Fuga dall'Inferno - L'altra dimensione dell'amore

Sometimes death is the end. But sometimes, it is the beginning. In the tradition of "Ghost" and "The Crow" (though very original), "The Other Side" is the story of a man who runs from death in order to solve his own murder and help find his kidnapped girlfriend. But with the police and the reapers after him, does he stand a ghost of a chance?

According to the Internet Movie Database, USC film school graduate Gregg Bishop (who wrote, directed and did pretty much everything for this film) financed "The Other Side" himself with $15,000 (the profits from his film "Voodoo"). One has to comment that this film looks amazing for the budget. Some special effects used far surpass what other, bigger studios have tried to pawn off on their viewers, and the overall acting and story are quite impressive.

I have to say that hell ("the pit") looks cool. Bishop skipped the fire and brimstone and torture route and went straight into the dark, lonely isolation sort of underworld. Not only does this probably correlate better with the Bible, but I think it personally makes for a more terrifying punishment. Confined, alone in darkness for eternity. That's pain.

This film has lots of blood. We're talking "Kill Bill" levels of blood, "Izo" levels of blood. Every gunshot makes a good splatter. And I couldn't be happier about this. While much of the film was more action than horror (the only real "horror" aspects are the fact we have corpses coming back to life), the horror fans will likely appreciate the blood and excessive flesh wounds.

Jaimie Alexander appears in this film, although not as prominently as the cover of the film might imply. Her appearance in this film not only probably helped her career (this predates "Rest Stop" and "Hallowed Ground", as well as her leading roles in "Kyle XY" and that other show), but it helped sell this film. After it was filmed, but before going to DVD is when Jaimie broke through into the mainstream, giving this film an added star it probably hadn't counted on. And with looks that are a cross between Katie Holmes and somebody actually attractive, her presence is a big plus for everyone.

The humor in this was subtle but appreciated. I loved the character of Mally the Adulterer. His womanizing antics were amusing, his one-liners were funny, and I thought the scene where he smokes multiple cigarettes was classic (he's dead -- why not?). There was also a great visual gag involving a neighborhood watch sign that might have been the best thing in the entire movie. I' ma sucker for intelligent and clever humor.

I could make some complaints (aside from the obvious budget constraints). Like, was I really supposed to believe the reapers were 30-50 years old (as reported by the news anchor)? These ages seem a little funny, as I would have put them more in the 25-30 range. In fact, everyone in the film seemed a little young. But this in no way took away from their acting or ability to relate to the audience.

I recommend you check this out to see how to make a film with a limited budget, because I dare you to find anything else on this level. There may be some minor drawbacks, and I thought the twist was a bit hard to accept, but the themes were great and the plot was smooth. Gregg Bishop is a man who knows how to tell a good story and make it look how it should. I eagerly await his next feature film.

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.

"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!

No pun intended - Gregg Bishop: he did one of the funniest zombie comedies I have seen: Dance of the Dead. He did not write the script for that one and Jaime Alexander was not part of that either (the latter being a bit sad - at least for me). She seems to be a bit of a go to woman for him, has appeared in a few things he did - one of them being this one right here.

That said, the movie is a bit ... well there may be a bit too much cutting, a bit too much story. It is tough to follow and there are too many characters for its own good. I assume it was well intended, but it is quite confusing at times. Where (or when) are we? And what is the movie trying to tell us? Not to mention the weird (almost non reaction) to people doing stuff that normal humans are not able to do ... if this is supposed to tell us that what we see is not real ... well the movie does not the best job in being clear about it.

Still there is something interesting here - and if you forgive the flaws and all the insanity that is going on .. you can be entertained ... maybe even understand what the movie is trying to tell us/you.

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!!