been on set and had been acting together. aiden turns up a little bit later and he’s like the antagonistic. he was doing some really funny improvisation but i had to tell him sorry! just don’t be funny (laughs )
not exactly a
lovecraftian
film in the sense of being based on any of lovecraft' s work or containing references to his creations, though some viewers may find the location and atmosphere suggestive of lovecraft' s work (an
eldritch location
film); the addition of cultists and gothic buried secrets push this a little further into lovecraft' s genre than many such films .
great found footage horror film that feels like a dogme film at times due to it' s naturalistic setting. the alternate title
final prayer
i think was better suited to this especially since i saw this at necronomicon conference which celebrates the works of h. p. lovecraft and the incorporation of pre - christian religious rituals and it is as startling as one of his weird stories .
and this was only possible because the film manages to build well a tense and believable atmosphere and maintain it until the final moment. the beginning is slow, but in the second act we have the first moment of impact involving an act of pure cruelty. really fucked up stuff .
and why didn' t gearbox follow through with hibon on directing cut - scenes or working on the borderlands project in some other faculty? i would love to answer that question, but gearbox has declined to comment on this story .
6 - this film was very clearly made within the very strict and troubled guidelines of modern found - footage horror, but it' s effective and entertaining enough to be credited as a superior specimen of the former .
soon the characters will abandon the carefully erected structure of their, and our, modern belief systems for something more atavistic and appetitive that lies beneath, dormant yet undeniable. the borderlands might dramatise the precarious footing of catholicism – and science – or the ultimate failure of colonialism, or the return of the repressed, but mostly it takes the viewer to a deep dark place of nightmares, where reason is devoured by the primordial shadows .
goldner is plainly working in the shadow of ben wheatley, the young director who has revitalized the british horror scene in recent years, mixing nightmarish shocks with visceral violence and savage humor in films such as kill list and sightseers. he even borrows wheatley’s regular editor and occasional actor, robin hill, to play a leading role here. but the borderlands is a much more conventional film than any of wheatley’s work to date, lacking their stylistic brio, visual sorcery and creeping menace .
the borderlands
, also known as
final prayer
, has one of the most surprising and horrifying endings i' ve ever seen in a horror movie. even though it has been spoiled to me by a goddamn list on a site, the final scene is still shocking .
there is understandable fatigue with the found - footage genre, conjuring memories of countless films where a camera shakes in the dark whilst someone screams for sixty minutes. thankfully [ rec ], lake mungo and the bay have shown that done well the medium can be effective and, whilst it may not be ground breaking, the borderlands is a welcome entry to the genre .
having lived for many years, only a few miles from where this was filmed, i fully appreciate the atmosphere and sense of isolation this film manages to evoke. do not be put off by the ‘found footage’ nature of the film, it really works as there is still a lot of fixed footage as well. the cast is excellent and again shows how well comedy actors can take on serious roles. this will not suit anyone of a sensitive disposition but if you enjoy a solid, psychological horror film, you should give it a try. finally, as many other reviewers have said, make sure you watch it all the way through to the climactic ending .
it' s unclear whether gearbox wanted to credit timegate for their hard work or in order to deflect criticism over the game' s shoddy release. that may sound uncharitable, but no similar credit was given to ben hibon for codehunters for the much more successful borderlands .
with last year' s release of borderlands 2, gearbox firmly cemented its place on top of the gaming world. the critically acclaimed sequel was better than the original in almost every way, offering up a more colorful, better written game full of diverse environments and enemies and even more guns .
jennifer: it was the brief really. the brief was bought to elliot that it should be a found footage film that involved a country church and there were a few more details beyond that. truth be told, we got to the edit and some of the notes from the executives were ‘can you make it any less found footage? ’ obviously trends change. over the course year and a half it takes to make a film, what was hot when you started isn’t necessarily hot when you finish
the film does sadly turn into your average found footage affair as it reaches the movie’s climax and they can only use their headcams, which is disappointing as all the build up to it is great and it never relied on cheap tricks to unease its audience. director elliot goldner chooses his angles wisely and he only resorts to the genres tropes every now and again to produce a couple of scares. you could never say that the borderlands is scary, but it can at times be very unnerving and you’re never quite sure where the movie is heading .
elliot goldner’s debut as writer / director uses a lot of the familiar found - footage tropes, but where the borderlands succeeds is in understanding that handheld camerawork, “what - was - that? ” boo scares and panicked off - screen voices aren’t an excuse to neglect the plot, dialogue or characters .
constructed as found footage (or is it ?), this film recalls the likes of the blair witch project and, especially, the last exorcism. what makes this much better than the latter (though not the former), is the relationship between the two lead characters and the strength of the performances, and an especially claustrophobic and genuinely unsettling final act that is up there with the likes of the descent for squirm inducing nastiness. really very good indeed ,
we didn' t want to be considered a poor man' s rage ,
said gearbox chief creative officer brian martel at gdc 2010 in his talk borderlands & the 11th hour art style change (don' t try this at home. )
much of its content may be common to the genre but the borderlands does boast occasional moments of originality, including a lovecraftian conclusion that will be unbearable for those troubled by the claustrophobic caves found in the descent. the movie is built on a solid story and entertaining characters so when a dark tunnel is discovered beneath the church even a found - footage cynic may be tempted to explore below .
the premise is a familiar one, but the borderlands’ setting and tone is refreshingly different. for one thing, the gloomy, drizzly british town actually feels like a real british town; father clerrick’s congregation is dwindling out of existence, the pub’s low - lit and unfriendly, and a gang of hooded youths hang around the local bus stop, drinking and muttering .
it is also tempting to read the claustrophobic final chase sequence as a sly homage to the blair witch project, but that may be crediting the film - makers with too much knowing subtext. after all, what kind of idiot ventures into demonically possessed tunnels in the dead of night? are they insane? haven’t they seen any horror movies? damningly, even this chilling climax misses the target, never delivering the nerve - shredding adrenaline rush required by genre rules. neither as scary, as original or as funny as it needs to be, the borderlands is a cultish curiosity for indulgent hardcore fans only .
jennifer: i think so too, despite the fact it was in the original brief, there was a technical plus a financial reason to do it in that format. from a storytelling and creative reasoning, found footage makes sense in context of the story, in many ways is about judging the veracity of what you see and whether or not the image is truth. if you really want to get university cinematic film thesis on it, it’s what the characters are doing: judging whether or not they can believe their eyes and that’s a theme throughout the film
very slow, dull and boring... .. could have been a very good spooky film but instead it was just 2 men in some house that did nothing but talk talk talk... then a 3rd chap joined in and (yes you guessed it)... talk talk talk! .... . lacked so much in excitement, i thought i' d persevere and let the film run to the end (even though i was nodding off) then, low and behold... . it started to pick up... ...... about 5mins. before the end of the film. definitely a no no from me and then let' s not forget the
shaky camera job
and torches blinding your eyes while you try to watch the film... ... very disappointing... .. save your money! !! ! !
the recent glut of found - footage horror has made it easy to be snobby about the sub - genre, but there’s never been anything inherently wrong with it, as independent british horror the borderlands proves. by combining the wobbly - cam technique with a strong script and excellent central performances, this is a chilling reminder of how good found footage can be .
the end of the world is just the beginning in geoff murphy’s the quiet earth from 1985. urltoken 1 week ago
at ut, he serves on the advisory council of the native american and indigenous studies program. he also serves on the editorial board of cinema journal, the official journal of the society for cinema and media studies. tahmahkera consults on film projects, curates indigenous film series, and writes curriculum guides (e. g. , ladonna harris: indian 101) for vision maker media and pbs. he also has delivered invited talks, such as the 2017 annual shaw lecture in american studies at dickinson college, and recently completed a three - year term on the community advisory board of klru, the austin - based affiliate of pbs .
gordon: what’s quite positive is that everyone starts by saying ‘i know this is another found footage but…’ and i think the style is becoming its own separate genre. i think for people to complain about that now is redundant. it’s a style of film like you might make a black and white or in a documentary format, found footage is just another style / genre or whatever you want to call it. there is a real reluctance to like that style at the moment because there have been a few poor ones since paranormal activity. so the reviewers are saying this is found footage but it’s ok don’t worry! as with any film: the beginning, middle and the end of it depend on you being interested enough in the characters that you won’t get bored no matter what the journey is. in this film, most people genuinely care. it wouldn’t matter if you made it in swahili, it’s been interesting that there’s been a knock back on found footage. cloverfield has been and gone, that was the action found footage film which worked .
the above video isn' t a trailer for borderlands, but no one would hold it against you if you thought it was. after all, the art style is remarkably similar - - - disconcertingly similar, one might say - - - and even the silent plot appears to share some similar elements with gearbox' s first - person shooter .
to be absolutely clear ,
hibon told gather your party ,
i have never created or designed anything for gearbox or borderlands. gearbox saw my work and decided to reproduce it – make it their own – without my help or my consent .
whatever happened behind the scenes during the development of aliens: colonial marines or during the transition from a
poor man' s rage
in the 11th hour borderlands art - style overhaul to a rich man' s codehunters, gearbox has set itself up both as an accomplished and obviously talented developer, and as a studio apparently willing to push the boundaries of acceptable ethical use of other peoples' creative property .
i thought the ending had something to do with
the belly of the beast
quote / verse from the bible .
goldner’s own faked recordings are full of half truths half - glimpsed, which will amply repay a rewatch without ever giving away the whole magic trick. much of the film’s insidious impact derives from his studied refusal to connect all the dots, so that by the end we, no less than the priests, become lost in the circling labyrinth, or trapped in the holes, of this worm - that - turns story .
so the borderlands isn' t going to change too many people' s minds but it is going to satisfy those of us already fans of the format. while not being a particularly revolutionary attempt, what it lacks in originality it earns back points in chills, characters, a good set - up and a hugely tense finale .
beyond that, jay - z has long been known to blend musical styles and also has a proven track record of using films as inspiration for compelling creativity. his album american gangster (brought on by the 2008 film of the same name) may have eclipsed its cinematic predecessor in relevancy, even if you agreed with jay’s high regard for the film’s quality (i do). knowing what can happen when jay gets energized adds a whole new level of possibility to the picture, especially when you think of pairing him with a director known for producing impeccable soundtracks .
meanwhile deacon’s attempts to debunk a video as fraudulent also serves to deconstruct the naturalistic fictions of the very found footage we’re watching. deacon’s arguments with grey and mark introduce a dialectic of faith and fakery that is key to our reception of the borderlands itself, as scientific rationalism must compete with both manipulative chicanery and the ineffably, monstrously divine – and superstitions, once dismissed, have a habit of biting back .
the borderlands succeeds in giving logical reasoning as to why there are cameras on all the time as both the house and the church are rigged big brother style and all the team members wear headcams to record first person perspectives. you could argue the case of ‘who has edited this together’, but in a medium that has produced lazily put together farces, it’s commendable that they at least tried and succeeded. the camera set - up creates a very tense atmosphere and are much more preferable to the headcams which produce the annoying shaky shots we’ve become accustom to with this genre .
tim bowman here from west texas a & m university. the following is a “call for book reviews” that i write in my capacity as book review editor for the west texas historical review. our journal is published annually, so any completed reviews of the following titles will be published in next year’s edition of the journal. scholars of the u. s. west, texas, native americans and the u. s. - mexico borderlands should find some of these appealing .
this is a creepy feature that chills your spine solid but the characters are what stick in the mind. deacon is likable but sympathetic, with an interesting back story and thankful moral fibre. gray is blunt in how he speaks occasionally but a real stand - up guy that might remind a few viewers of one of their own mates whilst the avid religious member of the group, priest mark (aidan mcardle) is reliably no nonsense and surprisingly cynical. the dialogue veers from hilarious to actually quite serious and goldner’s grasp of the proceedings is pretty impressive. perhaps some will be left irritated by the film’s lack of answers but more will be left intrigued by what goldner does next and if we might ever see a return to the world of the borderlands, which would be welcome on this evidence .
jennifer: it’s worth noting too, that for a short time the film was actually called ‘the devil lies beneath’ which was a bit more of a commercial title, maybe a bit more on the nose but ultimately we went for the more artistic version which was great. we’re always happy to go with something subtler and not quite so in your face .
it really is. a lot of that is the sound design. martin pavey, who is ben wheatley’s sound designer, did it all, he’s an incredible artist. he added a lot of life to the church, with creaking rafters, and wind, adding things to make it a proper character in the film .
“the housemaid” is an elegantly eerie thriller with the grand gothic style of “dark shadows” before barnabas collins became the star of the show .
more importantly, those who saw the film were less than ecstatic. it’s metascore (via metacritic. com) comes in at 43, implying mixed reviews (but only three points away from being “generally unfavorable”). the great gatsby ’s tomatometer is a woeful 34 percent, and none of the “top critics” give it a positive review .
the beginning of this film is a little bit meandering, but after about twenty minutes the plot starts to move forward at a speedy pace, and it' s not particularly unique, but it' s executed very well. and it also has one of the scariest third acts in the found footage genre. the only people this will really appeal to are big fans of the found footage genre, but it' s a worthwhile watch .
following the priest’s death, deacon and gray find themselves ostracized by townspeople at the local pub. mark terminates the investigation with the vatican’s approval .
it' s always satisfying when a new found footage film is a critical success considering all the shite thrown at the sub - genre (it really is no worse than, i dunno, let' s say the' action' genre), but it' s still finding its feet i guess. these things take time to bed in sometimes .
the inhabitants of the village start to behave with hostility towards the team. 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 .
it really is. the film wouldn’t be what it is without the chemistry that exists between those two. there are a lot of scenes that are straight improv from the two of them. when they’re looking at the map and picking out the different places, gordon, who is a comedian, and has written comedy, is actually being forced to play the straight man by rob, who won’t let him be serious for a minute. they’re a real treat.
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 . it had its world premiere on 24 august 2013 at the london frightfest film festival and centers upon a group of vatican investigators researching an old church rumoured to be the site of a miracle . 
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. it had its world premiere on 24 august 2013 at the london frightfest film festival and centers upon a group of vatican investigators researching an old church rumoured to be the site of a miracle.
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. it had its world premiere on 24 august 2013 at the london frightfest film festival and centers upon a group of vatican investigators researching an old church rumoured to be the site of a miracle.