The Other Side

There are many, many low-budget, low-brow, straight-to-DVD horror movies out there. Enough that sometimes a horror fan has to question whether he should be a horror fan at all. But then a movie like The Other Side comes along, and suddenly, faith in the independent film scene is restored.

The Other Side starts with new college-graduate Sam North (Nathan Mobley) heading home to meet his long-time girlfriend Hannah (Jaime Alexander) at their favorite spot. But Hannah never shows, and Sam winds up getting run down by a van, dies, and goes straight to hell.

Luckily for Sam, on the way to hell he’s discovered by several damned souls who are escaping the fiery pits, and Sam winds up back in his old body. Unsure of what exactly happened, Sam’s first impulse is to find out what happened to Hannah. But before he can start investigating, hell sends three Reapers (demon bounty hunters) after Sam and the other escaped souls. It’s an ambitious plot for such a low-budget movie, but writer-director Gregory Bishop pulls it off with an intelligent script and solid direction. And while there’s little blood for the gore-hounds to enjoy, Bishop makes up for it with well-crafted gunplay and action sequences.

If there’s any criticism to be leveled against The Other Side, it could be that Bishop is a little too inspired by the Terminator and The Matrix movies. But whatever. The black-clad, gun-toting Reapers work well here, and I was glad to see them.

So if you’re in the mood for a horror/action film with a low-budget but high-ambitions, take a look at The Other Side. Chances are, it’s going to be better than the latest teen-slasher Hollywood remake.


- Nate