A no-budget indie thriller from Atlanta, Georgia, that has the appearance of having been filmed in the local community by a bunch of friends in their spare time. The inexperience of all involved is evident; the direction, writing, editing, and acting, all reveal a certain level of self-consciousness and it's clear that for many of the performers, it's their first time in the front of the camera. Everybody has to start somewhere, though, and a movie such as this has to be judged by different criteria than the more professional and experienced competition—on imagination, originality, and ambition.
The central premise of 'The Other Side' is actually pretty cool – a bunch of damned souls escape from hell and must evade the Reapers sent out to reclaim them. It's a shame that the specifics of this scenario are never really spelled out as it's by far the best thing about the story. The screenplay is tightly structured, unusually so for a film of this kind, but much of the dialogue is excruciating, a fact not helped by the inexperience of the actors. Luckily, the likable lead, Nathan Mobley, inspires enough sympathy to make his character's plight meaningful. Gregg Bishop displays some real talent as a director and choreographs some pretty solid action sequences, particularly in an attack on a hospital and later, on a motel.
The reapers, however, are pretty insipid and never seem particularly threatening. I realize that when you're working with such a low budget you don't always have the luxury of casting who you'd like, but really? There was nobody better? Nobody available in the whole of Atlanta that was actually scary? These are hell's bounty hunters but they come across like slightly irritated officials from the IRS. Beside the completely nonthreatening antagonist, the bad dialogue, the completely uninspired photography, and a few too many shots stolen from 'The Terminator' and 'The Matrix', the biggest problem is with the music. As is so often the case with low-budget movies, the score is a major handicap. Nothing destroys the mood of a scene faster than crappy music, and 'The Other Side' has it in spades. If you can't afford a quality score, then don't have one at all. Invest the money in quality foley work instead. Look at 'Texas Chain Saw Massacre' - they inspired terror with nothing more than the sound of screeching metal.
'The Other Side', considering its non-existent budget, is actually pretty good and offers a far more satisfying viewing experience than many films with one hundred times the budget (I'm looking at you 'Deadline'). For all of its occasional nods to other movies, the story is fresh and original and told in a tightly plotted script with several genuinely thrilling action sequences. What more can you ask of such a movie. Worth checking out.
The central premise of 'The Other Side' is actually pretty cool – a bunch of damned souls escape from hell and must evade the Reapers sent out to reclaim them. It's a shame that the specifics of this scenario are never really spelled out as it's by far the best thing about the story. The screenplay is tightly structured, unusually so for a film of this kind, but much of the dialogue is excruciating, a fact not helped by the inexperience of the actors. Luckily, the likable lead, Nathan Mobley, inspires enough sympathy to make his character's plight meaningful. Gregg Bishop displays some real talent as a director and choreographs some pretty solid action sequences, particularly in an attack on a hospital and later, on a motel.
The reapers, however, are pretty insipid and never seem particularly threatening. I realize that when you're working with such a low budget you don't always have the luxury of casting who you'd like, but really? There was nobody better? Nobody available in the whole of Atlanta that was actually scary? These are hell's bounty hunters but they come across like slightly irritated officials from the IRS. Beside the completely nonthreatening antagonist, the bad dialogue, the completely uninspired photography, and a few too many shots stolen from 'The Terminator' and 'The Matrix', the biggest problem is with the music. As is so often the case with low-budget movies, the score is a major handicap. Nothing destroys the mood of a scene faster than crappy music, and 'The Other Side' has it in spades. If you can't afford a quality score, then don't have one at all. Invest the money in quality foley work instead. Look at 'Texas Chain Saw Massacre' - they inspired terror with nothing more than the sound of screeching metal.
'The Other Side', considering its non-existent budget, is actually pretty good and offers a far more satisfying viewing experience than many films with one hundred times the budget (I'm looking at you 'Deadline'). For all of its occasional nods to other movies, the story is fresh and original and told in a tightly plotted script with several genuinely thrilling action sequences. What more can you ask of such a movie. Worth checking out.