Found footage itself is a difficult genre to get right. Add in a low budget, and the task gets even harder. The main issue is that the film format can get boring very fast if you don’t keep the audience interested, which is what a lot of low-budget found footage films struggle with and what big-budget found footage films can fail at achieving.

Paranormal Activity is an example of a low-budget found footage film with a budget of $15,000, but after it was acquired by Paramount, it had certain scenes re-shot and had their post-production studios work on it, which amounted to an extra $200,000. The Borderlands didn’t have a fraction of that budget.

As with all found footage, there has to be a reason why the cameras are involved. The reason with The Borderlands (2013) is that the main characters are investigators with the Vatican, and the case they previously worked on didn’t get enough evidence, so they have been ordered to film everything, and I mean everything. They wear cameras around their necks and have them set up as CCTV in the home they are staying in for the investigation and set cameras up in the church they investigate.

The plot for the film revolves around investigators for the Vatican who have been ordered to collect evidence for a supposed miracle which was captured in the church which was built in the 13th century and was recently opened back up and was captured on a home video. Strange events start occurring in the village with the locals acting defensively and events getting stranger as they discover a hidden corridor which leads to a strange underground lair.

The ending is a twist which makes this film a brutal one. I won’t spoil it, but it is equal to a very good Shyamalan film. It is a good ending for both characters in a way, as it proves to them what they have been searching for activity which they had been sceptical about for a while.

What works with the film is that it builds the characters up. Both men are slightly sceptical, and one is a believer in spirits and the other isn’t. The priest character is your basic priest, but his behaviour is a bit off, which he blames on the flight he took. It follows the men, and you start to get to know them; you want them to get the evidence they need. You understand the frustration and fear when things kick off, and when everything hits the fan, you care for the characters.

The character development is what helped with the film, as not much happens action-wise until the last twenty minutes of the film. It is one I would recommend you check out.