Search - Otis: Uncut [Blu-ray] on Blu-ray

Highly entertaining, but not for everyone

Ravenskya | 06/12/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This is a STRANGE movie. We saw the trailer for it on "The Orphanage" DVD and thought, well that movie looks pretty funny, let's get that.



Short Synopsis: Otis is a hulking pervert who captures teenage girls and takes them home where he fulfills his high school fantasies, forcing them to "play along." Otis got more than he bargained for when he abducts Riley whose family has a collective screw loose to begin with.



This movie was funny in a dark and almost sad way. Everyone in the film is warped so the only character you can really identify with is Riley... and she doesn't say much. The scenes between Riley and Otis are by far the most well acted in the film, they are both disturbing and hysterically funny. Riley's family however never seemed to click, what should have been the funniest scenes in the movie were overacted which seriously drained the humor out of them. Each character was funny in their own right, but as a unit they never meshed completely. Still this was a very enjoyable film with much less gore than anticipated, no nudity (sorry boys) but for those of you who don't like profanity, this movie is full of it. I don't have an issue with profanity in R rated movies... but the profanity in this one feels a bit forced, as if either the actors weren't comfortable using it, or they just couldn't get the rhythm of what they were saying.



Even though the acting was a bit off, this was a really fun movie with quite a few laughs. I would say its best viewed in a group setting with a couple of beers and popcorn.



Since it's unrated I'll give you my rating synopsis -

Nudity - None, though there is a girl in her underwear.

Sex - None seen, though it is mentioned and alluded to

Violence - I'd give this an R for one particular scene

Profanity - Definite R

Drug use - There is mention of drugs, and you see the son popping pills.

"

Great black comedy

Ed Shull | Laguna Niguel, CA United States | 05/27/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I caught Otis at the SXSW film festival in Austin, and it was one of the stand out films of the event.



Otis is a serial killer who kidnaps young pretty girls to fulfill his own dreams of what he missed in high school. Eventually these girls fight back and die. His latest victim, Riley (the beautiful Ashley Johnson) has a bit more fight than he's used to. And her family is even more aggressive.



The cast does a great job pulling the story together. Illena Douglas, who always does a great job, is incredible as the mother who has gone a little crazy. Ashley Johnson is perfect as Riley. She has that nice combo of being both hot and yet very sweet at the same time, much like the character she played on CSI.



I think the stand out actor on this is Jared Kusnitz, who I also saw in Dance of the Dead (incredibly good movie). Somehow the movie gets a little funnier every time he's in a scene.



One note on casting...I couldn't help feeling like Kevin Pollack and Daniel Stern were cast in each others roles as the brother of Otis and the father of Ashley Johnson, repetitively. They both did a great job, but Daniel Stern looks much more like the brother of Otis than Pollack. Although I do love the scenes with Stern and Kusnitz.



Otis is a movie best viewed with some friends who enjoy black comedies. This film's pretty dark, but really enjoyable."

The Hysterical House on the Left

Captain Insanity | NY | 07/11/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"There's nothing quite like family bonding is there??

Especially when it's over someone whose bound, gagged, and beaten.

Afterall, the family that violently interrogates would-be murderers together,

stays together.



"Otis" is 1 twisted teaspoon of "Captivity"

mixed with 2 hysterical cups of "Last House on the Left"

Here's the skinny:

A lonely madman kidnaps a local girl and keeps her captive in his basement,

all while preparing her for his bizarro, makeshift prom.

Her distraught family however, has plans to crash said prom

with blood-thirsty, vengeful intentions....and of course power-tools!!



Every character was unforgettable!!!

The star-studded cast really made the most of their parts.

(Kevin Pollack, Daniel Stern,

the gorgeous Ileyana Dougals & the angelic Ashley Johnson)

Every character was lovably quirky & outrageously phenominal!!!

Each one a little more over-the-top than the last,

but the whole movie was more than a little over-the-top,

so it's seems fitting.

Jere Burns as the FBI investigator proves this point in spades.

He was soooooo silly with his ridiculous laser pointer,

I actually felt compelled to go out and buy one myself!!!

Daniel Stern had me rolling once the violence started,

his regression into a bumbling, hilarious wreck was undeniably excellent!!

I love Iylana Douglas,

Everytime I see her on the screen I feel like a silly, love-struck teenager.

She was awesome .....as always!!

And Kevin Pollack was downright amazing!!!

He wasn't even trying to be funny,

and yet he was had me in puddles of mirthful tears.

I'm under the impression he can assume any role on the planet.



My hat goes off to Tony Krantz & Eric Jendressen,

(the writer/director team behind the Twilight-Zone-esque masterpiece "Sublime")

The plot was as dementedly hysterical as a stand-up comedian with one leg,

and the direction was as tight as sardines in spandex.

The scene where the family was standing around covered in blood,

brave-heart-style,

is a neo-classic, and one for the books.



I thought it was great and would highly recommend it.

Especially If you liked:

"Last House on the Left",

"House Arrest", (yeah why not)

"Captivity",

"The Cottage",

"Bothched",

"Behind the Mask",

"Shaun of the Dead", or

"Severance"

I would seriously pick this film up like tomorrow if I were you.



MORAL OF THE STORY:

The institution of family is sacred.....albeit totally mental!!!"

A Downward Spiral of Madness & Fun!

Brian Lueth | Chicago, IL United States | 09/18/2009

(3 out of 5 stars)

"I really do love strange, quirky little black comedies like this and Otis really hit that "May" factor for me. The lead character of Otis Broth, played by newcomer Bostin Christopher, offered viewers just enough intimidating psycho mixed with sympathetic monster to keep folks on their toes. As the story progresses we discover that the hulking basket case isn't as cold-blooded a killer as we'd originally been lead to believe; it's obvious there's a life of mental illness and physical abuse behind his unconscionable actions. Don't allow yourself to feel too sorry for Otis though, remember, by the time we're introduced to him he'd already racked up a body count of four high school girls. Yikes.



This film was entertaining, intelligent and, in some instances, laugh-out-loud funny but I did find the latter a bit off-putting later on when some of that comedy translates to bad camp, bordering on slapstick and, dare I say, cuteness. It goes from thought-provoking satire with a streak of black comedy to "Three's Company" with a quickness. I see what Krantz, Jendresen and Schnauz were attempting to say and I think an exploration of modern day exploitation (they called it "torture porn") is warranted but I believe I would have preferred it to be played a bit straighter.



Otis is highly recommended to people that enjoyed such films as May, Roman, Inside Irvin and Lucky. It's well-written, wonderfully acted and production design was aces. It does get a bit surreal toward the last quarter of the film but it's not so drastic that most won't find it entertaining. Personally, I feel Raw Feed has really created some underrated, solid, intelligent gems that may never be considered "classics," but I'll be darned if they aren't interesting. After having seen Krantz's Sublime, and now Otis, I definitely consider myself a fan of his work."