Otis (2008) (V)

User Rating:

6.2/10   

Director:

Tony Krantz

Writers:

Erik Jendresen (writer)
Thomas Schnauz (writer)

Genre:

Comedy | Crime | Horror | Thriller

Plot:

Suburban America gone haywire. In the midst of a serial abductor/killer's rampage, a beautiful young teen...

Plot Keywords:

Dark Comedy | Hostage | Abductor | Gore | Serial Killer

Cast

Bostin Christopher	...	Otis Broth
Ashley Johnson	...	Riley Lawson
Daniel Stern	...	Will Lawson
Illeana Douglas	...	Kate Lawson
Kevin Pollak	...	Elmo Broth
Jere Burns	...	Agent Hotchkiss
Jared Kusnitz	...	Reed Lawson
Tarah Paige	...	Kim
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Burt Bulos	...	Agent Nogi
Angelo Custino	...	Scott
Ellie Gerber	...	Kim #1
Brett Golov	...	Trace Tech.
Ashley Greene	...	Kim #4
David Hill	...	TV Cameraman
Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs	...	Orderly
Gary Kraus	...	Mr. Warner
Jamie McBride	...	Police Officer
Shenita Moore	...	Nurse
Nicole Nogrady	...	Sketch Artist
Tracy Scoggins	...	Rita Vitale / Anchorwoman
K.T. Thangavelu	...	Doctor
Kristen Trucksess	...	Mrs. Warner
Yoda Ushery	...	FBI Agent

Runtime:

100 min | Greece:96 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Certification:

Australia:MA (2008) | USA:Not Rated (DVD rating) | New Zealand:R18 | UK:15 | Australia:MA CORRECT: (2008) REPLACE WITH: | USA:Not Rated CORRECT: (DVD rating) REPLACE WITH: | Germany:Not Rated (SPIO/JK) (cut) | Singapore:M18

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Flame Ventures

Trivia:

Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs appears in one shot as an orderly in the hospital. He is wearing the exact same costume his character, Mandingo, wore in Sublime (2007) (V), where he was a satanic orderly.

Quotes:

Reed Lawson: Rectum? Damn near killed him!

Movie Connections:

References "48 Hours" (1988)

Soundtrack:

Cum on Feel the Noize

One of the Best Films of 2008, Hands Down

Otis Broth loves pizza, Froot Loops and Kim. And Kim. And Kim. Multiple times now he has tried to make a girl love him by chaining her up in his basement and calling her Kim. His latest victim, Riley Lawson (played by Ashley Johnson, perhaps best remembered from "Growing Pains" or "What Women Want") isn't ready to die like the others. And her family doesn't trust the police, preferring to take matters into their own hands.

I keep seeing the quotation comparing "Otis" to "Juno" and I don't know what to make of that. I really liked "Juno" and I really liked "Otis". But I don't know that they have all that much in common. The tone is completely different, the humor is different, Otis doesn't talk like he lives next door to Pacey Witter or Josephine Potter. I would love to know the reasoning behind this claim, as it seems a bit of a stretch. I see it as a darkly humorous take on other horror films -- but "Juno"? "Otis" has a rocking soundtrack (best of the 1970s), a dark humor that many will not appreciate, and takes on horror motifs of today. Want a girl imprisoned in a basement (like Jack Ketchum's "Girl Next Door")? Want torture ("Saw")? You'll get it, but without all the rape and gore. All of the torture takes place off-screen. Or, at least, almost all of it. Your imagination might leave you feeling grossed out, but the film doesn't cross the boundary. How do you balance rape, torture and humor? I don't know, but the makers of this film came as close as anyone probably ever will.

The actors were great. Bostin Christopher (Otis) couldn't have been cast better. Ashley Johnson (Riley) is both sexy and yet girl-next-doorish, alternating one scene to the next. Daniel Stern (Mr. Lawson) is a welcome addition, although one wonders where all the extra weight and gray hair came from. Are you getting older, Stern? Has Kevin McAllister worn you down? It's understandable.

The special features on the disc are decent. The obligatory audio commentary appears, which I'm always a big fan of. There's an alternate ending (which is even more grim than the standard finish, though not as satisfying). And there's an "Otis Broth Joint" (thanks, Spike Lee) called "Suite 16" that seems ready-made for placing on YouTube as a promotion, but is worth at least one watch (it's short).

Of the horror movies I've seen this year -- and it's quickly approaching 100 -- this ranks in the top three, alongside Ryan Harper's "Circulation" and Ryan Nicholson's "Gutterballs". If you see only one horror film this summer, I suggest "Otis". Warner Brothers and Raw Feed make a compelling case that horror can be fresh and new no matter how stale the genre seems to be getting with each passing day. How this skipped theaters and went straight-to-video is a modern mystery.