Love can make a person do crazy things.
But what if that person was already fitted for a straitjacket instead of a tux?
In the new horror-comedy Borderline, starring Samara Weaving, we see what happens when someone will literally do anything to be with the woman of their dreams—even if it means stalking, kidnapping, and forcing her to marry them.
Be warned: this is no rom-com.
It’s what happens when love becomes obsession.
A film filled with wedding vows, hallucinations, and an RSVP to absolute madness.
Spoilers Below:
You’ve been warned.
Now make sure you’ve got something old, something new, something borrowed, and something blue—and if you have any objections… speak now or forever hold your peace.
Borderline opens at what appears to be the end of this whirlwind “love” story. We see Sofia happily marrying her stalker, Paul—leaving us to question and wonder, how in the hell did this just happen? Did crazy really get the girl? Is this more of a Stockholm syndrome situation?
But this is only a glimpse into the messed-up future.
So if this is the end, let’s see how we get there.
We’re taken back to the beginning of the story, where we’re properly introduced to Paul—the film’s resident stalker and psychopath. A man who believes Sofia, the multi-talented actress and singer, is in a relationship with him. A man who is clearly deranged.
And it doesn’t take us long to learn that this crazy is also dangerous. Paul shows up at Sofia’s place to profess his undying love… by asking for her hand in marriage. Is this our meet-cute moment? Or is it the moment we realize Paul isn’t just delusional—he’s violent?
Because in an act of full-blown insanity, he stabs Sofia’s bodyguard, Bell, then casually makes himself at home inside her mansion. After all, in his mind… he already lives there.
Cut to six months later. Sofia is now dating Rhodes, a professional basketball player—who, we later learn, unbeknownst to him, is actually a pawn in a twisted behind-the-scenes Hollywood deal. And to make matters worse? He wasn’t even the first choice.
At the same time, we’re hit with the revelation that Bell survived the attack and is now coming back to work. And if you needed more proof that Paul was a different brand of broken—we also learn that he called the cops on himself that night.
It might look like everyone’s lives are getting back to normal. But really? It’s the calm before the storm.
Because Paul has escaped the Mental Hospital he’s been safely locked away in for the past six months.
And this time… he didn’t come alone.
He managed to break out with fellow patient Penny Dorson—a woman who might actually be more dangerous than Paul. And together, along with a third accomplice, J.H., the three of them are plotting to give Paul his happy ending.
But before they can do that, all the players need to be in place. After all, you can’t have a wedding without a bride or a complete wedding party. And you definitely can’t have a ceremony without someone to officiate.
So, the plan is simple: make the guest list, eliminate the obstacles, and kiss the bride—whether she wants to or not.
That means breaking into Sofia’s—again, this time holding her hostage—by a deranged Penny, who seems more hell-bent on doing a duet with her than actually seeing her marry Paul. That also means kidnapping Bell and his family, and a poor, unsuspecting priest.
In the process, we learn that Paul’s obsession started years ago—during a Sofia concert where his girlfriend collapsed and died. From that night forward, he didn’t just see Sofia as a crush. He saw her as replacement. Delusion, grief, and obsession all rolled into one nightmare no one saw coming.
And if things weren’t twisted enough? Paul is so far gone down the rabbit hole that he starts seeing everyone as Sofia—including Rhodes.
So, when the ceremony starts, who will be in attendance? Who will be standing up at the altar? And after both parties say “I do,” who will be left alive to throw the confetti?
Because this is certainly going to be one hell of a wedding—where the words “till death do us part” take on a whole new meaning.
When one sees Samara Weaving’s name on a title card, it’s safe to assume at this point you know this movie is about to be batshit crazy, and you know no one is coming out clean or with their sanity—if they even survive at all.
We’ve seen it in her films—Mayhem, Guns Akimbo, Ready or Not, even The Babysitter.
So when writer/director Jimmy Warden—the same twisted mind behind Cocaine Bear and The Babysitter: Killer Queen—needed a lead to carry this brand of chaos, there’s no better person to turn to than his wife, Samara Weaving, the queen of insane horror comedies.
The only issue with Borderline and this brand of crazy is that it feels like the film steps on the gas early… but never floors it.
Early on, the energy is unpredictable—in a good way. Mostly thanks to Ray Nicholson, who plays Paul Duerson like he’s this close to stepping into full American Psycho territory. It’s crazy hiding behind a smile, and it’s working.
But following that, it’s like the film is trying to save its gas. It’s not idling, it’s still driving at insane speeds, but something about it takes the edge off—and I feel that’s largely due to Samara Weaving, who delivers a different approach than we’re used to. She plays a role that is not suited for her, and it’s only later in the film when Samara rips off this almost egotistical persona and lets loose that the film hits its stride. It’s like, why would you cage something you know can go full boar? And by the time you let it out, the film’s more than three-quarters done.
That’s not to say the film doesn’t have its moments where the chaos spikes—usually anytime Penny (Alba Baptista) is on screen. She makes Paul’s crazy seem dull in comparison. It’s clear she gets the assignment. It’s a film about a stalker trying to marry his obsession—give me insanity.
Which she brings in spades. Whether it’s attacking a security guard, kidnapping a priest, or—in a real WTF moment—breaking out into a duet with Weaving to sing a Meat Loaf song. It’s also her insanity that brings out the best performance in Weaving. To the point it becomes “I would rather watch a movie about these two” over Paul.
Where the film stumbles hardest is in how far it lets Paul fall. His obsession with Sofia becomes so detached from reality that he starts seeing everyone as her—including Rhodes—while not even recognizing the actual Sofia.
While admittedly this does make for some funny scenes at the wedding (like him telling her, “Ma’am, I need you to sit down, this isn’t your day”), this moment is ridiculous by design—played for laughs, and while it mostly works, it also strips the character of some narrative punch.
And that’s the problem—this movie could have gone way further off the rails. It hints at it. It teases it. But it rarely turns the dial all the way up. With the exception of Penny, it coasts on crazy.
Now, to be fair—maybe that’s intentional.
Borderline is loosely based on the real-life Madonna stalking case from the ’90s, during which a stalker threatened to kill her if she didn’t marry him. And taking that into consideration… yeah, that tracks.
Especially since Rhodes is clearly giving off Dennis Rodman vibes. I mean, hell—the dude literally has yellow hair like Rodman used to sport, and at times, he’s wearing women’s clothing—including a wedding dress.
Either way—whether it was designed to live in a version of reality or just didn’t have the ability to turn the dial all the way up—Borderline is still a film that will leave you spiraling down the aisle.
It’s stupid. It’s absurd.
And it’s packed with just enough WTF moments to make it the kind of movie you absolutely want to watch with friends. The more, the better.
So while this is unlikely to be the movie you remember Samara Weaving getting married in, it sure as hell needs to be on your list somewhere. So make sure you RSVP to this wedding and bring your plus one—because this is one wedding bouquet you’re going to want to catch.
Borderline is currently available on iTunes, Amazon, Google, Rakuten, and Sky Store.
