The Borderlands (2013 film)

Synopsis

Three men are sent by the Congregation for the Causes of Saints at the Vatican to investigate reports of supernatural activity in an old, recently reopened church located in a secluded part of the Devon countryside near Newton Abbot: Deacon, a Scottish religious brother with a reputation for scepticism who has debunked several claims of paranormal activity and who is emotionally scarred by a disastrous investigation in Belém, Brazil, a year previously; Gray, an English layman and technology expert hired to document the proceedings; and Father Mark Amidon, a more formal Irish priest who harbours doubts about Deacon.

Gray and Deacon take up residence in a house in a nearby village. Despite Mark, the official leader of the investigation, having not yet arrived, Deacon insists the two make their first visit to the church, where they encounter the local priest, Father Crellick, who claims that a miracle has taken place. Cameras and microphones are placed on the site by Gray, while Crellick shows them footage of objects on the altar mysteriously moving during a baptism of an infant by Crellick. Gray is disturbed by this but Deacon remains sceptical, speculating that a sub-woofer placed somewhere under the altar could be emanating sound waves that would cause the disruption. That night, Mark arrives, leading to tension between him and Deacon. As they settle down to eat, local youths burn a sheep to death outside the men's cottage, greatly disturbing them. Meanwhile, at the church, Father Crellick attempts to pray at the altar, only to be driven off by the sound of a baby crying.

The next day, the three men continue to conduct their investigation. After hearing scratching sounds within the wall, Gray is surprised by a dog outside. His camera equipment also records an old tombstone changing to show his name and dates (with 2013 as his date of death), although he apparently does not notice. Left alone inside the church, Mark traces the sounds to a covered up side panel. As he attempts to enter it, he is disturbed by an unseen force and knocks himself out while escaping. The men retreat to the cottage, where Mark refuses medical assistance, and Gray and Deacon bond when Deacon explains his experiences in investigating miracles. Back at the church, a frantic Crellick prays at the altar while supernatural activity unfurls around him, culminating in the church bell ringing unassisted while religious items are thrown around the church.

The next day, the investigators use a multi-mic radio setup to try to isolate the scratching noise as it moves around the church. The sound of deep growls and whispers is followed by the sound of an infant crying. The crucifix is shaken off the altar in front of the stunned trio. Deacon then spots Father Crellick outside, and suspects he is behind the phenomena. Mark pursues a despondent Crellick up the bell tower to the roof; Crellick questions whether he has witnessed a miracle or something far worse. Inside the church, a crucifix falls from the wall and shatters the figure of Christ mounted on it, and Crellick throws himself to his death before a horrified Mark.

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.

That night, Deacon, unsatisfied with Mark's willingness to relinquish the case, goes alone to the church to investigate further. On the way, he is shadowed by the spectre of the deceased Crellick. Upon entering the darkened church, Deacon traces whispers and creaks to a bookcase by the altar and tears it away to find a door, inscribed with a pagan sigil he has seen in the diaries of the last minister to serve at the church until it was closed in the 18th century. Behind the door, a set of stairs leads down into darkness, and Deacon is assailed by the sounds of a baby crying and Father Crellick's voice wailing in horror, speaking of details of Deacon's last case in Brazil.

In response to this, Deacon brings in his elderly mentor, an Italian exorcist and church history expert from the Vatican, Father Calvino, in an attempt to purify the church grounds. Calvino brings evidence that the church is situated on a site that once played host to human sacrifices to an unnamed pagan deity that was worshipped by the pre-Christian inhabitants of the area centuries ago. He explains that during the founding of Christianity in England, priests would seek out pagan temples, remove the religious icons within, and build churches upon the sites to more easily integrate the pagan locals.

That night, during the exorcism, violent and invisible forces shake the church. The supernatural force knocks out the lights and assaults the men, causing Calvino's eyes to cry blood, while apparently killing Mark. Calvino and Mark's body mysteriously vanish, but Deacon traces Calvino's distant cries to the hidden staircase leading underground. As Gray and Deacon descend into a subterranean labyrinth, they find evidence of child sacrifice as the bones of many infants are found piled against a wall, and they realise that the former minister (who also ran an orphanage) had converted to worshipping the pagan deity that used to be worshipped at the site. Seemingly spotting Mark, who walks into the darkness heedless of their calls, the pair find Calvino's ornamental crucifix on the floor of one of the tunnels. Following the sound of Mark's voice, they crawl through a narrow, foul smelling passageway that suddenly contracts via a membranous material. Turning around to escape back the way they came, they realise with alarm that the entrance has closed too before the tunnel itself begins to move. The walls begin to secrete a powerful digestive enzyme which horribly burns the two men. As their equipment begins to fail and the lights go out, Gray screams in agony and terror while a tormented Deacon recites the Lord's Prayer.

Cast

Reception

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".