Jump to the good stuff: The Story | Some Thoughts | The Final Verdict
The Story:
On the Other Hand, Death is the third movie in the Donald Strachey mystery series.
Donald Strachey (Chat Allen) is hired by an anonymous man to follow his wife, Gina Santer (Lori Ann Triolo), who he suspects is cheating on him. While following Gina, Donald gets caught and discovers that she’s an undercover cop. And not only that, but he could have blown her cover by following her.
Eager to know why he was spying on her; Gina brings Donald into custody and grills him for six hours. Detective Bailey (Daryl Shuttleworth) convinces Gina to let him go, and Donald agrees to discover the identity of the man who hired him.
Meanwhile, lesbian couple, Dorothy Fisher (Margot Kidder) and Edith Strong (Gabrielle Rose), are being tormented by vandals. Since Dorothy is a school guidance counselor and out lesbian, she and Edith assume their tormentor is one of the local kids. However, it could also be one of the parents who are eager to see her fired.
Staying with Dorothy and Edith is Andrew McWhirter (Damon Runyan), a former student and friend. While Andrew is in town, he reaches out to his ex-boyfriend, who is also Donald’s life partner, Timmy (Sebastian Spence). Since Timmy already knows Dorothy, Andrew invites them over. During their visit, a brick is thrown through a window, and Donald rushes outside as a car drives off. Donald starts looking into who is tormenting the women, only to discover a web of lies and deceit.
Some Thoughts:
On the Other Hand, Death is very much like the previous two films in the series (Shock to the System and Third Man Out), opening with a suspenseful scene before diving into the story. It also has the same production values as the previous films, giving it the look and feel of a well-made network television movie.
As Donald and Timmy, Allen and Spence make a cute couple that are easy to rout for. If you saw the previous two movies, then seeing them again is like spending time with good friends. Nelson Wong plays Donald’s assistant, Kenny Kwon, who has more screen time than he did in the previous two movies. Wong is perfect in the role, breathing life into the wide-eyed wannabe private eye.
Kidder and Rose are believable as the troubled lesbian couple. While the mystery surrounding them is a bit flawed, their relationship rings true. They’re also heavily steeped in the convoluted story, which never fully comes together. However, this is the type of movie you watch for the characters, so the plot is just a bonus.
The Final Verdict:
On the Other Hand, Death is a fun mystery/thriller with characters that fans of the series will enjoy. True mystery fans will be disappointed, but those who like shows like Murder, She Wrote will find it worth their time.
