'Borderline' Review: Samara Weaving’s Pop Star Horror Thriller Falls Flat
- Jack Ransom
- Sep 8
- 2 min read
By Jack Ransom - September 8, 2025
Debut feature from director Jimmy Warden. Borderline sees a world-famous pop star (Samara Weaving) taken hostage in her Los Angeles home by an obsessed fan (Ray Nicholson) who believes they are destined to marry. As he transforms her house into a twisted wedding venue, she must rely on her bodyguard (Eric Dane) to escape before it's too late.
One that released a while ago in the States and only now is receiving a UK digital release. The pop star centric horror/thriller sub-genre is certainly still prevalent after last year’s solid Trap and the banger that was Smile 2 (also starring Ray Nicholson), however despite campy, over-the-top performances and a few laughs Borderline is a messy, undercooked and familiar feeling 90 minutes that could have been better.
Despite being the crux of his obsession (and what the poster would have you believe) Paul (Nicholson) and Sofia (Weaving), don’t particularly share that much screen time together. Instead the film messily mishmashes three simultaneous scenarios occurring at once: Paul prepping the wedding and partaking in cliched psycho montages, Sofia fending off Paul’s prison/asylum escape buddy Penny (Alba Baptista) and her bodyguard’s family being kidnapped. Whilst the campiness and energy spikes at times, it just feels too mismatched and undercooked overall and I dare I say dull at points even at just over 90 mins.
Stylistically the film does have somewhat of a streaming sheen to it, though it has a slick flair to the cinematography and there is some fun editing beats and transitions. The score is unique and vibey, with a mix of ambient, chilled beats, to indie pop and rock. There are also gnarly bursts of practical splat and a couple of scrappy punch ups (particularly between Sofia and Penny).
The characters are significantly undercooked and we don’t get too much backstory or anything to really latch onto. Samara Weaving delivers very much the same vibe as her Ready or Not performance and Ray Nicholson hams it up to 100 giving his all as Paul. Eric Dane’s straight-faced yet loyal security guard, Jimmie Fails deadpan yet caring Rhodes and Alba Baptista and Patrick Cox’s cartoonish yet brutal back up to Paul also deliver solid performances.
Final Verdict: A Messy but Occasionally Fun Thriller
Despite a fun premise, enthusiastic performances and a smattering of laughs and creative moments, Borderline unfortunately hits a consistently mediocre and messy pattern of clashing tones, a lack of character investment and plenty of familiar plot beats that you will have seen before.
'Borderline' is now available in the UK on digital platforms. Find it on Prime Video.
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