SUNDANCE 2008
Sundance Review: Otto; or Up with Dead People
by Alex Billington
January 21, 2008
Otto; or Up with Dead People is plain and simple a gay zombie porn movie. Maybe if you like gay zombies, maybe if you like zombie porn, maybe if you like gay porn, you could end up liking Otto, but that's it. I was not entertained, I was not intrigued, and not a single thing about this thing fascinated me. I think the biggest question on my mind was who in the hell would watch this crap? And that's when I realized - the director has a built-in cult following.
But what kind of cult exactly? All I know is I can tell you that the entirety of the cult was in the theater. They were the people who remained after everyone quickly raced out when the first gay zombie porn scene hit. Sure there were a few spotted individuals who were either too brave or too shocked to stand up and leave, but every last one of Bruce LaBruce's followers were in that theater.
I have nothing more to say on Otto; or Up with Dead People, but I'll leave you with a "cute" little haiku review from Bloody-Disgusting.com.
OTTO
Pretentious Garbage
Penises, Lots of Colors
Didn’t Get the Joke
Thanks Brad, you couldn't have summed it up any better!
Reader Feedback - 12 Comments
1
Sounds pretty terrible.
Stephen on Jan 21, 2008
2
Alex, I would love to hear your response on why you would have even decided to see it judging by its description.
Ryan on Jan 21, 2008
3
Where's the Sleep Dealer review? Have been following this one and would love to see what you thought.
brian on Jan 21, 2008
4
#2's comment reminds me of the time I went to see Blade in the theater. Every time a scene got a little bit gory, this guy 3 rows in front of me would duck his head down behind the seat in front of him. I had to wonder exactly what he was expecting from a vampire movie called Blade? Roses and chocolates? You get what you pay for when you go to a gay zombie porn movie...
Nick on Jan 21, 2008
5
6
Hey, man! I wasn't in the theatre that night. This movie is brilliant and I'm a straight zombie.
Reg on Jan 22, 2008
7
" I was not entertained, I was not intrigued, and not a single thing about this thing fascinated me" i could not have said it better myself
roont on Feb 10, 2008
8
can u buy it in the uk
daniel clements on Aug 3, 2008
9
reg, you're still a zombie... i agree totally with alex, just watched with a few friends here in the Bangkok International Film Festival, and wished i'd read this review before going. same thoughts here, gay zombies, why not, i didnt know it was gay porn. i thought it would be like will and grace plus the zombies. Bruce La Bruce, never forgetting that name. its locked in my avoid at all times section now.
Mike on Sep 23, 2008
10
Like with any explicit sex in a film, I found the sex embarrassing but waded through it to see the film. But I don't know that 5+ minutes of explicit sex in a 90 minute film makes it a porn film. So how is it you guys were happy to go see a gay zombie film, but ran screaming the minute 'gay' involved sex?
Jason on Nov 1, 2008
11
Jason, i agree completely- particularly with your ending point. images become "explicit" when people are uncomfortable with them somehow. people can watch hundreds of heterosexual intercourse scenes and speak nothing of them in the context of most individual movies *lest they be somehow felt unconventional (i.e. BDSM, male being penetrated, etc.) this perceived deviance is what makes label movies like Otto "porn". aside from the parody-of-shortbus [john cameron mitchell] swansong zombie bacchanal scene, which was intentionally/inherently/purposefully/satirically excessive, this was certainly no porno movie.
Guest on Feb 1, 2011
12
Wow. This is not a porn flick, it just happens to have a few minutes of sex in it. Let's call it Canadian with a heavy dose of German frank behavior. It's not even much a gay flick, or even a zombie flick. it's a pretty interesting tale of societal decay and individual confusion, with lots of meat. I give it 7/10.
Charles Ellmaker on Jun 23, 2012
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