Stream It Or Skip It?

Do you ever feel like someone is…watching you? But only while strangely upbeat 90’s jams play in the background. No? Well, no matter — The new Peacock exclusive horror-thriller-comedy Borderline (2025) will show you what that feels like. The film follows a delusional stalker who believes that he is engaged to be wed to a world-famous pop star, and will stop at nothing to tie the knot. This is the directorial debut of Cocaine Bear writer Jimmy Warden, so audiences may expect a similar balls-to-the-wall thriller with enough sheer insanity to make them laugh and keep them on the edge of their seat at the same time. Lucky for us, Borderline more than delivers on this front.

The Gist: Like any good story, we begin with the ending: Paul Duerson (Ray Nicholson, son of Jack Nicholson) stands at the altar with the love of his life. Until Paul’s voice-over cuts in and rewinds us back to our starting point.

The year is 1990-something, and pop sensation Sofia (Samara Weaving) is everywhere. We see Paul waltzing through town in his Sunday best holding a single red rose. He reaches the doorstep of Sophia’s McMansion, and Sofia’s bodyguard Bell (Eric Dane) answers the door. Bell knows who Paul is and firmly tells him to get lost. Paul responds by pulling a knife on himself. Bell tries to de-escalate, but somehow it leads to Paul thinking Bell is Sophia? And then proposing to him?? Bell goes along with Paul’s delusions hoping to calm him down — but takes a swift knife to the gut when Paul goes in for a hug. As Bell bleeds out on the pavement, Paul breaks into the empty mansion and goes full Risky Business.

Six months later, all seems well: Paul is confined to a mental asylum, Sofia is canoodling with famous basketballer Rhodes (Jimmie Fails), and Bell is back on the job after recovering from his near-fatal injury. But soon, it’s all over the news — Paul, along with perky French psycho Penny (Alba Baptista), broke out of the loony bin. This time, Paul is dead set on making this wedding happen, bringing Penny and his heavily armed friend J.H. (Patrick Cox) along for reinforcements. With their family and friends in danger, Bell and Sophia must do everything they can to escape Paul’s grasp before this wedding day turns into someone’s funeral.

What Movies Will It Remind You Of?: Opus is another off-the-wall thriller centering on a pop star’s life being really, really weird. See also: Smile 2 (which, we should note, also co-starred Nicholson). For something else starring Weaving, The Babysitter: Killer Queen gets just as bloody as Borderline while maintaining a similar darkly goofy tone.

Performance Worth Watching: Nicholson is in his element playing a delightfully deranged stalker. He’s funny, sincere in his insanity, and just the right amount of creepy — especially when he calls Sophia “ladybug.” Shudders.

Memorable Dialogue: Penny forces Sofia into a duet and begins playing “It’s All Coming Back To Me” on piano:

Sophia: I didn’t even write this song.

Penny: I know, because this song is good.

Sex and Skin: None.

Our Take: To get it out of the way, the film isn’t perfect. Its ’90s setting and Sophia’s status as a pop star surprisingly come into play very little, aside from some classic ’90s needle-drops and a brief non-plot about Sophia being a shallow celebrity. This feels like a missed opportunity on the film’s part — you’d think the film would showcase Sophia’s level of ’90s pop stardom, with her dodging paparazzi, dealing with crazy fans, or at least singing at a concert. But no — aside from some shots of her in magazines at the beginning, Sophia might as well be a random rich lady in a completely nondescript time period.

Also, even though she’s the sole object of Paul’s obsession, Sophia is pretty bland as a character. Weaving plays her well, especially in her desperate moments, but she’s not particularly compelling, endearing, or clever when trying to escape her captors. If she had the charisma or even just the vibe of someone like Britney Spears, it would make her much more interesting to follow. But as it is, she just feels like a blank slate for Paul to project his delusion onto.

But you’re not really watching this movie for Sophia anyway — you’re watching it for the wacky violence and Paul’s twisted antics. All those upbeat ’90s needledrops put the icing on the cake when Paul or one of his henchmen need to gleefully bash someone’s head in, making for action with humor and a delightful amount of gore. Although the film is a bit more of a comedy than a horror-thriller, it knows when to shut down the laughs and turn up the tension when it needs to, especially when Bell’s young daughter is being threatened by one of Paul’s goons or when Paul creeps up on Sophia in her home.

And let’s just talk about Paul for a second. What a hilarious, sad, creepy, and deeply unwell character. The genius of it all is his sincerity. There’s no devilish grin, no winking to the camera to indicate “hey, look at me, I’m evil and I know it.” Paul genuinely believes he is innocent, that Sophia is his fiancé who he’s loved for years, and any attempt to communicate the reality of the situation to him just doesn’t compute. This is what makes his behavior equal parts funny and seriously unsettling, because it’s just so incongruent with all the stabby murder stuff happening in the background. His lack of mental clarity also leads to some wild WTF moments, like someone ending up in a wedding dress who is NOT Sophia. The comedic tone of the film may bar Paul from delivering a true fright, but he’s just so fun to watch that you won’t even care.

Our Call: Despite its flaws, Borderline is worth a watch just for the wild antics of Paul and his goons alone. It’s a gore-tastic riot that already feels like a cult classic. And it’s just plain fun to watch. STREAM IT!