An inexperienced driver, a murderer for hire, and an undercover murderer for hire walk into a bar and end up having one unnerving and bloody night in writer/director Andrew Jara’s Borderland. So named for its El Paso setting, Borderland is a low-budget but entertaining crime/murder tale that tackles social nuances of cultural tensions in an approachable way. Previously released to Blu-ray and DVD last year, this month, Borderland is being released to VOD, Amazon, and Roku for additional home-viewing availability.

As an El Paso native, Andrew Jara’s Borderland is a love letter to this director’s hometown. Shots of random street crossings and corners seem to be of no consequence to an outsider, but they are done with as much care as the rest of the movie, making the city’s importance to the director, and the story, more evident as the film unfolds. In a world where crime seems to penetrate every level of society, the script was well written with a cast of shady and shadier characters — a slower-paced Tarantino film, if you will. The film finds its footing once its cast is introduced and its violent characters begin to drop expletives and whip out guns at a moment’s notice. With suspense built by the mystery surrounding its “McGuffin” and themes of torture and violence, Borderlands is actually pretty dark. Surprisingly, Jara also successfully imbues this indie with a great deal of humor, a feat done without taking away from the serious tone of the film.

In the film, a widow of her own making, named Sara (Charlavail Effron), becomes ensnared in the criminal underbelly of El Paso, TX. Indebted to a cartel leader, Sara must work as a driver, shuttling cartel workers around as needed. One night, Sara’s passenger is an imposing stranger (Joe Sinclitico), an unassuming gun-for-hire with the cartel. Transporting him from job to job over the course of one night, Sara becomes further entangled in the cartel’s violence by assisting her passenger to track down the cartel leader’s missing bag of money.

Though Borderland has its promising aspects, its overall average feeling is due to the performances, which for many of the characters come off as monotone and flat. The film is mostly driven by Joe Sinclitico, which may be a result of the majority of the rest of the cast being non-actors. Borderland was saved because Andrew Jara is such a compelling storyteller and director, with more money behind him the output would likely feel more complete. The film’s style is raw, but not exactly in a stylish exploitation/grindhouse kind of way. Borderland could have upped its thriller aspects had it played more with the staging of the torture scenes, but since most of the violence takes place off-camera, the film relies heavily on the mystery and comedic aspects to keep the audience engaged.

Its winding narrative and revolving door of victims and villains make Borderland an entertaining watch, though it is average at best. Quite an accomplishment for a sophomore director, and despite its low-budget aesthetic, it’s Southwest, dry-humored charm fell somewhere along the lines of Pulp Fiction and Collateral. At times, the film does take itself too seriously with weighty, lengthy monologues whose poetic feeling disrupts the thrilling pace the film was going for, but for the most part, Borderland is a well-composed indie that delivers despite its low-budget shortcomings.

MOVIE RATING — 6 out of 10 ☠️