Pop culture fandom can be a beautiful thing, offering someone an outlet to explore their interests and much-needed escapism. However, there is a dark side to fandom, as some people are so extreme about their passions, it leads to deadly obsession that can potentially ruin lives. The new thriller Borderline explores this topic, as it deals with a stalker who tracks down a beloved ’90s pop star in the hopes of marrying her. While the film isn’t based on a true story, this type of premise sadly has roots in the real world, which allowed star Samara Weaving (who plays Sofia, the pop star) to tap into her own experiences for her role.
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“Yeah, definitely a bit of that,” Weaving said in an interview with ComicBook when asked if there were any fears or experiences that helped inform her performance. She continued, “I think a pop star in the ’90s, especially a woman, would have to have been so strong and so brave to deal with how the press were treating people back then. Plus, just being in a man’s world and having [a] stalker in the ’90s where they would have to actually come to your house and not just stalk you over the internet, right? Yeah. All of that definitely came into play for sure.”
Borderline is described as, “Cocaine Bear writer Jimmy Warden makes his twisted directorial debut in this edge-of-your-seat thriller that follows a dangerously persistent stalker (Smile 2’s Ray Nicholson) who invades the home of a ‘90s pop superstar (Ready or Not’s Samara Weaving) with grand delusions of a wedding. With her life on the line and help from her loyal bodyguard, she must escape the stalker’s sinister grip before they tie the knot.”
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Without getting into spoilers, Borderline has a particular shot near the end of the film that will leave people talking. Star Ray Nicholson, who plays the stalker, Paul, discussed how that moment came to be during production.
“Jimmy [Warden, the film’s director] had an idea of how to do it, and … we were in the back of a car driving around the same loop, sort of trying to figure it out,” he said. “And it was one of those things that was not planned. It was … honestly divine inspiration. I don’t even know how else to describe it. Like, it’s just one of those moments that it’s not really you and you just totally let go.”
Nicholson also touched on his character’s state of mind during that scene.
“I think that last moment is reality creeping in and then the character’s defense mechanism to push it back out again,” Nicholson said. “I think that is what mental illness is. There’s this truth that I can’t take, and I’d rather push out and be back in the fantasy.”
Music aficionados will recognize that the film’s title is the same as a 1984 Madonna song, which is fitting giving the subject matter. However, Warden wasn’t exactly inspired by her tune — Borderline draws its name more from the Flaming Lips’ cover of the track. After hearing it, it changed his perspective on the story the song tells.
“You’re right that it came from the Madonna song, but it was really from the Flaming Lips’ cover of it because it just ended up telling a different story in my head once I had heard that. You know, from a male perspective of that song is pretty creepy,” the filmmaker said.
Borderline will be released in theaters and on Digital March 14th.
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