Borderland

2007 "The Devil's Playground is Just Around The Corner"
5.6| 1h45m| R| en| More Info
Released: 09 November 2007 Released
Producted By: Tonic Films
Country: United States of America
Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
Official Website:
Synopsis

Three college students, Phil, Ed, and Henry take a road trip into Mexico for a week of drinking and carefree fun only to have Phil find himself a captive of a group of satanic Mexican drug smugglers who kill tourists and whom are looking for a group of new ones to prepare for a sacrifice.

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Reviews

UnowPriceless hyped garbage
Limerculer A waste of 90 minutes of my life
Odelecol Pretty good movie overall. First half was nothing special but it got better as it went along.
SanEat A film with more than the usual spoiler issues. Talking about it in any detail feels akin to handing you a gift-wrapped present and saying, "I hope you like it -- It's a thriller about a diabolical secret experiment."
Diane Ruth The sepia toned cinematography in this movie captures expertly the surrealistic, bizarre, and disturbing landscape familiar to anyone who has found themselves running for their lives across it as a hapless tourista. Unflinching truth and unrelenting power is a cinema triumph. Zev Berman directed this essential and enlightening drama from a brilliant script co-penned with Eric Poppen. What they have accomplished with this important film is to expose the unholy dangers Americans face south of the border. Pulling no punches and depicting the horrors in Mexico in graphic detail, this is nothing less than essential viewing for tourists, especially the young who believe they are immortal. This is not a horror film but more a docudrama based in reality and truth. For anyone who has lost a friend or loved one to the violent, carnal, and vicious devil worshipers, drug cartels, and corrupt police of our neighbor down south, the experience of this film will be quite moving indeed. An outstanding cast give superb performances and demonstrate the overwhelming evil of those who prey on vulnerable, innocent victims with impunity. A vital film that serves to awaken a complacent nation to the terrible risks inherent in any senseless southern journey.
jlthornb51 Despite the headlines and many stories like the one this film is based on, some people insist on going to Mexico. Yet Narco terrorists and satanic cults are well know there and a part of everyday life. The police and military are helpless in the face of their unholy power. This motion picture could serve as a documentary regarding satanism south of the border and is horrific to watch. It is disturbing to watch, not only because of the graphic imagery but shockingly there is much truth in what is shown. Frightening, repulsive, violent, but most of all realistic in its depiction of evil Mexican cults preying on young Americans, this is a film that should required viewing by anyone with poor enough judgment that they would actually take the extreme risk of traveling across our southern border without a rifle platoon of U.S. Marines as companions on the trip.
Lechuguilla Three libidinous college dudes from Texas head to Mexico to party, only to find that their bravado and swagger get the attention of a vicious satanic cult that also deals in drugs. It's a dark, dreary story premise transferred to screen through irritatingly revved-up action and lots of gore. Though the script borrowed its idea from the real-life Matamoros Cult Killings of 1989, the film offers very little narrative realism.Our three youthful gringos are all jerks. None of them are worth caring about. They make one stupid mistake after another; but that keeps the plot moving. Character stereotypes abound. The script's first ten pages or so could have been condensed into about three. Plot structure is chaotic. And we never get a sense of where in Mexico we are. A few references to "Mexico City" confuse, it being nowhere near the American border. The "border" seems to refer to anywhere along the two thousand mile stretch of land between Tijuana and Matamoros. But who cares about facts when there's so much visual torture to gawk at ...Cinematography trends dark. That jerky camera gets annoying rather quickly. Background music is highly manipulative. Acting skill is largely irrelevant. What counts here is the ability of a performer, helped along by the makeup and costumes department, to look suitably grungy and/or bloody. As such, these "actors" do a fine job.Though the film advertises itself as based on a real event, that real event involved only one college guy, not three. And the lack of geographic specificity renders the entire production overly generalized. I was expecting a film that stayed closer to the facts of the 1989 incident, not a horror story that looks and feels more fictional than real.
BloedEnMelk This movie kicks off brilliant. It starts right in the middle of a brutal torture and killing scene. Leaving not much to your imagination, which isn't always a good thing, but it really worked for this movie. You better install yourself well before the movie starts, because you will have no time to open that bag of crisps in the first minutes. After this promising start, we meet the protagonists during an outdoor party in Texas, one year after the opening events. One of them (Ed, played by Brian Presley) is the calm and serious type, but two of his friends convince him to go on a short trip to Mexico. We already know that they will meet trouble, so all we have to do is wait for it. Together with some girls they decide to go to a funfair where they take magic mushrooms. This really adds to the chill, as it is not surprising that something must happen during this sensitive state of mind. And so it does, while Ed and Henry party on with their new love interests, Phil decides that he is the fifth wheel on the wagon and takes off. While walking on the streets alone he meets a friendly stranger asking for a light. Phil at that time is totally peaking from the mushrooms and sort of collapses. A car passes by with the friends of the stranger, and they offer him a ride. Which he better had refused. When he comes by, he is tied up and soon finds out that 'he is the special one', but for what he doesn't know. The cult leader is well played by Beto Cuevas. When he appears to Phil he does so in a charming and caring way, which makes it more chilling as we know from the opening sequence what he is capable off. (A critical note here, his tattoos are far too black which makes them look too fake. Real black tattoos turn more to the blue side. And since he had a lot of 'ink', they should have done that better.) At the same time Phil's friends try to find out what happened to him and go to the police, where they are turned down. They soon meet the first-scene-surviving policeman, who brings them on the right track.Some of the cult members are really creepy. I was much impressed by the appearance of the big bald guy Gustavo, played by Marco Bacuzzi. Sean Astin plays an American follower of the cult, and he does so pretty well too. So where did it all get a bit disappointing then? Well, somehow after that real promising start, and after the abduction, it just get's a bit boring. Things could have been worked out better. For example, Ed's girlfriend Valeria is introduced as a tough girl, but in the biggest part of the movie not much is done with that. Also, I am not so sure about the stereo typing. The friendly virgin of the boys gets abducted, the rougher guy eventually turns into tears and becomes the coward, and the good old promising American kid becomes the hero. Hmmm. I don't know, that was just a tiny bit too Christian Heroic for me. Even though the tension rises, it doesn't rise enough. More could have been done with poor Phil awaiting his destiny, more could have been done with the cult, and the same goes for the surviving police guy. It just feels like it goes.. a bit flat. The start is so strong, and then it turns more to a.. well, nothing-special kind of movie. It just didn't hold it's magic on me. I would have liked to know more about this cult, especially because it is vaguely based om real events (the kidnapping and murder of Mark Kilroy, which brought light to a much bigger murder case). Also, after such a strong opening scene, I would have expected that the scene in which Phil meets his fate would have been done much stronger. So, that was quite a disappointment. The abrupt ending also just didn't do it for me. I don't mind abrupt endings, but then at least leave me behind totally stunned. And I wasn't. All in all, Borderland has it's strong moments, but slowly slips into a more run-off-the-mill horror movie. Which is a pity. Still, it has enough of an atmosphere and good moments to not being rubbish.