THE BORDERLANDS, aka FINAL PRAYER: A delicious Gothic horror

It is worth knowing whom to read and listen to, especially when it comes to horror—a genre still often treated with a degree of disregard by many. THE BORDERLANDS aka FINAL PRAYER
At the moment, my number one choice is the British critic Mark Kermode, a writer for The Observer and co-host of a film radio show on BBC Radio 5 Live, excerpts of which, including video reviews, can easily be found on YouTube. Not only is he capable of evaluating a film’s merits with precision and insight in just a few sentences, but he also has the ability to pique the viewer’s interest in a title that might initially seem unappealing. Kermode speaks about the complexity of cinema in simple terms, and when he dislikes a film, he is able to ridicule it in the most acerbic way possible.
I do not always agree with him, but even then, listening to and reading his reviews is pure pleasure and, above all, a lesson in viewing cinema from a completely different perspective. He is also a devoted fan of horror, which makes me value his opinion even more—as someone who knows, respects, and truly understands the genre (it is no coincidence that he considers The Exorcist the greatest film he has ever seen). It was thanks to him that I discovered the fantastic adaptation of M.R. James’s short story, Whistle and I’ll Come to You, directed by Jonathan Miller, that I learned to appreciate William Friedkin’s Bug, and that I realized I was not alone in enjoying Karyn Kusama’s Jennifer’s Body. Kermode also introduced me to The Borderlands also known as Final Prayer.
The story is set in the English countryside, where two men from the city are sent by the Vatican to investigate a small church. Gray (Robin Hill) is a technician who sets up and installs electronic equipment both in the church and in their temporary accommodation. He is loud, tactless, and works not out of conviction or faith but purely for the money. He constantly wears a head-mounted camera to document everything and tries hard to teach his partner, Deacon (Gordon Kennedy), to do the same. Deacon is supposedly a clergyman, but he hardly looks like a priest—he dresses in civilian clothes, enjoys drinking, and, above all, is filled with doubt. He questions the supposed miracles he investigates, looking for human intervention rather than divine presence. When the two are sent to report on an incident with signs of the supernatural, it is the non-believing Gray who immediately perceives the presence of supernatural forces, while Deacon tries to debunk the claim. Soon, however, mysterious and disturbing events begin to shift Deacon’s skepticism, and what the local priest interprets as divine intervention starts to resemble something much darker.
Shot in the found-footage style, this British horror film, directed and written by Elliot Goldner, follows a structure similar to the many exorcism-themed films that flooded the market in the past decade, though here it is not a person who is possessed, but a place. Once again, representatives of the Church are sent to investigate an alarming case, and once again, their initial skepticism is gradually replaced by belief in its authenticity. However, The Borderlands modifies this familiar formula in two key ways. First, the main characters do not resemble “men of God” in the slightest, even when they are joined by Father Mark (Aidan McArdle), the overseer of the investigation, whose bureaucratic nature prevents him from truly engaging with the problem. For a while, their interactions are even more interesting than the case they have come to investigate (a supposed divine intervention captured on video during a baptism ceremony).
But Deacon immediately tries to discredit the alleged miracle, having been burned by a past case, and Mark—aware of Deacon’s history—is more interested in keeping his colleague in check than in conducting an objective evaluation. Gray, on the other hand, jumps to conclusions about the authenticity of the events before the investigation has even begun, making him an unreliable voice. One scene confirms this perfectly: while Gray’s head-mounted camera captures something eerie, he himself remains oblivious, too preoccupied with his own antics. A gravestone he had previously noticed suddenly bears his name and, moments later, the inscription changes, replacing his details with another identity. By this point, we are certain that what is happening on screen is real, but that does not necessarily make Gray the wisest character in the film.
The second reason Goldner’s directorial debut is both similar to and different from recent exorcism-themed horrors is more straightforward. The focus of the investigation is not just the church where the supposed miracle occurred, but also the priest who summoned them and insists that the event was divine. Father Crellick (Luke Neal) is young, zealous, and completely convinced that God Himself has manifested His presence through unexplained noises, the church bell ringing on its own, and candlesticks falling from the altar. Deacon believes the priest to be a fraud attempting to draw more parishioners to his church, though in reality, the incident is more likely to alienate the local community than to encourage attendance. If Crellick is “possessed” by anything, it is his unshakeable faith in God. However, his faith appears genuine, raising an intriguing question: is the investigation actually attacking the very thing these men are supposed to be defending? Instead of uncovering the cause of the disturbing incidents, they focus their energy on proving the priest’s guilt, despite the fact that his conscience is clear—though his behavior suggests a degree of fanaticism.
Goldner’s script touches on themes related to the modern Church’s reluctance to acknowledge potential miracles, though it never pretends to be a serious commentary on the subject. Especially as events soon escalate—local teenagers burn a sheep outside the investigators’ lodging, they discover the journal of a former priest warning them to leave, and Father Crellick spends his nights praying under the altar in a profoundly eerie atmosphere. In the final thirty minutes, the film transforms into a full-fledged horror, with characters venturing into the haunted church more often at night than during the day, their flashlight beams revealing just enough to let the audience’s imagination fill in the terrifying gaps. There are some predictable and clichéd moments, including an exorcism attempt, but as the story nears its climax, the dread intensifies. The final scenes are remarkably effective—not as terrifying to me as they were to Kermode, but certainly enough to leave me in stunned silence.
This is not a film that will appeal to all horror fans—it has a rather slow pace, its ambitions ultimately boil down to gothic horror theatrics, and those seeking concrete answers will be disappointed, as the climax presents a series of shocking images without offering any explanations. However, the way the director handles the chosen format is admirable. Thanks to the use of multiple cameras, shifting perspectives, and excellent editing, I eventually stopped thinking of The Borderlands as a found-footage film and became fully engrossed in the story. The atmosphere is reminiscent of classic horror literature, where the protagonists’ investigation in an eerily antiquated setting leads to a terrifying, almost inhuman revelation. The film carries the spirit of authors like H.P. Lovecraft, Algernon Blackwood, and M.R. James, though it does not borrow from any one of them directly.
Credit for this discovery goes to Mark Kermode, and I hope that those interested will not only find a way to watch The Borderlands (the DVD can be easily ordered from Amazon UK—the cost, including shipping, is lower than a cinema ticket) but also check out what the British critic has to say about other films.