The Other Side (I) (2014) User Reviews

Couldn't Watch the Whole Thing

[j-98540 · 2/10 · 14 December 2015]

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.

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

[j-99125 · 3/10 · 12 December 2015]

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.

The Worst Thing I've Seen

[j-90717 · 2/10 · 7 January 2016]

I'm not even sure where to start.

I usually LOVE LOVE LOVE to watch camp horror so we had high expectations for this. Me and a few of my girlfriends were stuck in a hotel in Utah during a ski trip and found this while browsing Amazon.

My sister is a film professional and she walked out of the room about 20 minutes in. She said it was an abomination to filmmakers everywhere. I'm not a film person but I'll give you my impression.

1) Acting - at first we though this was intentionally bad but it turns out after reading IMDb on the movie, non of these actors are professionals or anything more than extras usually. But I guess you get what you pay for.

2) Music - oppressive. Too loud and doesn't seem to make much sense musically in translating what is happening on the screen.

3) Blood & Gore - typical for low budget horror.

4) Story - weak. Tropes abound. If you've ever seen a zombie movie in the past 5 years, then you'll find the same thing in this movie.

I'm not sure who greenlights movies like these to get made. Isn't there someone on set saying hey guys, this is bad? Are you telling me NO ONE involved in this movie saw how bad it was while they were filming it? What was the audition process like? If you had a pulse you got cast?

Over all this was a waste of our time. We even got drunk and it it still stayed bad.

Horrible

[j-89167 · 1/10 · 28 December 2015]

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.

Directing Failed This Movie

[j-69983 · 1/10 · 28 December 2015]

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.

Partially stiff B-movie, C+ for the effort

[cells-215-900895 · 4/10 · 17 January 2015]

I watched this movie because of its high score on IMDb and the positive reviews. Going on a 7.9 and fantastic reviews I expected to be blown away, which might be why the disappointment hit a little harder. It is a well-intended b-movie at best. Unfortunately the acting is stiff and overly forced at times, the story okay but still rugged around the edges, and the directing and editing were acceptable for a b-movie but still far from fluid.

All in all it is not a terrible movie, but be aware that it is a low budget, basically home made flick with quite unnatural feeling dialogue sometimes and somewhat forced acting and far from high-end. I guess if you don't mind that kind of thing and have some time to spare you can watch it and judge for yourself, but don't be fooled by the 7.9 ;)

Not terrible, but a fun twist

[Robeerto · 4/10 · 22 March 2015]

Saw this screening at the HorrorHoundWeekend film festival. The main character was the best part, and he won Best Actor award for the festival which was appropriate. The rest of the cast was very mediocre at best. Maybe the parole officer was decent, but way too much bad acting or overacting for me.

The music was distracting, often too loud or just inappropriate for the scene, then cut off abruptly. Transitions from scene to scene were sometimes weak, too. The zombies were fast, which is fine since zombies are fictional and there are fast and slow zombie movies. They weren't too "zombified", but this is an indie film so that was fine.

Overall I was disappointed, but I did really like the twist at the end. That made up for a lot of the other failures of the movie. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone, but there was some good acting and the twist was fun, so if you like indie zombie movies you might enjoy.

I agree with others on many issues

[j-34621 · 2/10 · 23 January 2016]

I read the reviews of this before we watched it on Amazon Prime. At first, the reviews were GLOWING. That these filmmakers were apparently the best filmmakers ever. Then you trace the reviews to people involved with the film...

So now this has been accessible long enough for more honest reviews to trickle in. We read them all and figured its free on Prime, why not. There's a storm outside and we aren't going anywhere anyway.

I'm just going to give a brief overview, in-depth reviews are not my thing.

As others have stated, the script is weak. That is true.

Others have stated the acting is bad. That is true.

Others have stated the directing is bad. That is true.

I'm not sure why anyone would rate this higher than a 4 (assuming you are a genre fan).

This would have been much more effective as a short film. Too many unnecessary characters were involved in the full length film.

In fact, the world created didn't even need more than a handful of characters to convey what it needed to.

This isn't the worst film I've ever seen but I cannot recommend it.

From the heart

[amesmonde · 5 March 2015]

A man protects his daughter during the beginning of the zombie apocalypse.

I love low budget horror but this one plays a little too much like an digital daytime soap opera. The idea by Chris Niespodzianski may have worked on paper and to its credit it does try to be a little different. Nevertheless, it carries many of the clichés synonymous with the genre the main plot point from Let Sleeping Corpese Lie/Living Dead in Manchester Morgue.

Directed by Raymond Mongelli and Niespodzianski There's a lot of effort gone into the production and some of the actors are effective but it never manages to flow as it should. The closing minutes are the most interesting and maybe the film should have begun at the point the leads are reloading their guns, surrounded by zombies and went on from there. Notable is nonchalant actor Chucky Hendershot (a.k.a Chummy Waters) who is memorable as Chuck.

Even with its fake blood and great soundtrack it's just not gripping enough, sadly not a keeper but maybe still viewable for zombie completists. Niespodzianski and Mongelli may go on to to better projects but this just inst it. Viewers may want to watch similar themed The Battery or Autumn instead.

Decent B-movie with an interesting twist

[quantumphyzx · 2/10 · 7 January 2016]

Here we have your average campy horror movie: some bad acting, a zombie / "real biblical judgement type s**t" (to quote the movie) cliché, some over-the-top gore, and corny rock/techno that's badly cued and played for far too long. Some people cry way too much (Beware of Aunt Natalie--you may want to mute the scenes she's in) and some people yell the oddest things in situations that they wouldn't yell them in.

A majority of plot devices are rehashed and recycled from just about every movie ever made, but what made up for the poorly executed writing and dialogue was the interesting twist at the end. It was definitely not what I was expecting and in that regard I give the writers a bit of credit for being somewhat innovative; it also let me feel like watching the entire movie wasn't a COMPLETE waste of time. It was actually somewhat satisfying.

I wouldn't say go out of your way to watch it unless you've seen everything else in the horror genre on Prime and are running out of options. It's definitely not the worst movie I've seen (I think that esteemed position belongs to "A Nymphoid Barbarian in Dinosaur Hell"), and you might get a chuckle at the campiness of it all. Worth a view if you're bored or have no other flicks to see!

Sometimes I wonder if the reviews are for the film I just watched.

[undeadzombie1964 · 3/10 · 15 September 2018]

How do you stay in budget? Ask the director of this film. Get your cast from the county players, film your zombie attacks in the dark, show their feet... This is the second movie I've seen today where the teenage daughter plays her character like a pre-schooler.

A unique spin on the typical "zombie" movies

[jmn0125-146-770516 · 9/10 · 29 October 2014]

I had the pleasure of seeing this over the weekend and must say if you can see one movie this Halloween season I highly recommend seeing "The Other Side." From start to finish the movie keeps you on your toes, and it is not what you would typically expect from a zombie movie. Great plot, lots of action, and plenty of surprises to keep you engaged throughout the duration. Chad Conley and Rob Liscio's performances standout as "Chris" and "Joe" two of the lead characters who you will find yourself pulling for during the film... I'm sure you will be seeing more of these two in the near future!! Great job Orchard Place Productions for creating a quality film with a great soundtrack and incredible cast!

Imagine The Walking Dead made with no money

[Leofwine_draca · 1/10 · 6 May 2017]

THE OTHER SIDE is a tiny budgeted indie horror film about a zombie apocalypse. The main character is a man driven out of his mind in his hunt for his missing wife, and the whole thing feels like somebody watched THE WALKING DEAD and decided to do their own version of the series without any funds or creativity. The end result is a lot of gun pointing as characters pose like Rick Grimes and some brief zombie action. The FX aren't good and the endless walking around in the woods makes this pretty diabolical.

The Other Side a fantastic story, with great acting, quality editing, and the ability to engage its audience till the very last credit rolls off the screen!

[rgiammaria · 10/10 · 27 October 2014]

This weekend I was able to see the film The Other Side, by Chris Niespodzianski and Orchard Place Productions. Going into it, I was steeling myself for your typical low budget independent film experience. All that went out the window within the first fifteen minutes of watching, as I was immediately invested in the life of the Elkwood denizens.

Character development quickly ramps up, and I immediately found myself rooting for some characters, while secretly holding out hope that others would quickly be the next Zombie Happy Meal. From a technical point, The Other Side delivers, as any big budget Hollywood film would, with great editing, a rocking soundtrack, and the ability to create steady upswing of conflict and action that keeps its audience captivated until the very end, and I truly mean to the VERY end. The Other Side offers its audience many twists and turns, with the climax of the movie ending in a truly unique mind blowing twist, of which no hints will be given!

The film does a great job with avoiding most of the common Zombie tropes, without losing the fact that it's a zombie film. Fans of The Walking Dead, can appreciate the fact, that The Other Side is a great drama, which happens to have brain munching zombies sprinkled throughout.

To sum up The Other Side, I would say It is a fantastic story, with great acting, quality editing, and the ability to engage its audience till the very last credit rolls off the screen!

Story and Character

[d-foytik · 9/10 · 2 February 2015]

Sometimes a film is made that takes a new look at an old concept and asks it questions. This film does that.

It's easy for a critic to focus on technical or structural details they feel could have been done differently, but at the end of the day, the beauty of a well done indie film isn't special effects or big name actors, it's the story, the characters, and the freedom to make a film that isn't just another recycled formulaic plot. When I look at an indie film, I ask what it brings to the table that hasn't been done before.

Like the first film to put zombies on the table - "Night of the Living Dead" - "The Other Side" does it right. The filmmakers obviously understand their budget and focus on where they can shine. They create a film that is entertaining, makes you think, and will inspire others. The film is clever enough to nod, deliberately and tongue-in-cheek, to the genre clichés, but it definitely delivers new ideas.

It's a fun film, well shot, and the final product reflects the enthusiasm of the actors and filmmakers to do something fresh and interesting. There are more than enough scenes in this film where you forget you're watching a movie and become enthralled by the story, and for me, that's the hallmark of any good film - indie or otherwise.

Unexpected Gem

[dallytoob · 8/10 · 1 July 2017]

An excellent zombie movie, for intelligent viewers who like The Walking Dead, 28 Days Later, etc. In other words, zombie movies that recognize that human interaction make (or break) the movie.

Watched it on a lark for free on a popular media channel when I saw it got 2.5 out of 5 stars. The '1' & '2' star reviews here are so ludicrous I can only imagine they are trolls and rivals of the producers of this fine, fine, film.

Must See For Zombie/Horror Film Lovers

[ldemas29 · 8/10 · 20 January 2015]

The Flashback scenes add depth to the drama, explaining how things were before in snapshots of each character's life. The Movie's twist on which side of the afterlife you're on, makes you realize there's good in bad and Vice-A-Versa. Who's Team Are You ON!!!BTW Local Production and Low Budget does not mean the story wasn't well conceived and directed in a professional manner. Yes, some of the actors are not Hollywood caliber, but this adds an unique charm to the Movie and to some degree a sense of Humor about Zombie Movies. They (the director and producer) even make a point in presenting some added humor at the end to illustrate this. Since I've seen the Movie twice I can appreciate more of the subtleties that Lie Within.. ENJOY!!