The Other Side (2014) Reviews

• Couldn't Watch the Whole Thing

  j-985402015-12-14

  So recently my husband and I signed up for Amazon Prime and that's how we found this movie. It was quite possibly one of the WORST things I've ever seen. I'm not much of a horror fan, but my husband is a HUGE one so we settled on this for a Friday night. I made it about 30 minutes in before I threw in the towel. The acting (if you can call it that) is atrocious. I mean not even one single redeemable quality in the cast. I certainly hope they all have something to fall back on because the profession of acting is not for them. On top of the stiff acting (I'm not convinced they weren't reading their lines from a cue card) there was a horrible soundtrack. It was loud and oppressive and really took me out of any chance of engaging with this movie. My husband finished it but I couldn't. I did walk in the room as the credits were rolling and he was fast asleep. It was just a horrible disappointment for us both.

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• Flat Story-line, Mediocre Acting and Sluggish Directing. Decent SFX

  j-991252015-12-12

  I usually am a fan of independent cinema and the horror genre in particular but in the past several years I've watched more and more actors take less risks and therefore deliver stale and mediocre performances. Unfortunately The Other Side suffers from this 10 fold. The writing isn't stellar so they are already behind the 8 ball there. And the directing is extremely sluggish. There is no smooth transition from scene to scene anywhere in the movie. It seems the directors don't know how to draw out performances from their actors very well. The biggest problem with this title is the acting. There is no consistency. In a few of the longer scenes the struggle for the actor(s) to remain engaged with their character is apparent. Its as if none are trained. They don't seem to understand how to get from point A to point B in the scenes. They don't have the "chops" to maintain the through-line of the scene. For instance the character Joe had the weakest characterization of the film. There was a lot of fluff but no substance from this young actor. It also seems some of these actors are unsure of how to explore a character to create a back story. The SFX were a bit less than what I'd normally expect from a $50,000 film (were these students?) but overall they served the purpose they needed. The biggest disappointment for me was that I just wasn't invested in any of the characters. At some points in the film (the REALLY slow moving parts) I was rooting for the main characters to be eaten. The story was in a poor act structure and the character arcs were just about nonexistent. A good director may have been able to save the last 1/3 of the film however. This film for me just seemed to appeal to the lowest common denominator and the twist ending isn't really a twist at all. It seemed like a bunch of friends met on the weekends with a Cannon 7D and made a movie. Maybe some acting classes and directing workshops would help the people that made this. Even though I didn't care for this film, I hope the filmmakers can regroup and maybe make something with substance someday.

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• Directing Failed This Movie

  j-699832015-12-28

  Usually if I go out of my way to review a film, I try to be very specific. Sometimes that includes spoilers so I'll just pick a few issues as to not spoil the film (a film I do NOT recommend renting) Netflix has gotten stale for us so we got ourselves Amazon Prime in the early fall. Doing a search for "zombie", we came upon this title. First of all this is massively low budget. Like comically so. My husband and I work on films here in Beantown and have seen all types of low budget films (as well as worked on some) and we know the limitations of small budgets. Spend money on actors. We didn't notice the SAG logo after the credits so we can assume this was made with non-union talent. We can also tell because no one could act. But that's more the fault of the director than the actors. The weak directing sets the actors up for failure. There was no fluidity in the scenes. We then see here that 2 directors were used and it's painfully obvious they weren't used to collaborating on a feature film. The editing seemed seamless at first then turned choppy. I get it. Sometimes the money or time runs out and you can only cut what's in front of you. Again, that's a directors job to plan ahead and get the shots. Not sure how this received distribution. Other than its a zombie movie I guess. These filmmakers show little promise.

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• Horrible

  j-891672015-12-28

  This was, without a doubt the WORST thing I have ever watched. Some of this was filmed in our backyard (figuratively) so we thought SUPPORT LOCAL FILMMAKERS. Not if this is the drivel they produce I won't. There is nothing redeemable. Nothing I can find to say good. Maybe something like "boy that tree stood there well!". I'm sorry but I can't find anything nice to say. The cops were the worst though. Horrible acting. If any of these actors are in the union then I hope they can get their initiation dues back. I'm honestly trying to find something good to say. But I just can't. Save yourself the trauma and pass on this title.

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• Great job by local filmmakers!

  CindyJackson2017-03-20

  I was WAY overdue in seeing this film. Even though I live in the Zombie capital of the world, I've never really been one for the genre, or horror films in general. This is a fun ensemble piece by locals, many that I have worked with on other projects. Making a feature is no small feat and they did it and received distribution! Congrats to all involved!

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