This is a B movie. Okay. It's not like this is classic cinema or anything. But as far as a B-movie goes---it delivers. Totally original plot. Very imaginative with aliens and rednecks thrown in for good measure! My favorite part is the interogation of the poaching redneck whose father was killed by the alien to "borrow" his head. If that piece doesn't make you laugh, your funnybone is mummified. Rae Dawn Chong (and her partner) stars as a couple of detectives who try harder than Little Leaguers to play this comedy with a straight face. If you want Shakespeare look somewhere else. But if you want some belly laughs, this is the place!
August 8, 2006 |  | Empty headed (literally) but OK time killer |  |
An alien criminal is banished to Earth in human form, the worst punishment they can hand out (haha). The only hitch is the alien must change heads frequently ("borrowing" them) because if the creature keeps the same head for a certain period of time it explodes, so soon a number of headless bodies are littered through the city. Homicide cops Diana Pierce (Rae Dawn Chong) and Charlie Krieger (Don Gordon)are handed the assignment of catching the murderer.
THE BORROWER is a reasonably good B movie from John McNaughton, director of HENRY: PORTRAIT OF A SERIAL KILLER and WILD THINGS. The acting is bad, ditto the dialogue and the plot is weak; but on the plus side there are good FX by Kevin Yagher and atmospheric production. THE BORROWER features exploding head scenes to rival SCANNERS and DAWN OF THE DEAD and a stupid ending with a set up for a possible sequel which thankfully hasn't materialised. But I still think the best thing about this movie is the tag line: "An Alien Killer Gets A Head! Don't lend him anything you can't afford to lose!"
March 6, 2003 | | Gonzo wacked SF horror splatfest | |
That about sums it up. Alien that originally resembles huge bug needs a new head when it transmogrifies into a humanoid, which it does 'cause it has to go to earth 'cause it's being chased by others of its kind...I think...uh, is that right? I forget. Anyway, it lands on earth with a shaky kind of, you know, head in its humanoid form and right after it steps out of its, uh, craft, its head blows up. Needs a new one. Gets it from a poor stupid lowlife slob type, sticks it on its "neck".
That works for a while. But not for long. Head keeps blowing up. Always needs a new one. Meanwhile, you got your, you know, cops investigating these headless corpse murders and stuff like that and one of them is Rae Dawn Chong and if I knew she was the cop on the case, I'd commit a crime any day, pardner.
Best bit is when the alien, who's a, you know, white humanoid, puts poor old Antonio Fargas' head on its white body and then very soon after, voila! The alien is suddenly black--not only its head, but the rest of it. Guess the director, good old John McNaughton, forgot about the continuity thing or something.
Good for a few laughs. Not a great movie by any stretch, but not a bad way to kill an evening. Drink some beer and eat pretzels and like that. Or peanuts. Yeah. Me, I prefer health food snacks. Go figure. November 2, 2002
| | | A mixed bag that borrows an interesting concept | |
Director John McNaughton followed up his unbelievably scary and realistic debut film "Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer" with this mixed bag mixture of horror and science fiction. The movie borrows its concept from the superior film "The Hidden" in which an alien on earth jumps from body to body, killing its victims in the process. The concept itself is interesting and the movie shows some promise and some humor early on. Ultimately, however, McNaughton loses his way toward the end and it becomes just another low budget horror flick. "The Hidden" remains the best movie based on this particluar concept.
June 15, 2001 | | Weirdly Funny, Intelligent, and a Social Commentary | |
I would definitely recommend this film to anyone that considers himself an avid movie buff. The locales where the film was shot (S California), does not look it - we see bleak cityscapes, violent people, dirty bars and streets...almost Apocalyptic. Watch for wonderful, tongue-in-cheek direction by John McNaughton (Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer - one of the best chiller movies ever!), good special effects by Kevin Yagher, and excellent acting by Tom Towles (also in Henry:...). All in all, a very absorbing and at times funny, disturbing, cheeky, and often-shocking film of an Alien gone bad in a bad, bad planet - ours!
July 28, 2000More reviews at Amazon.com ...
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