THE OTHER SIDE OF THE DOOR

THE OTHER SIDE OF THE DOOR 

THE OTHER SIDE OF THE DOOR = B 

A modern day PET SEMATARY with a strong enough story and decent enough performances to get an overall stamp of approval from me. 

I enjoyed the mixture of psychological horror mixed in with the more traditional route of straight up scary. I could have done without the jump scares, but I let them slide because there were only a few of them. I imagine they were most likely put in due to studio demand, than they were in the written script or suggestion of the director.

The story built on mystery and suspense and while I myself prefer explanation over ambiguity, I question whether this film may have revealed a bit too much, too soon in places. I was ok with it, but today's audiences want twists, shocks and turns, and this film was pretty much what you see is what you get.

What keeps THE OTHER SIDE OF THE DOOR from getting an A and staying at a B for me is conveniences to the plot. An explanation for why he had turned evil was never given. I'd be ok with that, if I didn't believe that the reason for no explanation was that they didn't have one. I also felt that the film contradicted itself in a few moments. Oliver goes out of his way to fool the father and after all the work he went through immediately reveals himself to him?

This film was good. I think it could have been better. It had a nice tone. It set a presence of fear and uncertainty and did a good job to build and ease at appropriate moments. I never felt at complete comfort during the film and I think a good horror does a good job of keeping you in the moment the entire film. Like a dog on a leash, moments where it grips you tight. Other moments where it lets you roam freely about, while never completely letting you go.

I'll also compliment the score as the music helped to add to the feel of the film.

The movie left me with some unanswered questions, but none that eat away at me like some other films do.

Nothing spectacular. This isn't a must watch, have to see sort of film. But it is a good watch and worth a look. If you like solid horror with solid story and performances, I think you'll enjoy this.