SXSW Film

Borderland

D: Zev Berman; with Brian Presley, Jake Muxworthy, Rider Strong, Sean Astin, Beto Cuevas, Damián Alcázar, Martha Higareda

"This is freaky," director Berman warned, "so if you are at all sensitive, please: This is not for you." While the story of three college-bound teens crossing the Texas border into Mexico for a weekend of debauchery gone horribly awry is cringe-worthy, the gore's nowhere near what today's desensitized audiences are used to (Saw, Hostel, Dead Alive). Based on the Matamoras cult killings of 1989, Borderland capitalizes on the teen-slasher format without hamming it up too much. The result: nothing spectacular, but still enough to fill a theatre at midnight with gorehounds and horror lovers. Saved by its amazing, desaturated cinematography (and a trippy, 'shroomed-out carnival scene), the Tijuana-shot Borderland's possible straight-to-DVD future might be perfect for late-night movie lovers and venues like the Alamo. Really: Who doesn't love machete-toting Mexicans stalking frat boys at strip clubs?