When people say a low-budget movie is crap, others argue back, "well, they only had so much money." Well, I disliked this movie, and it had nothing to do with production value. It doesn't cost money to write a good screenplay, only time. If a special effect looks bad or a shot looks off, THAT is a result of money, and I forgive that. When the acting is bad, the dialog deplorable, and the plot convoluted, that is NOT due to budget. I read a review of this film that went into detail about the plot of the film. It did a better job of describing the movie than the movie did in executing it. One major quibble I had with the plot is that it ignores what could have been an interesting subplot: The "heroes" in this film are souls that have escaped from hell. This implies that all the escapees have been damned, but we are supposed to root for them. We don't meet ONE escaped soul that is portrayed as someone who deserved to be in hell. Instead, it infers that all in hell are really nice folks who just did one little thing wrong. Should we be rooting for people who did something worthy of being sent to hell? This movie ignores this little point, which I don't think is so little. This film wants to be THE TERMINATOR, and rips off many elements, right down to the score that accompanies every action sequence. The person that I saw it with, however, enjoyed it, but clearly from a so-bad-it's-good perspective. But my feeling is, this filmmaker was trying to make a great underground film, and didn't. If he set out to make a low-budget spoof, maybe I would have enjoyed it more. But I don't think he did, so I didn't.

A no-budget indie thriller from Atlanta, Georgia, that has the appearance of having been filmed in the local community by a bunch of friends in their spare time. The inexperience of all involved is evident; the direction, writing, editing, and acting, all reveal a certain level of self-consciousness and it's clear that for many of the performers, it's their first time in the front of the camera. Everybody has to start somewhere, though, and a movie such as this has to be judged by different criteria than the more professional and experienced competition—on imagination, originality, and ambition. The central premise of 'The Other Side' is actually pretty cool – a bunch of damned souls escape from hell and must evade the Reapers sent out to reclaim them. It's a shame that the specifics of this scenario are never really spelled out as it's by far the best thing about the story. The screenplay is tightly structured, unusually so for a film of this kind, but much of the dialogue is excruciating, a fact not helped by the inexperience of the actors. Luckily, the likable lead, Nathan Mobley, inspires enough sympathy to make his character's plight meaningful. Gregg Bishop displays some real talent as a director and choreographs some pretty solid action sequences, particularly in an attack on a hospital and later, on a motel. The reapers, however, are pretty insipid and never seem particularly threatening. I realize that when you're working with such a low budget you don't always have the luxury of casting who you'd like, but really? There was nobody better? Nobody available in the whole of Atlanta that was actually scary? These are hell's bounty hunters but they come across like slightly irritated officials from the IRS. Beside the completely nonthreatening antagonist, the bad dialogue, the completely uninspired photography, and a few too many shots stolen from 'The Terminator' and 'The Matrix', the biggest problem is with the music. As is so often the case with low-budget movies, the score is a major handicap. Nothing destroys the mood of a scene faster than crappy music, and 'The Other Side' has it in spades. If you can't afford a quality score, then don't have one at all. Invest the money in quality foley work instead. Look at 'Texas Chain Saw Massacre' - they inspired terror with nothing more than the sound of screeching metal.'The Other Side', considering its non-existent budget, is actually pretty good and offers a far more satisfying viewing experience than many films with one hundred times the budget (I'm looking at you 'Deadline'). For all of its occasional nods to other movies, the story is fresh and original and told in a tightly plotted script with several genuinely thrilling action sequences. What more can you ask of such a movie. Worth checking out.

For a low budget movie, this is incredible. I wrote quite a few short novels as a teenager and this is the type of story I would have written. I had quite a following of friends and classmates who always wanted to know if I had written the next part yet or had finished it yet. Even today the plots are pretty original. It was always a dream of mine to have one or all made into a movie. I knew I would never have the budget to do such a thing but I tell you what, if I did I would want it directed by this guy. The action scenes in this movie are great, the presentation is awesome and the emotional part of the story is done exceptionally well. The acting was above par as well. All I can say is "great job"!! I watched this for free on HULU but will definitely be adding the DVD to my collection as a study on how a low budget movie should be made. This guy deserves all of the recognition that Robert Rodriguez got for "El Mariachi" and maybe even more.

After the opening few minutes I was really getting the feeling that I'd made a mistake to watch this - the low budget was very obvious. But then it got going and I was slowly drawn in to the film until I no longer noticed the low budget. Maybe the quality got better as the film progressed, or maybe it just became so involving that it didn't matter, but by the end of the film I was thinking "this is a damn good film!".The low budget is obvious in the makeup, some of the characters are really too clichéd and there are continuity goofs, but the overall package is a very good film. Certainly comparing it to a big budget movie, it stands up very well just on the strength of the story and the acting alone.That the director made this on a $15,000 is truly staggering. Hollywood could learn some lessons from this guy in an age of multimillion dollar flops