"The Other Side of the Door" (2016 release; 95 min.) brings the story of Maria and Michael. As the movie opens, we are informed that this is "Mumbai, India" and we see the couple having dinner and walking on the beach, On a whim, they decide to make Mumbai their home. We then go "Six Years Later", and Maria is having a nightmare, Soon we learn that the couple lost a young son (we learn how in a flashback) and the couple and their daughter are struggling in the aftermath. After Maria tries to commit suicide, the household maid Piki tells her about a mysterious temple in the woods far away, where Maria could meet her little boy one more time and say a final farewell. At this point we're not even 15 minutes into the movie, but to tell you more would spoil your viewing experience, you'll just have to see for yourself how it all plays out.
Couple of comments: this is the latest horror movie from British director Johannes Roberts, who most recently gave us "Storage 24". Here Roberts goes the super-natural dimension, looking for the thin line between life and death. I must admit that I didn't know a whole lot about this movie going into it, and as it turns out, this was quite the disappointment for me. If shock effects akin to a bat flying out of a cave or toys in a bedroom starting to move are enough to make it a scary movie, then this will be right up your alley. Not to mention that there are several plot points that are utterly unbelievable, even accounting for the fact that this is a horror movie, where all belief is suspended. This is in stark contrast to how much better that other 'horror' movie which I saw recently, "The Witch", was compared to this. Sarah Wayne Collins (as Maria), best know for her work in "The Walking Dead", does the best she can with the material she is given and as always is easy on the eyes. But even she cannot overcome the fact that the movie lacks much character development, and as a result there is little to no emotional investment on the viewer's part. Early on in the movie, Piki tells her that when she is in the temple, whatever her little boy does, "you must not open the door!!!". Wanna take a guess what happens? One of the better aspects of the movie is actually the score, courtesy of Joseph Bishara, a noted composer in the horror movie genre (the "Insidious" franchise, the "Conjuring" franchise, etc.).
"The Other Side of the Door" opened nationwide this weekend. The Friday evening screening where I saw this at here in Cincinnati was attended okay but not great. Couldn't help but notice that I saw 4 or 5 people leave midway through the film, and not returning. I made it to the end, but barely. A darn shame. I love a good horror movie, and surely this wasn't it, but by all means, if you have a chance to check out "The Other Side of the Door", be it in the theater, on VOD or eventually on DVD/Blu-ray, I'd encourage you to do so and draw your own conclusion.
