'Border' ('Gräns') - Movie Review

"Border" (original Swedish title "Gräns") is a fantasy movie (although it initially looks like a modern-day movie about a somewhat unattractive border guard). It's currently (2019-05) available on Netflix, although you never know how long they'll keep these things.

Tina (Eva Melander, well hidden under excellent prosthetics to make her much less attractive than she actually is) is a customs officer with an incredible talent for sniffing out guilt, and thus contraband. She lives out in the woods where she frequently goes for walks, and clearly has a strong connection to nature. Things begin to change for her when a man with a similar appearance to her comes through the customs checkpoint. They become acquainted, and she eventually learns she may not even be human.

Even to tell you that the movie should be classified as "Fantasy" is to give away more than the movie itself meant to: they'd be okay if you thought it was about an unusual looking border guard and her isolated life. But I think it's a bit unfair to send someone into a movie thinking they're getting a drama and have it twist about into fantasy with elements of body horror, because you should have at least an idea so you can select the movies you want to see ... Having said that, I'm not going to say anything else about what happens.

It's a weird movie, well constructed and well acted, and I found it intriguing without actually liking it much. This should be seen by fans of urban fantasy - particularly if you like a touch of horror mixed in, but even if you don't - just because it's so interesting.