Border (2018)

Director: Ali Abbasi
Stars: Eva Melander, Eero Milonoff, Jorgen Thorsson
Runtime: 110 minutes

Synopsis: A customs officer who can smell fear develops an unusual attraction to a strange traveler while aiding a police investigation which will call into question her entire existence.

Performances: 8/10
Screenplay: 9/10
Costumes/Makeup: 10/10
Editing: 8/10
Cinematography: 7/10
Score/Soundtrack: 7/10

Verdict: From the writer of "Let the Right One In" (one the best Horror/Fantasy/Romance hybrids of all times) comes another equally grasping film that also centers around an unlikely relationship.

Directed by Ali Abbasi, "Border" stars Eva Melander as Tina, a customs officer with a heightened sense of smell who develops a weird connection with Vore, played by Eero Milonoff. The two leads deliver two very fittingly different performances that perfectly captures their onscreen personalities. Performances only rendered even more impressive when you take into account the amount of unbelievable realistic makeup applied to them.
However, the biggest star of that film is certainly John Ajvide Lindqvist's excellent screenplay that takes a fantastical element and implements it in a very grounded and real story. The movie also tackles in a very smooth way themes that include identity and humanity.
"Border" works as a fantasy as much as it works as a romance. It's a beautiful, multi-layered story that kept me absorbed through its entire runtime. It's a movie I can totally see myself revisiting in the near future, and one that entirely deserves a spot in my best of 2018 list.

FINAL GRADE: 8.5/10