The Borrower (1991) ***

The Borrower (1991) is one messy, tonally bizarre film but it’s weird, kinda cool, and has some nice gore courtesy of Kevin Yagher and team. While watching this movie I kept thinking how it felt like a remnant of the 80s. Then I noticed in the credits that the copyright is from 1989 and that test footage for the film was shot as early as 1987, only a year after John McNaughton’s previous film, Henry: Portrait Of A Serial Killer (my review here), was released (and also explains why Mädchen Amick has such a small role in a film released after she’d already been in Twin Peaks). 

The Borrower never quite successfully hits its stride, but it’s an interesting sophomore film for McNaughton, after the brutally realistic and downbeat Henry. Recommended for fans of Repo Man (1984), Re-Animator (1985) (my review here), The Hidden (1987) (my review here), Street Trash (1987) (my review here), and Dead Heat (1988) (my review here). 

John McNaughton Feature Films Ranked