Borderline (2025) | Film Review

When this one was sent my way for review, I'll be honest I was intrigued. The premise sounded promising, the trailer looked fun and I'm a fan of Samara Weaving. Even more so I was interested in seeing more of Ray Nicholson after he popped up in one of the more memorable moments in Smile 2 (2024).

Borderline follows a dangerously persistent stalker (Nicholson) who invades the home of a ‘90s pop superstar (Weaving) with grand delusions of a wedding. With her life on the line and help from her loyal bodyguard, she must escape the stalker’s sinister grip before they tie the knot. 

***SPOILERS AHEAD***

Written and directed by Jimmy Warden (Cocaine Bear, The Babysitter), the film follows Paul Duerson (Ray Nicholson), a 'fan' obsessed with 90s pop star Sophia (Samara Weaving) believing he's marrying her. The film is loosely based on the real-life stalking case Madonna encountered in 1996. A man was later caught, convicted and sentenced to 10 years in prison for 'stalking and threatening the life of pop-star Madonna'.

I mean that alone, is pretty terrifying. I'd say this film is more inspired by it, with it taking a more light hearted approach to the subject matter whilst poking fun at the utter ridiculousness of the entire situation . Let me this review begin by saying Borderline is a slightly misleading title, as Nicholson has lost his f*cking mind in this.

Borderline (2025) | Film Review

The film opens with the backstory of how Paul became institutionalised. Paul ends up stabbing Sophia's security guard, played by Eric Dane, and leaves him for dead before calling the police on himself. Sets the bar for the rest of the film nicely. The film and subject matter are incredibly messed up to say the least, but the film tackles it well. From there we fast-forward 6 months, Weaving's moved on, her bodyguard Bell has recovered and is returning to work and Paul Duerson has just broken out. He's of course created this plan to marry Sophia, which he then attempts to execute (pun intended).

There's a great mix of comedy and horror throughout the entire film, and I found myself laughing at a few questionable moments. The film's well shot with some really nice long shots, few wonderfully lit moments and some well placed quick cuts in an attempt to convey what's going on in Paul's head.

It may be cos I'm a 90s kid, but I really enjoyed the soundtrack for this. Thought they were well used and complimented the film nicely. With Weaving's character being pop star it's nice to see the film had a great soundtrack to go along with the film. Even the more recent ones (and older ones) that appear on the soundtrack have that glorious 90s vibe to them- Petey's Lean Into Life to end the film was a great touch.

As I said above there's some fantastic comedic moments throughout. There were a few that I'd say stood out. The duet/fight scene between Sophia & the psychotic Penny (Alba Baptista) was great. Leaned into the true madness and utter absurdity of the entire film in that one scene, and bloody nailed it! Would've been cool to see more of Penny- she was probably more dangerous than Paul in this. But, a great kill and equally great death scene- the meat thermometer was a fun touch.

The all singing and dancing police officer who was more concerned with his audition tomorrow morning than actually doing his job was hilarious. The ending was a bit ridiculous, but I thought it worked. You could truly see how far gone Paul actually was. As Penny says in the film- "his elevator doesn't reach the top floor."

The cast were great, stand out was Nicholson. It looks like he had fun with this and made it his own. Must be something in the Nicholson genes, but very much like his old man, he can play a nutcase disturbingly well. He was a joy to watch in this film, and had some fantastic one liners. Make sure you watch the end credits; fascinating just watching Nicholson as this character. There's a very realistic uneasy sense of not knowing what he's going to do next there whenever he's on screen. It's pretty terrifying when you actually think about it. Even more messed up that he's pretty likable, and you may find yourself feeling bad for him.

Samara Weaving gives a convincing performance as Sophia; was a bit odd for me to watch. I usually like her characters and root for them, but Sophia's an insufferable bitch for most of the film- kudos to Weaving. The obsession with fame, money and vanity makes you hate her a bit to be honest. The typical diva type, so to speak- think J-Lo, Mariah Carey or Madonna. Some re-deeming features by the end but nothing major, and nothing to really excuse the way she's probably acted her entire life. Hopefully she'll change for the better- it's certainly implied.

Supporting cast were good as well. Eric Dane as Bell was decent casting and he was surprisingly funny. Jimmie Fails was decent, as was Alba Baptista, Yasmeen Kelders & Catherine Lough Haggquist. I will give honourable shout out to Patrick Cox as Paul's friend J.H. Calhoun- he was the gift that kept on giving. Imagine hiring one of the Chuckle Brothers or one of the Three Stooges as a bodyguard and you'll get the idea.

The film featured one or two decent deaths/gory moments, but if you're hoping for something more like Terrifier you'll be disappointed. It's not that type of film. There were a few moments I felt dragged (the scene Sophia & Rhodes go to a nightclub for example) and didn't really add anything to the film. Could've been tightened or cut completely and it may have helped. There's not out and out character development for everyone in the film, but there's enough to keep you invested. It's an entertaining film to be fair.

Overall, it's an enjoyable film that delivered for me. Whilst there's elements of horror, I'd say this is more in comedic thriller territory with some kick-ass performances. I was quite fascinated watching Nicholson slowly descend from mad to absolutely insane over the course of 90 minutes. This one is worth a watch.

Borderline will be available on digital platforms in the UK from September 8th.