Winner of Un Certain Regard at the 2018 Cannes Film Festival, the Swedish film Border (2018; Gräns) might also take the crown for weirdest sex scene in a movie. Directed by Ali Abbasi and based on a story written by John Ajvide Lindqvist, the author of Let The Right One In, which gives an indication of the similar tone and subject matter here. Opening on Tina (Eva Melander), a border guard at a ferry crossing, who with her large forehead and teeth is a visually striking person. Tina also seems to hold a special power – she can smell if someone is trying to smuggle something. She also lives in the woods in a house she owns with a free-loading, dog-loving partner named Roland. One day at work, Tina meets Vore (Eero Milonoff) who looks similar – large forehead and teeth – and there is a connection that she senses, which is teased as he keeps showing up in her life. Eventually Vore reveals the truth – they are not human, they are something else… This is not so much a horror movie, but a dark fantasy grounded in a realistic context, one that looks at the horror that humans create while also working as a coming-of-age story for someone discovering their heritage, both the connection and pain surrounding that. The special effects are effectively unnerving and there’s a dark air of mystery that keeps you watching. Melander and Milonoff are great in their roles, even with the prosthetics that make them completely unrecognisable as actors. Border is a strange and weird movie, freaky but with a heart.
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