The Otherworld Paradox
| The Otherworld Paradox | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Antonio H. Blake |
| Written by |
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| Produced by |
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| Starring |
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| Cinematography | Guiomar Albuquerque |
| Edited by | Prudenzia Vellucci |
| Music by | Noa Gusmão |
Release dates |
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Running time | 132 minutes |
| Country | Vitosium |
| Language | English |
The Otherworld Paradox is a 2021 Vitosian horror film directed by the legendary Antonio H. Blake and written by Miguelito Gouveia and Rosalia Barboza. The film sees twelve people trapped in an apartment building desperately trying to find a way out while dealing with supernatural forces that want them dead.
Cast
Neiva Lo Cicero as Alina Coimbra
Francesco Zocchi as Anthony Barbosa
Matt Vivali as Braeden Alves
Rosalia Cuto as Carlotta Ramos
Brendon Mariano as Joseph Couto
Naomi Zarillo as Maci Camara
Jonas Gama as Malcolm Medeiros
Ethan Monti as Mauro Dias
Ariadna Kelsen-Gray as Michaela Batista
Lizzie Amengual as Natalia Moura
Andrea Zappieri as Sofia Rosa
Abello de Moa as Telmo Leitao
Juan Esteban Mastache as Wilson Vidal
Plot
Malcolm Medeiros, an accountant, wakes up in his apartment. Confused and dazed, he thought he had booked a room in a hotel. Shrugging off what he believed to be a dream, he tried to go about his morning routine but found that the taps and shower did not work. Annoyed, he decided to go ask the supervisor, Paul, as he wasn't warned of anything. In the lobby, though, he saw eleven others, who turned towards him.
"That makes twelve of us," spoke the repairman, Joseph.
Malcolm asks if they are all here to speak with Paul, the supervisor, about the water being turned off. While Anthony, Alina and Sofia all say that they were planning to talk to him, the others note that they don't even live in the building. He introduces himself to the nice, inhibited nurse, Alina Camara, the withdrawn hermit from a good family, Anthony Barbosa, the optomistic baseball player, Braeden Alves, the courageous but negative heir to Ramos Industries, Carlotta Ramos, the arrogant repairman with big dreams, Joseph Couto, the psychiatrist who can't resist helping people, Maci Camara, the paranoid doctor, Michaela Batista, the clumsy university professor, Natalia Moura, the model forced into her occupation, Sofia Rosa, the peace-loving war veteran, Telmo Veitao and the sarcastic journalist, Wilson Vidal.
"We all woke up here not that long ago," stated the journalist, Wilson. "The front door's locked and we've tried breaking the windows."
Joseph then approaches Maci saying that he really needs a therapy session with her right now. Maci, put off, says that it's not a good time as they need to figure out how to leave. Joseph then becomes hysterical, scaring Maci and leading the others to restrain him. They all decide to lock Joseph in the office until they can figure out how to escape. Maci mentions that Joseph is a regular patient at her office. Michaela then says that, as she can't trust anybody except for Alina, the two of them will find a way out themselves. Alina feels like they can trust the others but Michaela is aggressive with her, leading Alina to follow Dr. Batista down the hall.
Eventually, the remaining nine split up into groups of three lead by a resident of the building (Anthony, Malcolm and Sofia). When Anthony's group finds a plaque in the recreation room, they get Malcolm and Sofia's groups to join them where they discuss what is on said plaque.
An atrocity befallen, culpable were those not contrite.
I inquire for my mind and heart to come upon closure.
To the liable, penance is my condition.
To the liable, shame be your facet.
To the liable, you shall rest.
Once your penitence cracks asunder, only then will the gates open.
While Sofia thinks that it's a cruel joke and Telmo blames millennials, Braeden thinks that this plaque doesn't mean anything and is just related to one of the people that inspired the building. Everybody is now in agreeance that either Braeden is right or somebody is just pranking them.
As time goes on, the nine left to explore the building are annoyed that no staff are in the building with some thinking that they are being recorded. Sofia and Anthony soon grow annoyed at Carlotta's condescending behaviour, leading to an argument between the three. Maci heads to the office door and tells Joseph that she will let him out if he remains calm. When Joseph promises to do so, she lets him out.
Later, they all sit in the lobby and discuss their lives on the outside. Joseph has huge dreams about being an actor, Maci says that she got into psychiatry to help others after all the support she's had in her life and Sofia mentions being forced into modelling at a young age due to her mother. Carlotta says that she is the proud heir of a manufacturing conglomerate, to which Braeden says is a corrupt company that ruined his career and destroyed Joseph's company. As Carlotta and Braeden argue, Natalia interrupts them and says that they should look around for food. When Natalia is jumpscared by something, she screams and runs down the hall, alerting the others. Natalia then runs into Michaela and Alina. While Alina is worried about her, Michaela berates Natalia and tells her to grow up.
Malcolm, Joseph and Carlotta are knocking on all the doors on the second floor with no answer. Joseph starts to believe that this is all a dream as there is no way any of this is real. With this mindset, he starts breaking down a door. Malcolm tries to stop him but Carlotta says that what Joseph is doing is a great idea. Malcolm tries to stop Carlotta but eventually gives up and storms off.
He meets up with Telmo, who briefly talks about his experiences in the war and then compares the paranoia everybody has to starting a war amongst themselves. Malcolm notes how calm he is, which Telmo responds by saying that he isn't actually calm but acting irrational won't do any good. Natalia joins them and the three of them go to where Natalia saw a "creature" but they don't see anything. They hear Carlotta shriek in terror and run towards her to find that Joseph
has become a bloody mess inside the apartment he broke into. Everybody becomes hysterical and rushes towards the lobby where they inform Anthony, Sofia and Wilson. Eventually, Alina, Braeden, Maci and Michaela join them and are shocked to learn of Joseph's murder. Everybody begins to yell accusations at each-other, culminating in Carlotta getting the blame due to her being a few doors down from the crime scene. Anthony then remembers the plaque in the recreational room and
suggests that whatever trapped them in here took Joseph. Nobody believes him except for Natalia, who says that she saw something earlier. Michaela then suggests that Anthony and Natalia both conspired to off Joseph. This leads to an even bigger argument that ultimately splits up the remaining eleven into groups, although, to be safe, Carlotta is locked in the office.
Later, it becomes night-time. The group of Anthony, Maci, Malcolm and Natalia are in Malcolm's apartment, the pair of Alina and Michaela are in Alina's apartment and the group of Braeden, Sofia, Telmo and Wilson are in the rec room. Wilson, feeling like Carlotta wasn't responsible or that it may have been self-defense, wants to ask her about what she saw and heads towards the lobby. Once he heads into the lobby, though, he stumbles upon a room of cubicles from the newspaper company he works for. Confused, he explores and finds an article about an accident he wrote five years ago but the name of the person who died has been erased. Just then, he hears something is chased by a horrifying monster until he is torn apart by it. Back in the hotel lobby, Wilson's body has been strewn onto the walls with Carlotta having witnessed what happened from the office window.
In the morning, everybody is horrified to see what happened. They all come to the conclusion that, since Carlotta was locked up, she couldn't have done it. Once free from the office, Carlotta, hysterical, tells everybody what happened, that Wilson was alone in the lobby when a monster approached him from behind and killed him. This scares Anthony and Natalia. Carlotta begins to hyper-ventilate but Maci helps calm her down and suggests they all don't enter the lobby anymore.
In Anthony's apartment, Anthony tells Maci, Malcolm, Sofia and Telmo that he turned his back on his family years ago and misses them greatly, especially now. He is afraid to die before apologizing to them. He says that he became a shut-in after moving here but what happened to Joseph and Wilson has made him appreciate his family, even with their troubles and constant fighting. In Alina's apartment, Michaela constantly berates her for being soft on the others. Alina, though, says that she can't help it and says that helping people is why she became a nurse. Michaela says that the more she wants to help, the bigger a chance she will die and, when that time comes, she won't help her. Alina, shocked, breaks down.
What follows are a few jumpscares that scare Anthony, Carlotta, Michaela, Sofia and Telmo. Everybody meets up in the recreational room where they discuss what they saw. At this point, everybody believes that something is after them, leading to Michaela throwing out accusations and becoming very hysterical. Alina and Maci try to calm her down but she hits Maci over the head with an end table and forces Alina to come with her. Anthony, Malcolm and Telmo try to stop her from taking Alina but Michaela grabs a knife from the connected kitchen and threatens to kill her if anybody comes close. Natalia approaches her slowly trying to calm her down but ends up stabbed to death while Michaela flees down the hall with a scared Alina. In Alina's apartment, Michaela, still hysterical, smashes many things in the apartment and downright yells at Alina for getting her fired. She said that she will spend the rest of her life atoning for that. If she screams or tries to escape, she will kill her.
In the courtyard, everybody finishes burying Natalia with Anthony suggesting they bury Joseph and Wilson too but nobody wants to see the horrifying blood-soaked rooms the two died in. Back in the recreational room, they all come to the conclusion that Joseph and Wilson were targeted due to being "liable" for something. They all feel like they are all responsible for something they may not remember and that is why everybody must be punished by these creatures. It's then that Braeden notices the bat hung on the wall and suggests hunting the creature down. When he brings the bat down, he notices that the bat in particular is his bat as it has his name etched into it. While everybody is against the idea of hunting the monster, Braeden says that his bat being here means that he is meant to hunt the creature. He, desperately, doesn't want to see anybody else die and wants to protect everybody. As he goes to leave the room, everybody begs him to stay, saying that leaving will only get him killed. Malcolm wonders if the bat being there is a sign that Braeden is next but Braeden doesn't care and leaves the room anyway. When the others follow, Braeden is nowhere to be seen.
Braeden is face to face with the late Joseph in a hallway like in his actual apartment complex. Joseph tells Braeden that he wants to ask him a favour as a friend. He tells Braeden that he covered for him last year so he owes him this. Braeden asks Joseph what he wants, to which he replies that he wants Braeden's bat. Braeden says that, if he is doing what he thinks he is doing then he has no problem giving him the bat. Joseph then contorts into a monster, scaring Braeden who runs down the hall but, ultimately, he is brutally torn apart as he enters Malcolm's apartment.
The search for Braeden causes Anthony, Carlotta, Maci, Malcolm, Sofia and Telmo to split up and cover ground in pairs (Maci + Malcolm, Carlotta + Sofia, Anthony + Telmo). During the search, there are a few more jumpscares and the ground caves in, causing Carlotta and Sofia to fall from the second floor onto the first. Anthony and Telmo end up coming across a deranged Michaela who is hellbent on surviving. Telmo pushes Anthony away, telling him to run while he fends her off. As Anthony runs, Telmo is killed. Anthony comes across Carlotta and Sofia alone in one of the apartments. They are shocked to hear of Telmo's sacrifice. Carlotta is frightened, saying that she doesn't deserve any of this and goes into hysterics. Anthony suggests that they kill Michaela as she may be responsible for this, calling her a demon. Carlotta says that killing Michaela won't do anything and says that it may be a battle royale between them, which Sofia, immediately, tells her that thinking like that is dangerous. Carlotta then flat out yells at Sofia that only one can make it out but Sofia wants to know where she got that from. Anthony then knocks Carlotta upside the head with a glass bottle and tells Sofia that they need to get away from her. They run to the rec room and hide inside. Sofia tells Anthony that, if she makes it out of here, she wants to take her life back. She says that he should too.
Meanwhile, Maci and Malcolm notice Malcolm's apartment door is open, revealing Braeden's mangled corpse. Malcolm panics and Maci tries to calm him down. He yells at her that her remaining calm is suspicious and runs off, saying that she is a threat to him. He runs back into the rec room and notices Anthony and Sofia. They mention Telmo's sacrifice and Carlotta going insane. Malcolm mentions finding Braeden's corpse and Maci being super calm about it. He says that anybody staying calm right now is suspicious. Sofia says that they need to remain calm or else they will kill each-other. Maci walks into the rec room and apologizes for being so calm. She breaks down, admitting that she is so scared and has been trying to keep it in. Malcolm then apologizes for his outburst. Alina then enters the rec room, saying she was able to escape after Michaela left her apartment.
Just then, Carlotta comes in through the courtyard door with a large butcher knife from the apartment kitchen. Everybody tries to calm her down but she states that the epitaph on the plaque clearly says that once the "liable" die, the "gates will open". That means that once a certain amount of people die, the rest of them will live. She then lunges forward and stabs Anthony, claiming that he attacked her earlier so that must mean that he is "liable". As Anthony bleeds on the floor, the others manage to restrain her and lock her outside in the courtyard. The remaining four, Alina, Maci, Malcolm and Sofia. Alina, the nurse, notes that they were too late to save Anthony. The others grieve for him. Outside, in the courtyard, Carlotta sees her dad, Nathan Ramos. Carlotta cries, saying how much she misses him. Nathan says that the company is now hers. As they embrace, she is ripped apart by the creature who disguised himself as her father.
Michaela notices that Alina has escaped and goes on a rampage, yelling and slashing up the walls of the hallway as she rushes towards the rec room. When the others hear her, Alina picks up the knife Carlotta dropped. When Carlotta opens the rec room door, Alina approaches her and stabs her, saying that she has no regrets. Michaela, with the knife still in her, stumbles back into the hallway. Michaela then notices that she is fine as everybody finds themselves in a hospital hallway. A patient is rushed inside a room as everybody sees a figment of Nurse Alina enter the room. Michaela looks over the board and says that she'll probably be gone in a few minutes anyway. Alina says that they still have to try. However, Michaela manages to stop every attempt Alina does to save the patient, causing Alina to tell Michaela that they can't give up on her. Michaela says that she recognizes the name and, if she knows what's good for her, she'll let the patient die. As the patient flatlines, Alina, in tears, runs out of the room. Michaela says that she remembers this moment and cries, saying that it's not her time to die just yet. She says she knows for a fact that this is the ghost trying to distract her and kill her and she won't fall for it. She heads into the hallway and runs down the hall and ends up going into an elevator. The elevator then morphs and crushes her.
Back in the rec room, the remaining four can't believe what they just saw. Alina says that she reported the incident, which is what led to Michaela being fired. She says that the patient who died had, supposedly, stolen Michaela's ex years ago. However, she never disclosed the name and she never saw that board. When Michaela told her to let the patient die after reading the name, she knew. Malcolm reasons that every victim except Natalia, Telmo and Anthony, who they all saw die, went through something similar and it is all related to that patient. The only thing is that they don't know how or who the ghost is. Sofia reasons that the ghost had to have been among the twelve since the very beginning. Maci goes to leave the room, beckoning them to follow her. She says that Alina's apartment should still be fine and they all need some sleep. It's recommended that they sleep together.
As they enter Alina's apartment, they, instead, walk into an office. Malcolm notices the name "Maci Gabriela Camara" on the certificates and warns Maci to stay by them as this could be the ghost targeting her. Maci reassures them that it's not. Just then, Joseph enters the office and Maci tells him to sit down. He tells her that he feels like he is losing his mind. He wants revenge so badly but he knows he can't do anything about his situation. It then fast-forwards three days later. Joseph thanks Maci for always taking the time to let him vent. Maci says that it's her job and she will do whatever she can to help, as long as it is through these sessions. It then fast-forwards two weeks later. Maci explains to Joseph that she is having to transfer him to another psychiatrist. It wasn't her decision but it is what needs to be done. Joseph then asks her out, saying that, as his girlfriend, she will always be there for him, but Maci says that she is already taken and isn't interested in him like that. It then fast-forwards three more days and shows Maci's house. Her boyfriend, Mauro, leaves for work as Joseph sneaks in through the back with Braeden's bat. As she enters the kitchen, Joseph ambushes her and she manages to make it to the front door before being beaten half to death. Mauro comes in as Joseph runs off and Maci is sent to the hospital.
Maci tells the others that, as they saw, she died later at the hospital. After that, the newspaper said that her death was an accident and there wasn't enough evidence to indict Joseph of the crime so he was let go. She chose this apartment building to get her revenge as Joseph had just signed a lease for an apartment on the third floor. While he wasn't to move until the end of the month, she wanted him to know that she was coming after him. As for the innocent people dragged into this, they were other patients of hers and she wanted them to experience this to help get their lives back on track should they survive. Malcolm says that what she did to the people not even involved in her death was beyond f**ked up. Maci says that she knows but her methods worked. Sofia wants to take back her life from her mother, Alina learned to stand up for herself and Malcolm learned to not be passive when it comes to everything. As Maci vanishes, Malcolm says that they need to check on the front doors. As they enter the lobby and see Wilson's corpse, they are ecstatic to discover the doors are unlocked.
Malcolm then wakes up in his apartment. Everything is normal and everything runs fine. As he turns on the TV, there is a news broadcast of an investigative journalist named Wilson Vidal being found dead in his bedroom earlier in the morning. As he turns off the TV, Malcolm notes that it's time to move.
| Tofino Film Fest Awards | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Category | Result | |||
| Best Picture | Nominated | |||
| Best Actress (Ariadna Kelsen-Gray) | Won | |||
| Best Actor (Jonas Gama) | Nominated | |||
| Best Director (Antonio H. Blake) | Nominated | |||