The Other Side

Don't expect a masterpiece. Please. The Other Side is entertaining, semi-original, and for the most part, well acted. Some of the scenes could have been removed, some of the actors could have been replaced, but honestly, with such a low budget, the crew/cast did a great job. The main character especially was well done. His relationship with his girlfriend was portrayed well in some parts but came off a little cheesy in others. Most other low budget horror movies are based around sex scenes/nudity and gore which detracts from the plot a great deal. The Other Side does not indulge in this cliché and is, in this reviewers opinion, a breath of fresh air in a stale genre.

I am writing this from the viewpoint that this movie was made for $15,000 not from the perspective that it was made for a Hollywood Blockbuster budget. For that budget, this is probably the best movie I have ever seen. Normally, I would have expected this would have cost about $200,000 to make.

As for the movie, it begins as a manic mess. The cuts are mostly just a blur. Some of them are on screen long enough to actually see. Some aren't. I am not a fan of cuts of less than 2 seconds. The brain cannot comprehend and remember anything shorter so it is a waste of film. A lot of film time was wasted with too-short cuts.

The story comes together after all the short cuts, slowly. After about 30 minutes, you finally have some idea of what the film is about. I prefer having some backstory up front. Yeah, it is old-school-routine but it was routine for a reason, and that reason has not gone away: To involve the viewer. Without it, some people will just hit stop and walk away wondering what they wasted the time and blacklist the writer/producer/director. Not a good thing.

To the good side, the cinematography was good. Lighting and sound were good. This is Hollywood quality production for cheap. Good job. Just the story is a little wonky but we can live through that. Somewhat like Chain Reaction, it is a big chase movie with a small mystery plot to hold the scenes together. And they tip the ending way too early.

The most interesting and original idea is that there is a back door to hell and people can get out. Interesting, if there were such a place.

The worst part of this movie and many others is that the dialog is too soft and the music is too loud. In the theaters, it is probably illegally loud. At home, it means constantly jacking the sound up and down. Really annoying. -1 star for extreme dynamic range.

Summary: Worth a watch. Exceptional for the budget!!

OK now I liked this movie unlike a lot of the straight to DVD movies that I have watched, it had some great action along with some good fights as well. I really liked the whole escape from Lucifer's bounty hunters idea, this movie had a little bit of something for everyone, it had action, humor, thrills, and even sadness towards the ending. I liked the movie although I thought the ending could have been a lot better if it was given a little more thought. Altogether I give this movie a 7 out of 10 because I enjoyed it, I have seen theatrical films that could learn a thing or two from this film even though I wasn't a big fan of the ending. I would recommend this to action fans and those who like thrillers because this movie is certainly not disappointing.

"The other side" succeeds in creating a suspenseful action movie! Personally I would like to have seen more of the "Hell" dimension where the main character escaped from. I think they didn't show it because of the low budget. For the most part it isn't noticeable that this is a low budget production. The acting is even decent. The unknown cast are fairly convincing in their roles. I think they did what they could. I do think it is a shame that we don't learn much more about "the reapers" and "hell". That would have shifted the focus more and would be more interesting. In stead it is used as a sub plot. The mystery is all about the main character girlfriend's who is missing. This story line is certainly thrilling. Although sometimes the action scenes are more distracting and pointless and get in the way of the mystery. But to be fair the action scenes are nicely done. And there is enough eyecandy to keep the male audience happy. The female reapers (in black leather) sure are hot and dangerous. Because of the main character and the mystery about his girlfriend you get sucked in to the story. The fast pace really helps and is one of the reasons that make this into an entertaining movie. Worth watching!

I love scary films, I was lucky enough to see a pre release showing of this one. I loved almost everything about it, the special effects look amazing and very high budget, the gore is absolutely amazing and the plot is gripping and clever.

The only down side for me was that there was too much of a focus on religion. Not everyone is a Christian, and I don't think that you can appeal to a mass audience with such an emphasis on it. Other than that it was perfect. The acting is great, especially from the leading man, and the cop is really hot.

I'm delighted that this will be shown at Sundance, I think we can probably expect to see amazing things from this Director.