# Borderline (2025 film)

Borderline is an 2025 American comedy thriller film written and directed by Jimmy Warden in his directorial debut. Starring Samara Weaving, Ray Nicholson, and Eric Dane, the film centers on a pop star (Weaving) whose home is invaded by an obsessive fan (Nicholson) who believes they are meant to get married and manipulates her into going along with his delusion.
The film was released on March 14, 2025, by Magnet Releasing.

## Premise

Set in Los Angeles in the 1990s, a pop star's home is broken in by an obsessive fan who delusively believes they are getting married and manipulates their surroundings to create a wedding atmosphere.

## Cast

* Samara Weaving as Sofia, a pop star
* Ray Nicholson as Duerson, an obsessive fan of Sofia
* Eric Dane as Bell
* Alba Baptista as Penny
* Jimmie Fails as Rhodes

## Production

In December 2020, a screenplay titled Borderline, written by Jimmy Warden and backed by LuckyChap Entertainment, was featured on The Black List and received 11 mentions. In May 2022, Samara Weaving teased the development of a project in collaboration with her husband Warden during an interview with Harper's Bazaar, with Warden set to write and direct while Weaving would star. Eric Dane attached to star in the same month. In September, it was reported that the film was in production, marking Warden's directorial debut, with Productivity Media co-producing and Radiant Films International handling world distribution rights. The cast also includes Ray Nicholson, Alba Baptista, and Jimmie Fails, with Nicholson expressing immediate interest in the project after reading the script due to his attraction to the morally imperfect character.
Principal photography began in September 2022 in Vancouver, Canada. The film reportedly entered post-production by November, with Margot Robbie attached as a producer. Post-production took place at the newly opened Elemental Post Opens Studio in Vancouver, and wrapped up in February 2023, while Warden stated that he would not move forward with the project in the same month until after completing the promotion and release cycle for Cocaine Bear (2023). In August, the film was presented at market screenings during the 48th Toronto International Film Festival.

## Release

Borderline is released in theaters and on digital platforms on March 14, 2025, by Magnet Releasing.

## Reception

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 61% of 31 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 5.2/10. Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 62 out of 100, based on 4 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.
B.J. Colangelo of /Film found Borderline to be a thought-provoking horror-comedy with "some pretty fantastic performances", that cleverly subverts gender expectations and societal norms, while effectively blending humor with a chilling commentary on obsession and mental health. Brennan Klein of Screen Rant rated the film 7/10, also praising the performances of Samara Weaving and Ray Nicholson while noting that it effectively utilized its limited budget despite flaws like a "slow" opening act and a disappointing performance by Eric Dane, ultimately declaring that it "consistently delivers both thrills and laughs" with a "vibrant music sensibility".
Clint Worthington of RogerEbert.com gave the film 2.5 out of 4 stars, describing it as "a droll mixture" of humor and horror that devolves into a "confounding tonal mess" that fails to balance its dark themes, undermining potentially interesting dynamics between the characters despite some memorable moments and performances. Meagan Navarro of Bloody Disgusting rated the film 2 out of 5 stars, criticizing Jimmy Warden's "disjointed storytelling" that trivializes serious subject matter, leading to a "confused" and "directionless" narrative that squanders the strong leads and diminishes its potential impact.