"Borderland"
Based (pretty closely in some places, not at all in others) on a true crime story about a bunch of drug running Mexicans who performed witchcraft rituals to protect their trade by sacrificing people, including a young American student.
Opening with a full on nasty bit of torture/mutilation the film then takes it's time (with no gore at all) building up three likeable main characters as they party heart at a Mexican border town before one of them is kidnapped by the drug cartel.
From then on we switch back and forth between the remaining two friends trying to track their friend down and the kidnapped lad at the gang's ranch. And aside from a couple of moments there is little horror or gore as the film basically becomes a thriller.
The fim could have done with a few edits here and there to tighten this part of the film up as it does play out slowly, even though something is always going on, but at least we get to really care about the characters when the brutality starts back up.
And it's a clever screenplay indeed that can keep an audience today surprised at what is going to happen, when it's going to happen or even if something will happen at all. As such the suspense is expertly crafted as things get slowly more nasty.
Some good shocks, some very well done gore by KNB (some nasty machete violence, limb hacking, torso chopping, eyeball gouging, body parts), good performances, a serious and generally well crafted script (if in need of a bit of editing), excellent cinematography and spot on editing and direction all help to make "Borderland" a very good thriller/horror hybrid movie that has a cloying atmosphere and a brutal streak that brings to mind 70's exploitation.
Well worth a look.
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