Review of The Borderlands, To Fire You Come at Last and The Moor
Midlands Movies writer Matt Tilt headed off for a day of features and shorts at Derby Quad's Darkness in the Fields festival in March 2024. Check out his reviews of the day's short films by clicking here.
But kicking off the day’s features was Paul Duane’s All You Need is Death – an effective and occasionally gruesome horror flick that is steeped in Irish folklore and read Matt's full review by clicking here.. For the rest, continuing reading below!
The Borderlands (2023) Dir. Elliot Goldner
A film that has become something of a modern cult classic in the decade since its release (and is now receiving the special edition treatment from Second Sight Films), The Borderlands had a difficult road to release. Uncredited co-writer Sean Hogan introduced the film, explaining how he was brought onboard to punch up the script after the poor response to the initial cut.
The one positive of that first cut Hogan highlighted was the chemistry between the two leads: Gordon Kennedy as the tortured, cynical Vatican investigator Deacon and Robin Hill as the easily spooked, jovial tech-guy Gray. And it’s really this relationship that makes the film. The banter between the two elevates the first half of the film above its found footage style (which by 2013 was already becoming something of a shorthand for quick, cash grabs).
Deacon and Gray have been tasked to investigate a remote church, which the priest believes is the site of miraculous happenings. Deacon is jaded from his time working for Vatican, quick to point out fakeries, while Gray is burdened with babysitting Deacon, whose past experiences have led to a drinking habit.
Once the scares do start to creep into the story, Goldner resists the urge to rely on jump scares. There are some, but these are primarily played for laughs, jolting a genre-literate audience with non-sequiturs that disarm them and allow the more subtle moments to take effect. The location and the use of analog equipment and sound throughout the story harkens back to Nigel Kneale’s The Stone Tape, and that same sense of ancient horror is imbued here.
However, the success of The Borderlands really does come down to the performances of Kennedy and Hill. Their developing relationship – from begrudging co-workers to friends – feels so real that when the film moves to its finale, the audience are 100% invested in the characters. Add to this one of the most unsettling and claustrophobic endings in recent memory, and The Borderlands more than earns its cult status as one of the best found-footage, nay, one of the best modern horror films. ★★★★★ (5/5)
To Fire You Come at Last (2023) Dir: Sean Hogan
Sean Hogan pulled double-duty at the event, following on his introduction to The Borderlands by introducing his own mini-feature To Fire You Come at Last which was produced by Severin Films. Hogan said that he had already been researching the mythology around corpse roads when Kier-La Janisse approached him – a serendipitous turn of events that led to the creation of this 40-minute black and white piece.
Of all the films shown on the day, this was arguably the most traditional folk horror piece – similarly to The Wyrm of Bwlch Pen Barras earlier in the day, it builds suspense through the unknown as the four characters (Mark Carlisle as Squire Marlow, Harry Roebuck as Holt, Richard Rowden as Pike and James Swanton as Ransley) carry the body of Aldis Marlow for burial.
It's a stunning film. The rich black and white cinematography adds a real depth to the darkness. When characters step out of the small circle of light afforded by the lanterns, they are completely swallowed up and this makes To Fire You Come at Last hugely atmospheric. Hogan is not interested in blatant scares, instead building tension through the dense script, which blends folklore, character backstory and class conflict into a verbose but highly entertaining stew. There are few surprises here; the plot moves towards an ending that has been clear from the outset. The joy here is seeing four excellent actors put their own spin on Hogan’s excellent script work. ★★★½ (3.5/5)
The Moor (2023) Dir: Chris Cronin
Rounding out Darkness in the Fields is Chris Cronin’s feature debut The Moor, working from a script by Paul Thomas. During the introduction to the film, Cronin noted that the original treatment had been in the vein of a found footage movie, something that Cronin had not wanted to do. It’s hard to argue that it was the right decision to strip away that style of horror filmmaking – apparent only in a few key scenes – as The Moor deals with some deeply disturbing material.
Clearly influenced by the crimes of Ian Brady and Myra Hindley, the film deals with the aftermath of a serial killer. Over two decades after the crimes, the killer is behind bars but the bodies of his victims have never been found. Bill (David Edward-Roberts), the grieving father of one of the children killed, has never stopped searching the moors and enlists the help of Claire (Sophia La Porta), who knew his son as a child, as well as the father and daughter psychics Alex and Eleanor (Mark Peachey and Elizabeth Dormer-Phillips).
The film’s strength is its earnestness. Cronin and Thomas treat both the true crime aspects of the story, and the more overt supernatural parts with equal respect. While its similarities to real life crimes are on the nose, The Moor does not revel in detail – a tragedy has happened, at a place that presents its own dangers and mythos.
Performances across the board are excellent, with both Porta and Edward-Roberts portraying the backstories of their characters with subtle expressions, quickly covered up by a determination to find the truth. However, the real standout is Dormer-Phillips, who is tasked with bridging the supernatural parts of the story. Her performance is incredibly mature and subtle – her character is a child forced to see things that they should not have to, but she also brings a certain innocence to the quieter scenes that give the audience a moment to catch their breath.
Cronin himself warned the audience that there would be no definitive answers in The Moor and he was right. While not a bad thing per se, there are some plot threads that are introduced in the very final moments, that are not only unresolved, but which feel thrown together – like there was supposed to be another twenty minutes to continue building up tension. It’s a rare low point in what is a stunning first effort, and those weaker moments in the final act are quickly overshadowed by an absolute gut punch of an ending. ★★★★½ (4.5/5)
Matthew Tilt
Twitter @Matthew_Tilt
