Brittany Murphy has always been a little off, but now she is headed for The Other Side, a fantasy comedy from Myriad Pictures. The story will feature Murphy as a graduate student who spends the summer working at a scientific institute on an isolated island. There’s issue one with the film’s premise. I put Brittany Murphy as a believable graduate student scientist just a couple of steps above believing Tara Reid as a scientist in Alone in the Dark.

When Murphy’s character gets to the isolated island, she discovers an eccentric community of characters. Presumably these are played by Jason Lee, Giovanni Ribisi, Jim Broadbent, Tim Roth, and Lilli Taylor, who Variety also lists as being involved with the project. Not all is well in the scientific community, as the characters there are hiding a secret about a tragedy in the past.

Is it just me or is this concept incredibly similar to the Sci-Fi channel’s summer series, “Eureka”? Quicky characters in a scientific community? An outsider providing a surrogate view for the audience? Tragic secrets? Yup, it’s all in there, and frankly I prefer Colin Ferguson to Brittany Murphy. Still, the combination of Ribisi and Lee, who play together really well on “My Name Is Earl” is appealing.

The Other Side is scheduled to start filming in November.