The Evil Next Door is a 2020 Swedish supernatural horror film about a father who moves into a new duplex house with his girlfriend and son. They hear strange noises from a supposedly uninhabited house next door and when he’s out of town working, the son makes a new “friend”. Also known as The Other Side
Written and directed by Tord Danielsson and Oskar Mellander, the Breidablick Film production stars Dilan Gwyn, Linus Wahlgren, Eddie Eriksson Dominguez and Janna Granström. Produced by Gila Bergqvist.
Reviews:
“The Other Side largely eschews the jump scares typical of spook house offerings in favour of concentrating, gratifyingly, on the awkward but thawing relationship between Shirin and Lucas […] Any overtly horrific scenes are largely saved for the last reel; a wise move as it capitalises on their capacity to unsettle and allows the drama in the rest of the movie to unfold more clearly and, in its favour, intensely.” Bloody Flicks
“Horror movies with children are also always a little extra scary in my book […] There are things that are illogical, and it is inevitable that it borrows well from other horror movies in both storytelling and scare effects. However, in a good way, so it succeeds in exactly what a horror movie should do. It scares you.” Filmbladet [translated from Swedish]
“When you copy from other movies, it does not get more blatant than this. The script is really lame and the actors have great trouble infusing the characters with emotion and authenticity. You also have big problems with visual and film effects. Cheap CGI does not do this movie any favours.” Filmparadiset [translated from Swedish]
” …borrows from predecessors such as James Wan and David F. Sandberg with flashes of The Conjuring and The Shining. But even if you can tick off what is expected in the story, with haunted houses and everything, it is not wrong to be inspired by the best. The craftsmanship is good enough, with well-directed scare scenes, satisfying effects and fine efforts by the actors.” Hedmark [translated from Swedish]
“So this home with its resident evil is a structure with two sides to every stor(e)y, and falls into a long tradition of haunted houses which allow a family’s intimate psychodramas to be played out as horror. Danielsson and Mellander manage the fraught interior atmosphere, the encroaching dread and the odd jolting fright very effectively, without ever losing sight of their Protean bogeyman’s value as a metaphor.” Projected Figures
“The characters in The Other Side often behave strangely, and the dialogue is rigid and unnatural. Little Lucas is a little old – and looks as nasty as the ghost boy. Technically, the film is competent and the basic story could have worked – if Danielsson and Mellander had reviewed their script. The film is gravely serious and the ending is so drawn out that it becomes immediately boring.” Toppraffel! [translated from Swedish]
” …the final act does build a real sense of claustrophobia as Shirin is forced to descend under the house to face the demon on its own territory. Making good use of the dark, cramped sub-basement crawlspaces and keeping the film moving Danielsson and Mellander bring The Evil Next Door to an excellent climax. The filmmakers have the right idea and visual sense, they just need a script to match.” Voices from the Balcony
Release:
The film was released by NonStop in Sweden in October, where it ranked among the top three at the box office.
Magnolia Pictures and Magnet will release The Evil Next Door in the USA on June 25, 2021.
Cast and characters:
Dilan Gwyn … Shirin
Linus Wahlgren … Fredrik
Eddie Eriksson Dominguez … Lucas
Janna Granström … Julia
Jakob Fahlstedt … Policeman
Karin Holmberg … Katja
Niklas Jarneheim … Mäklare
Henrik Norlén … Peter Lindvall
Sovi Rydén … Voice
Technical details:
87 minutes
Original title:
Andra Sidan “Other Side”
Trailer:
Clip:
