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"The Otherside" is an independent low budget action-horror hybrid from film maker Gregg Bishop. I'll start off by giving a little background on some early success that the film has had at some recent film festivals. This includes a premiere at Slamdance, won best feature at Shreikfest, and best picture, best screenplay and best actor (Nathan Mobley) at the Independent Film Festival of North Texas. I thought I'd open this review with those little factoids to show some of the buzz and reaction this film has been receiving. As I stated, this is a low budget independent movie and most of the usual obstacles that films like this face can be observed throughout. The viewer will instantly recognize the look of the film and its visual style as having that "low budget feel". Personally, though, most of the film's hindrances can be overlooked. Film maker Gregg Bishop does a decent job of hiding a lot of these nuances and delivering a solid overall final product. The film stars a bunch of lesser known talent. Probably the most notable being actress is Jaimie Alexander ("Rest Stop").

     The film's story revolves around a young man named Samuel North (Nathan Mobley) who is on his way home after graduating from college. All he wants to do is get home and see his fiancee Hanna (Jaimie Alexander) and live happily ever after. As I'm sure can be predicted, that's not how things are going to turn out for Sam and Hanna. They plan to meet up at their special place by a waterfall after Hanna gets done with her waitressing job. Their rendezvous never occurs. When Hanna doesn't show up Sam really begins to worry. Before he can even begin to try and track Hanna down, he is suddenly run into a river by a rampaging truck. It turns out that this kills Sam and sends him straight into a place called "the pit" that is located in hell. Somehow, Sam finds a way to escape "the pit" back into the world of the living. As he does this, a bunch of other "pit residents" are able to escape with him. Hell's bounty hunters, the reapers, are sent after the escapees to take them back to "the pit" where they belong. Sam teams up with two of the escapees, Oz and Mally, who want to help him to redeem themselves and avoid going back to hell. The threesome embarks on a quest to find Hanna while running and battling the reapers.

          For a low budget film, "The Otherside" is really well made. The acting is believable from all of the leads, the look of the film is pretty solid for the budget, and the sound and audio are also both quite good. The most impressive part about this film from a technical stand point, though, is some of the stunts, action sequences, and effects they are able to pull off at this level. Throughout the movie there are shoot outs, car chases, crashes, bloody deaths, and even an explosion. None of these scenes look hokey, cheesy, or cheap. The story and script (written by Bishop) also assists in making this an entertaining and fun film. There are some plot twists and turns with the ending being a nice way to conclude the story of the film.

          In conclusion, I would recommend "The Otherside" to any aspiring film maker, fans of independent cinema, or open minded film goers. The film is well made despite its constraints and the plot and flow of the story will entertain most. The film is available from Allumination Filmworks on DVD which includes an "Entering the Otherside" Featurette, "Visual FX of the Otherside" Featurette, deleted scenes, and commentary with writer/director Gregg Bishop. I'm looking forward to seeing where Gregg's film career heads next.

Rating - **1/2

-Jared Bajoras