Line #8 Film/Borderland


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/borderland-by-zev-berman-poster_1017.jpg]]
2	''Borderland'' is a film directed by Zev Berman in 2007.
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4	On a college trip in Mexico a group of friends uncover a religious cult that practices human sacrifice after one of them goes missing.
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6	VeryLooselyBasedOnATrueStory, although more so than other horror films with the same claim; there was a religious cult lead by a man named [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adolfo_Constanzo Adolfo de Jesús Constanzo]] in Mexico City who performed human sacrifices in order to gain protection in his drug deals. He was arrested after murdering a college student on spring break.
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8	It was part of the Creator/AfterDarkHorrorfest film festival.
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10	Not to be confused with the video game, VideoGame/{{Borderlands}}, or the U.K. {{found footage}} horror film ''Film/TheBorderlands'' (''Final Prayer'' internationally).
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12	!!This film provides examples of:
13	* AffablyEvil: Randall is pretty charming for a misogynistic serial killer, at least until you piss him off.
14	* BaldOfEvil: One of the recurring cultists (whom the credits identify as Gustavo, but this is never mentioned in the movie) sports one giving him a sinister skeletal appearance and seems more wicked than some of the other cultists, and the complete lack of hair on his head helps him stand out compared to the shaggy appearance of most of the other members.
15	* BlackAndGrayMorality: WordOfGod says this was the intention of the ending in which[[spoiler: Ed brutally murders Mario, a younger, more innocent cult member despite his pleas for mercy.]]
16	%%zce* ColdBloodedTorture: The cult is fond of this.
17	* CruelMercy: Ulises is left alive by the cult at the beginning of the film but one of his legs is broken and his friend is killed to leave a message about what happens to people who cross them.
18	%%zce* EyeScream: Happens to Ulises' partner in the opening scene.
19	* FinalGirl: [[spoiler: Valeria. Gender-flipped with Ed, who also survives.]]
20	* ForcedToWatch: Ulises is forced to watch his partner tortured and murdered by the rest of the cult.
21	* GenreShift: After the prologue, the film proper has a standard SlasherMovie setup and gradually evolves into a thriller before becoming an action film at the end of its third act.
22	%%zce* AGodAmI: Santillan, the leader of the cult sees himself as this.
23	* GoryDiscretionShot: The film is pretty gory but a lot of the violence happens off-screen and we usually just see the aftermath.
24	* HookerWithAHeartOfGold: Amelia, the young hooker that Phil almost hooks up with.
25	* {{Hubris}}: Santillan considers himself invincible thanks to the sacrifices performed. [[spoiler: He is shot and killed by Ulises moments later.]]
26	* HumanSacrifice: The modus operandi of the cult.
27	* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Henry. He's abrasive, quick to anger (to the point of [[spoiler: impulsively provoking the killers and getting himself shot for his decision]]), gives his friends a lot of shit, but he's not a bad guy overall and certainly didn't deserve [[spoiler: to die as brutally as he did.]]
28	* KissOfDeath: [[spoiler:Santillan gives one to Phil while preparing to sacrifice him.]]
29	* MaybeMagicMaybeMundane: It's never made clear if the cult's sacrifices actually work in shielding them against the police, or if the cops are just actually scared of the threat they pose. It's most likely the latter, as the film has no explicitly supernatural elements.
30	* OffWithHisHead: [[spoiler: We don't see it happen, but at one point Phil is decapitated and his severed head is discovered.]]
31	* PoliceAreUseless: The local authorities are terrified of the cult and refuse to help. Only Ulises proves to be useful.
32	* RedemptionEqualsDeath: [[spoiler: Ulises, the disgraced cop, finally kills the leader of the cult but is shot in the process and dies from his wounds.]]
33	* ReligionOfEvil: Subverted. The film makes clear that Santería and Palo Mayombe have been perverted by the cult for their own selfish purposes and are not evil religions by themselves. Furthermore, as in real life, most of them seem to have been violent people engaged in criminal activities before becoming involved with the cult.
34	* SexAsRiteOfPassage: Phil tries to do this with a young prostitute but stops once he discovers that she has a baby.
35	* SpicyLatina: Valeria played by Mexican actress Creator/MarthaHigareda.
36	* TattooedCrook: Santilian and Gustavo both sport quite the collection of tattoos.
37	* TooDumbToLive: The end credits note that a cult member was caught running a police blockade and claimed that the power of Nganga had made him invisible. [[RealityIsUnrealistic Oddly]], that is one element of the film that is entirely true to life and it is, in fact, how the real-life cult's activities were discovered.
38	* UnholyMatrimony: Appears to be the case between Santilian and his [[TheDragon Dragon]], Anna.
39	* VeryLooselyBasedOnATrueStory: The core of the story (a drug cartel and cult that ritually sacrificed people for "protection" abducted an American college student) is based on the involvement of the Hernandez drug cartel with Adolfo Constanzo and Sara Aldrete. In real life, however:
40	** The disappearance of Mark Kilroy caused an uproar and set off a massive search for him.
41	** Most of Constanzo's prior victims were criminals and members of rival drug families, not average citizens.
42	** Constanzo was not well-known by the authorities, though his criminal associates, the Hernandez drug family certainly were.
43	** The cult was ultimately undone by the [[StupidCrooks Ralph Wiggum levels of stupidity]] exhibited by some of its members.

Context Film / Borderland