The Other Side (2006)

It's no definitive masterpiece but it's damn close.

I am only giving this movie a 1 for the great cast, though I can't imagine what any of them were thinking. This movie was horrible

While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

While it is a pity that the story wasn't told with more visual finesse, this is trivial compared to our real-world problems. It takes a good movie to put that into perspective.

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!!

This film is one of those extreme low budget horror films that is worth checking out. I love the fact that this film reveals what you can actually do and achieve on a micro budget. There should be a fair warning though that some of the scenes are not as polished as today's movie going audiences have come to expect. True horror fans will not sweat this at all and will love what is happening in the film. Be very careful of IMDb "Fanboys" who will try to dismiss this film with their huge colorful words and flowery language. Remember, for them, nothing is good enough. Even with all of its flaws, this film is so much more entertaining than your average studio released film like "Scream."

I wasn't expecting it to be perfect in all honesty. Part of me was hoping it would work, but part of me was worried that it would be another movie that had great potential but fell short. On the most part it works. There are flaws I found with it, the reapers didn't seem that much of a threat and I would've liked to have learned more about them, and Nathan Mobley is a rather bland lead. The script is mostly snappy and certainly entertained me with its subtle humour but it also could have been more even in tone, sometimes it jumps around various genres and part of you wishes that they just stuck with just one or two. On the plus side, and there is a lot here that's good, for low-budget($15,000 apparently) The Other Side looks very impressive. I did like the focused photography and the atmospheric scenery. The score could've been generic, but was actually wonderfully brooding in places, while the story is mostly compelling and goes at a cracking pace. It also has well-choreographed and never tedious action sequences and poignant drama that doesn't threaten to slow the film down. The characters are on the clichéd side but they are also quite likable. The directing and acting are above average as well, Jaimie Alexander is appealing but the best was Cory Rouse who seems to be enjoying himself immensely as Mally. All in all, I was impressed with The Other Side, it could've been better but you could do with far worse. 7/10 Bethany Cox

I bumped my rating to a 3 after seeing the budget for this movie was 15k. They did make a bad but not horrible movie for that kind of dough. I mean at least it's not Heaven's Gate. The acting was sub par, the action sequences were particularly bad and the writing was yawn inducing. You have to suspend disbelief when watching this type of movie but in this case you have to suspend intelligence also. If I had the hour and a half back I'd take my dog down to the park and videotape him pooing on the grass. Don't believe the rave reviews you've been reading here as this movie is like an after school special from the 80's blended with a direct to video action flick starring Don Swayze and Frank Stallone.