Eli Roth isn’t a director you can put in a box. Despite breaking into the film scene with beloved horror movies, such as Cabin Fever and Hostel, Roth has proven himself a versatile writer and director. While it might be surprising to some that his newest project is the highly anticipated Borderlands movie, which will be released in theaters on August 9, 2024, it actually makes plenty of sense for the creative, who has continued to find success in other genres and the project fits his tastes perfectly.
Eli Roth has done much more than just horror
Roth first began showing that he had more to offer the film world than just horror with the 2012 martial arts movie The Man with the Iron Fists. While it was directed by RZA, the film was co-written and produced by Roth. While there are action sequences in Roth’s horror movies, this was the first time that he really showed the world how capable he was of blending action with storytelling and coming up with compelling fights. Roth will look to ratchet up the action several degrees in Borderlands, as the movie looks to have just as wild an array of weapons and set pieces as the video games.
Roth would continue showing his range that decade by writing and directing two thrillers — 2015’s Knock Knock and 2018’s Death Wish. The latter was particularly interesting, as it was one of star Bruce Willis’ best performances in the later stage of his career and showed that Roth could get the best out of his big-name actors. Roth has an incredible cast in Borderlands, including two of the best actresses ever in Cate Blanchett and Jamie Lee Curtis, so he’ll get a chance to add to their legacies and his own with the action-packed sci-fi movie.
In fact, Roth already has a good track record with Blanchett and her Borderlands co-star Jack Black as both starred in his 2018 fantasy comedy The House with a Clock in Its Walls. The film was an unexpected shift for Roth, as it was his first PG film. It was a great showcase of Roth’s versatility as a director, as he wasn’t reliant on R ratings and gore to entertain crowds. Praised for its sense of humor and fun script, it shows that Roth has the right sense of humor for the Borderlands movie — which he can push more as it will be PG-13.
More recently, Roth has been on a hot streak by directing the acclaimed shark documentary Fin and returning to horror with the full-length Thanksgiving movie. He’s even found success in television with his animated Fright Krewe series for DreamWorks, which shows how well he can create entertainment for teens. It winds up being something that the whole family can enjoy together, which Borderlands will also aim to be.
The Borderlands movie is Roth’s most ambitious project yet. It looks to incorporate all of the skills that Roth has picked up over the years, from his humorous writing to his skillful action sequences. Thankfully, his ventures outside horror have shown a versatile and skilled director who is up for the task, so I can’t wait to see the movie in theaters on August 9.
