The Other Side of the Door
- Review Date: March 4, 2016
- Rated: R
- Genre: Horror
- Release Year: 2016
- Running Time: 96 minutes
The Other Side of the Door gallery
What parents need to know
Parents Need to Know
Parents need to know that The Other Side of the Door is a horror movie about a mother (The Walking Dead's Sarah Wayne Callies) who tries to communicate with her dead son and accidentally brings back his malevolent ghost. Language, drinking, and smoking aren't issues, but there's plenty of scariness and violence, including a couple of bloody stabbings. Perhaps even more disturbing is the death of a young boy while trapped in a sinking car; his mother can't save both him and his sister. There are also plenty of ghosts and creatures, jump-scares, and other spooky, creepy, or startling moments. Plus, a woman takes a pill overdose, a dog is potentially harmed (off screen), and a married couple has a very mild kissing, possibly-leading-to-sex scene.
User reviews
Parents say
Kids say
What's the story?
Maria (Sarah Wayne Callies) and her husband, Michael (Jeremy Sisto), run an antique business and live in Mumbai, India. They have a little girl, Lucy (Sofia Rosinsky), but their son, Oliver, drowned in an accident when a car skidded off the road; Maria blames herself, since she was unable to save both kids. Wracked with grief, Maria learns from her housekeeper, Piki (Suchitra Pillai-Malik), that there's a ritual in which she can speak to her son one last time and make her peace. She must visit an old temple and place his ashes by the door -- though she must never open it. But (naturally) she does, and before long she starts to notice evidence of Oliver having returned home. But the ghost might not quite be the Oliver that his mother remembers.
Is it any good?
Though it borrows from Pet Sematary and other chillers and doesn't offer much in the way of fresh scares, this effective ghostly horror movie works thanks to characters with strong emotional centers. Callies (of TV's The Walking Dead and Colony) holds everything together with the believably distraught behavior in her performance. Maria never does anything dumb; even when she opens the forbidden door, it's done legitimately and understandably.
Director Johannes Roberts gives viewers the usual loud, percussive jump-scares; the ghost with the wide-open mouth; the ghost revealed in a lightning flash; and other old chestnuts, though the characters and the atmosphere of India help generate a few genuine/fresh chills here and there. The movie doesn't seem to care much about any local characters; they're all either servants or creeps, but, focused on the main family unit, THE OTHER SIDE OF THE DOOR tells an effective tale.
Families can talk about...
Families can talk about The Other Side of the Door's violence. How much is shown, and how much is implied? What's the impact of media violence on kids?
How scary is the movie? How does it compare to other horror movies you've seen? What's the appeal of watching a scary movie? Are all gory movies scary? Why or why not?
How did it feel having children be the focus of so much of the movie's scary stuff?
Movie details
| Theatrical release date: | March 4, 2016 |
| Cast: | Sarah Wayne Callies, Jeremy Sisto, Sofia Rosinsky |
| Director: | Johannes Roberts |
| Studio: | Twentieth Century Fox |
| Genre: | Horror |
| Topics: | Monsters, ghosts, and vampires |
| Run time: | 96 minutes |
| MPAA rating: | R |
| MPAA explanation: | some bloody violence |
About Our Rating System
Great handpicked alternatives
-
Exceptionally scary flick is too intense for younger teens.age 15+ -
Spooky horror film about a mother, a son, and an evil book.age 17+
-
Decent old-school ghost story, Spanish-style.age 15+
For kids who love scares
Top advice and articles
What parents and kids say
A safe community is important to us. Please observe our guidelines
Horrifying and scary but entertaining and smart but violent horror thriller has gore.
WOW
