[The Other Side]
Plot:On the night Samuel North is to reunite with the girl he loves: Hanna Thompson, he is mysteriously murdered and sent to Hell. Inside "the Pit", two other damned souls on the run help Samuel escape back to the world of the living. Now there's Hell to pay: the Netherworld has sent three invincible bounty hunters called REAPERS to hunt down and retrieve each of the escaped men. Setting out to uncover the mystery of his death and Hanna's disappearance, Samuel finds unlikely allies in his gun-toting fellow escapees Mally and Oz who hope that by helping Samuel find Hanna, they can redeem themselves and be free of the Pit forever.

Cast:Nathan Mobley, Jaimie Alexander, Cory Rouse, Poncho Hodges, Chris Burns, Shale Nelson, Stephen Caudill, Daniel Massey Tovell, Brian De Pue, Justin Welborn, Blair Redford, Lori Beth Edgeman, Amy Lucas, Vince Canlas, Lucas Till.

My Thoughts:Great flick.

Review:The Other Side" is one of the few horror films to come along with an original plot, and a perfect blend of action and horror combined into one. The pic follows a man named Sam North, who just rooled into town to see his main squeeze played by Jamie Alexander. But when she doesn't show up at a meeting spot, Sam becomes concerned, and is soon killed when a mysterious car crashes into his knocking him off a cliff and to his death. At that point he gets sent "below", but manages to escape...all of this is unbeknownst to him however.

As he still thinks he's in the human reality, and when his girlfriend turns up missing, he sets out to find her. But while in the hospital, he finds himself thrusted into a battle between escaped souls such as himself, and "Reapers"...bounty hunters for Satan who's sole purpose is to recapture escaped souls and return them to the pit. Gregg Bishop's film doesn't take a long time to get rolling, and once it does it doesn't stop. The movie is filled with intense action sequences, alot of gunplay, and an interesting storyline. The acting isn't too bad either, which in an indie direct-to-dvd horror pic, is always a plus.

The blood and gore isn't introduced into the film in the normal horror movie way, but between the high body count, and constant gun play, trust me there's plenty of it present in this film. Jamie Alexander doesn't get alot of screentime in the movie, and pretty much leaves the film without much of a female lead, but it doesn't makes the film suffer in any way either. The three male leads more than carry their fair share of the movie.

This is also one of the few movies where the villains are far more cooler than the hero's, as the reapers dress in black suits (similar to men in black), and can also jump into any dead body should their current bodies expire. The films basic gist is that Sam has to keep himself from being sent back to hell so he can solve the mystery of what happened to his girlfriend, as well as track down his own killer. Sam is aided in his quest by two other escaped souls, who are part of a larger group of escaped souls, whom the reapers plan to track down and send back.

Although the three don't have much in common, their current situation bonds them together as partners in this whole thing. Director/Writer Gregg Bishop manages to keep his movie on a nonstop thrill ride pace up until the films final act, where alot of twists and turns are implemented into the films overall makeup and make for some very intense and interesting scenes. Which is a sign of good writing considering how Bishop's film starts off at first, as an action/horror pic...but it finishes up on a soap-operaish, drama note. "The Other Side" is a great film for anyone who ever wondered what the perfect indie blend of action and horror would look like in a movie.

Positives:Great action scenes, good acting, an interesting storyline.

Negatives:Nothing Major.

Overall:Good film.





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