A very special first work of the horror genre arrives at the cinema today, 9 June, with BIM Distribuzione. It is called The Other Side and we present it to you.
In the summer, shivering at the cinema is almost an obligation. Not only for the blessed air conditioning that refreshes us in this hot month of June, but above all for the return to the hall of horror, a genre much loved by fans, who await this season to recover the most interesting works. One such film, due out on June 9 with BIM Distribuzione, is The Other Side, which comes straight from Sweden, where it successfully came out at the box office and won two Guldbagge Awards (national awards) for sound and effects. specials, debut in the feature film by a couple of directors, Tord Danielsson and Oskar Mellander, who confirm the happy propensity of the Nordic countries to tell, in cinema and literature, stories with thriller implications or decidedly, as they used to say, “of fear “. This is a short guide, without spoilers, to know what awaits you when you go to the cinema to see The Other Side.
The Other Side: the plot and the trailer of the film
Shirin has just moved into a two-family house with her partner Fredrik and little Lucas, Fredrik’s son and her mother’s orphan. Everything seems perfect for starting a new life together, but every house hides a secret: whether it is in the attic or in the basement, the most disturbing nightmares lurk in the darkest places and often also in the shadowy areas of our mind. And so, when Fredrik leaves for work, leaving his son at home with his new mother, something happens: strange noises seem to come from the uninhabited part of the villa. Who is hiding? What is there? And why does Lucas say he found a friend on the other side of the house?
The Other Side: the writers and the cast
Tord Danielsson and Oskar Mellander are almost the same age: the first was born in 1980 and the second in 1979. They are also screenwriters of The Other Side. Even though this is their debut, they already have extensive television experience behind them. They have been working together since 2012, when they met, not surprisingly, during the making of a horror series. For their first jointly signed film, they claim (an old horror tradition) that they were inspired by a true story:
A couple of years ago we met a family who claimed to have experienced something very scary and inexplicable in 2014, which is that a demon tried to capture their child. It all started with their move to a new home. The demon made sure that the mother was accused by her husband of being responsible for some injuries sustained by the son, but when the husband experienced situations that could not be rationally explained, he came to believe that “something” was persecuting his family. . This family wishes to remain anonymous.
The characters on stage are essentially the two adults and the child, a newly formed family looking for a new start in a new home. To interpret them are three talented actors, starting with little Eddie Eriksson Dominguez, who plays Lucas and is in his first ever test. The father, Fredrik, has the face of Linus Wahlgren, a very popular actor in Sweden for his participation in numerous TV series, while it is likely that you have also seen elsewhere the beautiful Shirin, the courageous stepmother of little Lukas.
To interpret it is Dilan Gwyn: born in Stockholm, daughter of a Kurdish poet and journalist, the actress, who speaks five languages, has an international career. After studying in France she lived and worked in London and the United States, where she landed the role of Willa in the Beyond series. We also saw her in Da Vinci’s Demons in the part of Yana and in the cinema in the recent Red Snake, about Kurdish female fighters. Just as important as the “human” protagonists is the actor and contortionist who shaped the Boogeyman, the Black Man of the film, Troy James, who appeared in various demon and monster guises in series such as Shadowhunters and films such as Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark, The Nest and The Fair of Illusions – Monster Alley by Guillermo del Toro where he was, needless to say, the Snake Man.
The Other Side: Themes and quotes
Right from the title, The Other Side reveals its nature of classic horror: the other part is, physically, the uninhabited twin house to the one bought by the unconscious family, but it is also, of course, the one that exists beyond the human world. . There are many themes staged by the two horror directors. One is that of the double, represented by the child who asks to play with Lucas and who is the evil reflection of a world dominated by the forces of evil. Closely linked to this is the theme of the “imaginary” friend present in many horror films, including recent ones, the one adults do not believe until it is too late – or almost – to run for cover.
All of this takes place in the classic haunted house context. Then there are the feelings of guilt, motherhood and acceptance, and scattered here and there in the story various references and real quotes that refer to horror classics. We reveal only one, which if you are passionate about the genre will not escape you: the child “on the other side” manifests itself by throwing a ball to Lucas. Impossible in this case not to grasp in this case the reference to films like The Shining and The Changeling, to name just a couple. In short, between reinterpretations of the classics, tension to the stars and twists, The Other Side awaits you at the cinema on June 9, to rediscover all together in the darkness of the room the dear old pleasure of fear.