I watched The Other Side back in the day when I was starting to audition for film work in Atlanta (it’s another Gregg Bishop flick [he did Dance of the Dead] and was made there) and I was very happy I decided to watch!

The Other Side tells the story of Sam North who one night, while waiting for his fiancee, is murdered.  He ends up in Hell but is then broken out of Hell by other lost souls who’ve discovered an exit.  Back in the living world, he awakes in the hospital to discover that his fiancee’s gone missing and now there are Reapers (bounty hunters from hell) after him.  Yikes!  What follows is an exciting journey to find out what happened to his fiancee and learn the reasons that he ended up in hell in the first place, all with the help of the two other escaped souls – one who wants to sleep with every woman he sees and the other a bad ass who isn’t entirely what he seems.

Boats & water are always terrifying.

I found the story fun and fairly original although it does fall apart near the end and completely stops making any kind of sense but the final ending isn’t half bad.  I loved the direction and aesthetics – lots of dark, muted colors and the director’s vision of Hell is completely creepy.  Nathan Mobley as “Sam” does a fantabulous job and pretty much carries the entire film.

Neighborhood Watch just got a lot scarier.

Definitely much more a thriller/action flick than horror, The Other Side is a nice slice of indie film gone right.  If you’ve been jonesing for something off the beaten path definitely give this one a try.

*On a different but somewhat related note, there’s a book series I read that has a somewhat similar (very loosely similar) premise.  Sandman Slim: A Novel breaks out of hell after being sent there as a living, breathing mortal.  Once he gets back to earth, he’s on the hunt for the people who sent him there all with the help of a severed, talking, beer swilling head.  I really cannot say enough good things about this series – gypsy prostitute vampire hunters, fights with Satan and total bad assery.  If you’re into the reading thing, I highly recommend you check it out!