Read the novel 3 weeks ago. The main theme and thread of this movie is exactly the same as "dark matter" by blake crouch but i dont see them giving any credit to the original book.

This movie is an oversimplification of the book. In the original (i'm 100% sure they were inspired by/stole the ideas from it) the protagonist went through a cascades of troubles to get back to his love. Traveled to dozens of multi-universes to finally get back to his world and got his version of girl back.

This knock off in comparison, leaves out all the intricacies and subtle emotions and psychological observations which made the real one successful.

Anyways, overall its not terrible, its watchable. Dialogues are very light, like they were written by elementary school students. So its a nice brainless relaxation, def worth it to watch it on a drunken miserable night alone at home.

After reading some of the reviews, I still decided to try this movie, and I was glad I did! Although the "stars" were no-names, they did very well.

The actress that played Kris (the wife), was very irritating at first (by not even listening to what the guy wanted to tell her about the portal he had discovered/made). To be honest, the husband (Doug) was pretty inarticulate in his description of the portal, but that was to be expected, as he was a loser in life, with no job and no ambition.

I thought the fact that they left the reason the portal existed as a positive element in the movie, as too many movies get bogged down in the fantasy mechanics of it (wormholes, etc). He really didn't know how he made it, but he knew what it was because he had seen enough movies and TV shows about the subject.

I was relieved when he tried to tell a scientist about it, they brushed him off, as it DID sound goofy, as he had NO idea of the science behind it and was, like I said, pretty inarticulate in his description of it.

I had trouble watching the middle portion where he was sneaking around the house of his alternate, as he kept coming so close to getting caught.

It was interesting to see that there was an alternative universe where he was NOT a loser, and him and his wife (and child) were living quite nicely as he was successful in his craft.

It was an unexpected twist when he forced his alternate into the vortex so that he could live the good life, but his old nature kept surfacing (he didn't have a job in this universe either). It was really made plain when his (alternate's) little girl wanted to put catchup on her pancakes, and his wife didn't want to her (because of the sugar, etc). He kept saying "Why not?" He would have been a loser of a father also.

Once the movie got past the uncomfortable "almost getting caught in the alternate's house" thing, I think it got pretty interesting with the twist.

I won't tell you how it ends, but it's not well.

Low budget ? Sure.

Engaging storyline ? Indeed.

Decent acting? Yep.

Additionally, the film boasts some truly impressive camerawork.

Being its first feature movie, director Alrik Bursell has crafted a streamlined sci-fi romp that never boxes above its weight while telling a relatable premise. At about 85 minutes to the credit run, The Alternate wastes little time either pondering or explaining the scientific "hows" of its story. It's all made up, it doesn't matter, and you won't care. Solid and convincing, it keeps the audience invested in the outcome of it all.

What else can you wish for ?