You gotta say one thing for director John McNaughton: he certainly hasn't been predictable, having directed horror, comedy, documentary, erotic drama, and even a made-for-TV women in prison flick. For The Borrower, the follow up to his dark, gritty, and critically acclaimed 'Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer', he stays within the horror genre, but still surprises by drastically changing tack to enter cheesy, B-movie territory with the tale of a violent alien creature, banished to Earth in human form, who regularly requires new heads in order to survive.
This hokey story allows McNaughton to indulge in some cool special effects (courtesy of Kevin Yagher), a touch of light hearted humour, and plenty of horror/sci-fi silliness in the vein of The Hidden—and for a while, it looks like his new, fun approach is going to pay off, with the first half-an-hour or so being very entertaining stuff. After the premise has been established, however, the action becomes rather monotonous, with the alien repeatedly swapping heads (allowing several actors to play the monster, including Antonio 'Huggy Bear' Fargas), whilst tough cop Diana Pierce (Rae Dawn Chong) struggles to make sense of the carnage left in his wake.
Towards the end, the film is lifted momentarily by a bonkers scene in which the creature, wearing the head of a dog, attacks and kills a metal-head, but this level of craziness isn't maintained for long—a shame, because this is exactly the kind of lunacy the film needed more of. Instead, the momentum quickly wanes, and the film finishes with a very unsatisfying ending that feels as though no-one could really be arsed to think of anything better.
5.5 out of 10, rounded up to 6 for the dog-headed monster, a bit of dead mouse munching, and a totally gratuitous sex scene.
This hokey story allows McNaughton to indulge in some cool special effects (courtesy of Kevin Yagher), a touch of light hearted humour, and plenty of horror/sci-fi silliness in the vein of The Hidden—and for a while, it looks like his new, fun approach is going to pay off, with the first half-an-hour or so being very entertaining stuff. After the premise has been established, however, the action becomes rather monotonous, with the alien repeatedly swapping heads (allowing several actors to play the monster, including Antonio 'Huggy Bear' Fargas), whilst tough cop Diana Pierce (Rae Dawn Chong) struggles to make sense of the carnage left in his wake.
Towards the end, the film is lifted momentarily by a bonkers scene in which the creature, wearing the head of a dog, attacks and kills a metal-head, but this level of craziness isn't maintained for long—a shame, because this is exactly the kind of lunacy the film needed more of. Instead, the momentum quickly wanes, and the film finishes with a very unsatisfying ending that feels as though no-one could really be arsed to think of anything better.
5.5 out of 10, rounded up to 6 for the dog-headed monster, a bit of dead mouse munching, and a totally gratuitous sex scene.