The Borderlands

We lack exact figures, but estimate that approximately every 48.9 seconds a budding British film-school hopeful sets out with a camcorder to make his fortune. The results invariably involve sweary gangsters, urban disillusionment or supernatural happenings, and pretty much without exception, they’re completely unwatchable. So when something like ‘The Borderlands’ turns up, we almost feel like cheering. This spiky, intelligent little throat-grabber hails from the supernatural end of the spectrum, using found-footage filmmaking techniques to tell the tale of a pair of priests and one agnostic techie who turn up at a remote country church to investigate claims of paranormal activity. There’s nothing wildly original here, and the gotcha scares get repetitive. But the script is witty, the cast are simply terrific – TV regular Gordon Kennedy and Ben Wheatley regular Robin Hill play off each other magnificently – and the climax is nailbitingly nasty. It’s not quite in the Wheatley ‘Kill List’ league, but ‘The Borderlands’ marks first-time director Elliot Goldner as one to watch.