The Borrower

A schizophrenic straddle between properly gory horror and something of a comedy, and I have no idea where the mistake was, coming from the maker of a very critically acclaimed debut, that neither the horror nor the comedy works. Yes, I was amused by the clumsy movement of the space scumbag, with the movement varying depending on what kind of "borrowed" (read cut off) head he was wearing at the time, the ridiculous rat in the soup scene made me laugh, and the homeless scenes were as decadent as in the cult classic Street Trash, but otherwise it's a waste, an unfunny and chaotic waste. How the scenes are composed (for example the utterly woeful final deal with the alien), plus the dull dialogue, it's not worthy of John McNaughton's reputation. (23.03.2024)