I just got a press release in my e-mail, telling me that THE OTHER SIDE, Gregg Bishop’s indepently shot action-horror-thriller, is scheduled for a limited theatrical release later this year, followed by DVD. U.S. distribution will be through Allumination Filmworks, with Bleiberg Entertainment handling foreign territories.
Watch out: THE OTHER SIDE is coming to your neighborhood.
This is great news; the low-budget gem was the sleeper surprise of last year’s Shriekfest. At the time, I wrote in E-Splatter:
The big winner for Best Feature Film at this year’s Shriekfest Film Festival in Hollywood was THE OTHER SIDE, an independent feature film that wowed audiences at a screening on Saturday night and elicited rounds of applause on Sunday when the award was announced – pretty impressive when you consider that many if not most of the audience were fellow filmmakers entered in the competition.
Competitiveness aside, THE OTHER SIDE was the obvious choice, even in a field that included several other impressive titles. Gregg Bishop’s action-packed opus – about souls that escape from hell and are tracked down by almost unkillable “Reapers” intent on bringing them back – may be the EL MARIACHI of horror films: a low-budget calling card that opens doors to Hollywood, allowing for a big-budget sequel-remake down the road. (One of the running gags during the Q&A after the film was which stars would replace the excellent cast of the original, with names like Ewan MacGregor and Michael Clarke Duncan thrown around.) There is no distribution deal for the film yet, but Hollywood would have to be crazy to let this own go direct-to-video. It’s like a horror movie version of THE TERMINATOR, THE HIDDEN, and SUPERMAN II all rolled into one: it delivers the goods – action and special effects – but also tells a complex story without ever dragging the pace to a standstill.
Unfortunately, the press release was short on details, so I assume the theatrical exposure will be in the form of a small “platform” release to help boost the home video revenues. With any luck, audiences will discover this film and turn it into a surprise hit.
Read the press release below the fold.
FULL DISCLOSURE: As you will see, my name is mentioned in the press release, which quotes the review I originally posted on Hollywood Gothique. You can now find the review at Cinefantastique Online here.
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA (August 1, 2007) – The US distribution rights to the crowd-pleasing action/thriller The Other Side were snapped up this past week for an undisclosed amount by Allumination Filmworks, who will be handling the domestic theatrical and DVD distribution of the movie. Bleiberg Entertainment has acquired the film rights for the movie’s foreign distribution.
Allumination Filmworks will release the film in select theatres this year.
Written/Directed by Gregg Bishop and Produced by Chad Eikhoff, The Other Side is a low-budget, Atlanta-made feature about a man who escapes from Hell to find the person who killed him, but is hunted by a team of Reapers who are sent from the Netherworld to bring him back.
The film stars Nathan Mobley from Yesterday Was a Lie and Jaimie Alexander, who stars as Jessi XX on ABC’s hit show Kyle XY.
A film festival favorite, The Other side premiered in competition to sold-out crowds and rave reviews at the Slamdance Film Festival and won the Grand Jury Award for Best Feature Film at ShriekFest. The film also swept the awards at IFFYNTX (Independent Film Festival of North Texas) winning Best Picture, Best Screenplay and Best Actor (Nathan Mobley).
Variety called The Other Side “a lean, propulsively paced supernatural thriller, packed with pulse pounding excitement.” Scott Weinberg of eFilmCritic.com calls it “fast paced, creative and entertaining. A solid handful of unexpected surprises.” SciFi Dimensions raves “an impressive feature length debut. Gregg Bishop may be the next big thing in horror movies.” John Koenig of Dark Romance says that “this movie blew my mind! It’s like a blazing gunfight on a demonic roller coaster ride!” and Steve Biodrowski of Hollywoood Gothique says that The Other Side “may be the El Mariachi of horror movies” and hailed it as “one of the best films of the year.”
“The response this movie has received has exceeded our expectations in every way,” says Bishop. “We are thrilled that the film will be released theatrically and that the movie will be available to audiences everywhere”. Eikhoff adds, “we made The Other Side as a non-stop thrill ride and are looking forward to audiences having the chance to experience it theatrically and on DVD.”
The deal was brokered on behalf of the filmmakers by Jeff Cohen of Cohen & Gardner, LLP. The film was repped by Ronna Wallace of Eastgate Pictures.