The Other Side of the Door is just the latest terrible horror film to hit the market. The scares are basically non-existent but worse yet, it’s such a dumb story in conjunctions with characters making ridiculous decisions culminating with an ending that made little sense.
The Other Side of the Door
(2016)
REVIEW NAVIGATION
The Movie | Special Features | Video Quality | Audio Quality | Overall
Genre(s): Horror, Supernatural
Fox | R – 96 min. – $29.99 | June 7, 2016
Date Published: 06/15/2016 | Author: The Movieman
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THE MOVIE – 1.5/5 |
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Plot Synopsis: Set in Mumbai, India, Maria (SARAH WAYNE CALLIES) is a mother grieving over the death of her son, Oliver (LOGAN CRENAN), and although she and her husband Michael (JEREMY LISTO) still have a daughter, Lucy (SOFIA ROSINSKY), to take care of, the grief is overwhelming to the point she attempts suicide. Seeing her employer in agony, their caretaker Piki (SUCHITRA PILLAI) tells Maria of a temple near her home village where when loved ones place the ashes of their departed and lock themselves in, after dark that loved one comes back if only for a moment, but unseen and behind a door, allowing the living to give one final goodbye. The one rule: never open the door no matter what.
Well, take one guess what Maria does upon hearing her son’s voice as he’s both confused to where he is and begs to get out. Yep, she opens the door to discover… nothing; emptiness on the other side but the damage is done and not only is her son’s not-to-nice spirit out to run amok in the family home, but an evil has been unleashed as well. Quick Hit Review: I often wonder how movies like The Other Side of the Door even gets greenlit. The script is terrible and characters, all around, are imbeciles starting with Piki for telling of this temple and for these tribesmen who appear here and there to stop this evil force, who for some reason even allow anyone to enter the temple in the first place. Beyond the inane plot, for a horror movie, it’s just wasn’t very scary. There were the usual jump scares but otherwise it’s a bit of a chore to sit through.
On the plus side, I do appreciate that this supernatural horror film was filmed where the majority of evil spirit movies do: Japan. Instead it takes place and was filmed on location in India and while it doesn’t have quite the off-putting nature some J-Horror does, there’s at least a little atmosphere that makes it through. The acting, considering the screenplay, wasn’t half bad though you have Sarah Wayne Callies’s mother character who could be frustrating while Jeremy Sisto’s fatherly figure was downright clueless, although the writers made sure to keep him away from home as much as possible until the laughable finale. The kids were… well, kids in movies. They can be creepy in the right hands but here, didn’t quite work.
The Other Side of the Door came courtesy of producer Alexandre Aja best known for The Hills Have Eyes remake and Mirrors and was written and directed by Johannes Roberts whose career is marred with some truly awful outings to the point where Other Side might be a highlight. This movie has little redeeming value with a lousy story and even worse final scene which made absolutely zero sense and only there to add the typical “twist” that I guess could leave it open for a possible sequel. |
SPECIAL FEATURES – 1.25/5 |
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This release includes a matted slip cover. Inside is a Digital HD Copy redemption code and standard DVD Copy. Deleted Scenes (7:41; HD) – There are six scenes removed for one reason or another, but most likely for pacing issues as they added nothing to the story or any suspense. Behind the Door (1:55; HD) is a promotional featurette with interview footage set against footage from the movie. Gallery contains location, sets and behind-the-scenes still images. Theatrical Trailer (2:25; HD) Previews – Victor Frankenstein, The Pyramid |
VIDEO – 4.0/5 |
| Fox opens The Other Side of the Door onto Blu-ray presented in its original theatrical 2.39 widescreen aspect ratio and given a 1080p high-definition transfer. It’s tough to really tell how good the transfer is because the movie is consistently so dark; that said, detail was fine and often well defined while colors were generally muted where even the daytime scenes had more natural tones. |
AUDIO – 4.25/5 |
| The disc comes with a 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio track which is mostly effective. The horror elements make use of each channel quite efficiently displaying each and every paranormal scream, jump scares and Joseph Bishara’s generic-sounding horror score. Outside of the screams, dialogue levels sound crisp and clean throughout making for a decent enough lossless track.
Audio Descriptive, French and Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1 tracks also available along with English, Spanish and French subtitles. |
OVERALL – 2.0/5 |
| Overall, The Other Side of the Door is just the latest terrible horror film to hit the market. The scares are basically non-existent but worse yet, it’s such a dumb story in conjunctions with characters making ridiculous decisions culminating with an ending that made little sense. Even with the unique India locale, skip this turkey. The Blu-ray released by Fox offers good video/audio transfers and a thin selection of features. |
Check out some more screen caps by going to page 2. Please note, these do contain spoilers.