The Other Side Of The Door

Death is a natural thing. We all go at some point, and so will i. But i am not worried, i will hopefully be having some beer with Rodney Dangerfield, and watch God kicking Jehovas Witnesses ass. There are loved ones that i miss, but i know they are in a good place. So i would never even think about bringing them back, even if i miss them. I think we have to accept that death is nothing strange, because we all have to deal with it in our own way. So what if you had the chance to bring someone close to you, come back to life from the other side ? This is something that we have seen many times, especially in motion pictures. One of the best in this genre, is without a doubt Pet Semetary, based on the Stephen King novel. This film is both interesting, and pretty frightening at some points. If you have not seen it, i recommend that you do. The plot is basically that a family bury their dog, in a pet semetary, and it comes back to life. When their son dies, they bury their son in the same semetary, and he also comes back to life, but have changed. The film managed to capture the feeling of how desperate you become, when life suddenly hits harder than expected. The sequel was not as good as the first film, but fun to see Edward Furlong do a different character. Now, in the horror genre, there are many different versions of bringing people back to life. Some of you might instantly think of zombie films, but i am thinking more about films where you have a certain reason to bring someone back. Perhaps some of you remember The Lazarus Effect, a more modern take on the classic film Flatliners ? It was actually good, for what it was. And nice to see that science labs can be useful, in other mysterious ways. Have anyone of you ever wanted to travel to India ? I have always thought about doing so, it looks very fascinating and interesting, especially the history surrounding India. A guy i used to work with, his name is Martin, he travelled around India for several months. The stories he shared sounded amazing, but i also understood that poverty is a really serious problem of India. Of course a lot of people in India, turn to hinduism, where they worship different gods, as Shiva, Vishnu and the goddess Devi. I can´t say i know alot about hinduism, perhaps because i have not read that much about the religion. But i would like to learn more if i ever get a chance to visit India. If you lost your child, would you take one last chance to bring your child back? That is one important issue that comes up in the film The Other Side Of The Door. Since i have not heard much at all about the film, apart from seeing a trailer, i did not have any high expectations. Is this a horror film that manage to please the audience, or does it fail to give us anything at all ?

Michael ( Jeremy Sisto ) and his wife Maria ( Sarah Wayne Callies ) decides to move to India, and live there with their two children Oliver ( Logan Creran ) and Lucy ( Sofia Rosinsky ). Living in a beautiful country, everything seems to go as planned, enjoying life together. Until one day, when Maria and her children are in a very serious car crash over a bridge. Maria manage to save Lucy, but have no time left to bring Oliver up to the surface. Oliver dies, and Maria´s world falls apart. Michael finds Maria overdosed on medicines, and get her to a hospital. Heartbroken, and not wanting to live anymore, Michael and Maria´s housekeeper Piki ( Suchitra Pillai ), tell Maria that she knows a way she can contact her son, one last time. In a secret temple, there is a door to the other side, where the dead speak. Maria decides to give it a try, because she wants to hear her son´s voice again. But she is warned, she should only speak against the door, never open it. When Maria locate the temple, and speak towards the door, she can hear Oliver inside. She wants to see him also, and decides to open the door, even though she have been warned. Is her son really there, or is something else hiding behind the door ?

Since i have read articles on different religions, and what they belive, it is hard to know if there is any truth in some details. Like in Haiti, where some say that their loved ones comes back to life, after being buried, for real. I have a hard time believing that this is actually true. The Other Side Of The Door focus on India, and indian history. I am not sure if any of these ritauls acually happens in real life, but it does look creepy. The basic plot is pretty simple, and uses elements from different horror films. I could easily complain about the lack of originality, but there is actually a some positive things to mention. The Indian culture, mixed with creepy dead figures, is actually a pretty good concept. I especially enjoy the indian grudge figure, with the long skinny arms, thats one you don´t want to crash into your tea party. You get jump scares, but to be honest i am not bothered about that. Because i have seen a lot worse jump scare horror films than The Other Side Of The Door. Remember the simple horror films from the 90´s, where you did not really care about the plot, and focused more on making the audience feel uncomfortable ? This is more of that kind of horror film, even though it could have focused more on being even more uncomfortable. Because you want to be so scared, you want to crawl behind the cinema seat, or in your couch. Another interesting detail is that the lead role is Sarah Wayne Callis. You might remember her character Lori Grimes in the massive hit tv series The Walking Dead. She actually does a pretty good job, playing the mourning mother of her dead son. I also enjoy the performance of Sofia Rosinsky, playing the daughter Lucy. Director Johannes Roberts have directed films in the past, perhaps mostly known for his film Storage 24. From the films i have seen directed by Johannes Roberts, i would say that The Other Side Of The Door is his most ambitious work so far. Not a unique horror film in any way, but it works for what it is, a simple horror film with religious influences. I would have liked to see if they told the story about the temple, where the door to the other side is. Who build the temple, and how long have it been there ? The Other Side Of The Door is predictable, but a horror film that will please fans of The Grudge, and similar films. One thing is clear, i am not opening the door to Stefan Sauks home, who knows what will climb out from there ?

Rating: DDD