Otto; or, Up with Dead People

The brilliance of some films is visible on multiple levels. Films such as Network (1976) and American Beauty (1999) are both satirical, yet they can be simultaneously viewed as good cinema. Bruce LaBruce's Otto; or, Up with Dead People (2008) is not such a film. It can be read as a satire, Bruce LaBruce's whorish attempt at an instant cult classic, or simply as an entirely original work of art. Actually, it seems more like a combination of the three. Otto satirizes the zombie crowd's lust for films that only have merit for their shock value. In case you aren't familiar with him, Bruce LaBruce is famous for (infamous for?) his no-budget B films. He is one of few directors to have directed a porno and had a film premier at Sundance. Without seeing the film, Otto often comes across at an extremely misguided attempt to corner a niche market—gay zombie horror porn. With that said, the film is neither a horror film nor a porno. There is relatively little gore, and much less sex than the right wing IMDb trolls would have you believe. Otto may be a satire; Otto may be an attempt into instant cult status; but in any case, Otto is art.

Otto; or, Up with Dead People was shown at the Sundance film festival. However, simply being accepted into Sundance does not mean a film is good. Otto was also shown at the wonderful MoMA in NYC. Once again, this does not mean that it is a perfect film, but it should be noted in what way the film is being perceived: as a work of art. Most people will dismiss Otto as a pointless B movie, but in reality it is not pointless. Otto is one of the most original works of feature length cinema from the past decade that I have seen. And this is not simply based on the subject matter. LaBruce utilizes his distinct style and unique cinematic techniques to make Otto a truly fresh work of art.

Now onto the film. Otto (Jey Crisfar) is convinced that he is a zombie who just recently was resurrected. Stumbling around town, he comes across a flyer for auditions for a zombie movie, Up with Dead People. At the audition, the director of the film, Medea (Katharina Klewinghaus), is impressed with Otto's commitment to the character. Otto of course truly believes that he is a zombie, while Medea is sure that Otto is just a regular guy who always seems to be exceptionally dirty. Zombies are often presented as allegorical to "the ultimate consumers who all eat the same things, congregate at the same places, act the same" (Fangoria). With Otto, LaBruce completely reverses this idea. Otto is a complete outcast. Not only is he a zombie, but Otto is gay. He experiences what is either gay-, zombie-, or gay zombie-bashing and generally not accepted by society.

Another of LaBruce's interesting cinematic choices is presenting Medea's lesbian lover, Hella (Susanne Sachße) as a silent film character. Hella is always presented in grainy black and white and her dialogue is even replaced with intertitles. Medea and other characters are still presented in full color even while the black and white Hella is sitting right next to them. As a film studies major, I am forced to attempt to find the symbolism/hidden meaning behind presenting Hella as such. However, I have come to the conclusion that LaBruce was simply attempting to present Hella as a specific type of character from the silent film era and he does so with clever blatancy.

Otto is not what most people would consider as entertaining. Otto is not what most people would consider as art. If you watch the film thinking that you will hate it, I can guarantee with complete certainty that you will hate it. Watch this film with an open mind, and don't take it too seriously or literally. Network and American Beauty are praised because they work on two levels. They exaggerate the existing conventions of Hollywood cinema in order to criticize whereas Otto cinematically breaks free of the zombie genre in its criticism. As Dr. Marco Abel would say, whether or not you like the film is irrelevant. Otto is a entirely original piece of art.

I just watched this and I should warn all viewers, especially fans of gore, that Otto; or Up with Dead People starts out remarkably slow paced. This film takes it's time getting started with the plot and it will likely challenge most people to continue watching. It may be too slow for many viewers. However, if you stick with it, you will most definitely be rewarded! This latest film by Canadian filmmaker Bruce LaBruce is fantastic. It's my second favorite Bruce LaBruce film after The Raspberry Reich. It is always an interesting experience to watch any of his films and this one sure didn't let me down! Otto is a gay pornographic zombie horror movie. Judging from that description, it should be quite obvious that this isn't for all tastes. Then again, not all Bruce LaBruce films are! Otto was, in a way, the movie I have always been looking for. I love zombie films, I love horror films, I love gore films, and I love films with gay themes. If you are a fan of all of these genres, this film should satisfy you. It is among one of the more satisfying gay films I have seen for quite some time. The film is scary, it's gory as hell, and the sex scenes rock.

The plot basically follows around Otto, a German zombie with memory problems who has risen from his grave. He travels to Berlin and meets an underground filmmaker who wants to make a political zombie porno and finds a fondness for Otto and chooses him to be the poster child for the film. However, things get complicated when he discovers his boyfriend's identity and agrees to meet with him. From there, things get extreme.

This movie is just plain fun. It works as a satire and as a horror movie in equal measure. I found it to be hilarious at times. The movie-within-a-movie trick often gets misused and can easily turn a film into a mindless mess a clichés. Otto does not fall into this trap. Instead, this film takes the idea in a unique direction. While the film, by no means, should be taken seriously, there is still a lot to admire in the artistic details of the film. The film is startlingly gory at times. There are scenes that go so far over-the-top in shocking behavior that the film manages to walk that fine line on surrealism and tastelessness. Whether it is either of those is irrelevant because it is hilarious to watch some of these scenes take place.

Politically, the film certainly has something to say. While Bruce LaBruce's films have always dealt with politics, this film manages to not push that so far as it does play off of that idea. Bruce LaBruce satirizes himself with the German filmmaker, and as a result the film hits the right clever notes. Otto, the zombie, is ridiculously beautiful to look at. The soundtrack is certainly very cool, as most soundtracks to the films of Bruce LaBruce are. Most importantly, the film is alive and it flows with heart. This is truly the work of somebody who loves the conventions of film and the endless possibilities of originality in film-making. Definitely check this one out if it sounds like your kind of film. You especially won't be disappointed if you're looking for the next great surrealist picture of the 21st Century.

...this might be the only one you come across. Well now, anyway, since I've pointed it out. Very low (or no) budget is about a young man who's definitely most sincerely undead, so naturally he auditions for a movie about an undead young man. Yeah. Only no one thinks he's actually undead, just, you know, weird.

Canadian artist / pornographer Bruce LaBruce is known in underground circles for his transgressive and satirical no-budget contributions to Queer cinema. His films Raspberry Reich, Hustler White and Skin Flick, among others, endeavor to explore themes such as alienation, fascism, terrorism, persecution but are held together by Bruce's real "meat 'n' potatoes" - hardcore gay sex (and in one case, amputee sex).

Somewhere in the near future where zombies are the norm (particularly homosexual ones) and have somewhat evolved from mindless flesh-eaters into talking, rational-thinking corpses, Otto is rising from the grave. He doesn't remember anything about his past so he begins to wander the streets aimlessly, eating roadkill as he goes. Otto cant bring himself to kill & eat a human - he muses that maybe he was a vegetarian in his former life.

Otto is soon "discovered" by Medea Yarn, an avant-garde filmmaker. Medea is close to finishing her epic political-porno-zombie movie, Up with Dead People, and wants to begin on a docu-drama starring Otto. Medea's crew consists of her brother, Adolf and her lesbian partner Hella Bent, a silent screen siren who is always seen in scratchy black 'n' white.

Intermittently Otto has minor flashbacks to what he thinks was his life before he became one of the undead. When he eventually discovers his wallet in his back pocket, he finds in it little clues to who he once was, one being an ex-boyfriend's phone number. He arranges to meet up with this ex and through him learns some important details about his past.

"An original and inventive take on the zombie genre" Otto; or, Up with Dead People is a German/Canadian co-production predominantly shot in Germany with local actors. The majority of the dialogue in the film is presented as voice-over narration either by Otto or Medea, who we are introduced to, and who continues to address us via interview-type footage. The elements of satire are pretty blatant when it comes to Medea, the utterly pretentious filmmaker with her long indulgent diatribes against our capitalist, consumer-driven society. Then there's the queer-zombie bashing, Otto the mindless teen zombie (product of a consumerist society?) and the sense of disdain that the general public regard Otto with.

Sex 'n' gore-wise I didn't find the film too over-the-top; yes there are a few cocks and some gay sex but no XXX scenes. One of the more notable scenes is in Medea's film Up with Dead People where the lead zombie penetrates his partner's recently inflicted stomach wound. With regards to the typical gory zombie film though, I don't think Otto can really compete, there's very little grue, just the odd eating of roadkill.

One of the questions the film asks is - is Otto really a zombie? At the beginning it seems rather obvious that he is but as the film develops you discover that before he "died" he was committed to a psychiatric hospital after being diagnosed with schizophrenia and a severe eating disorder. Throughout the film people are constantly commenting that "he thinks he's a zombie" and wonder what is wrong with him.

Otto; or Up with Dead People is an original and inventive take on the zombie genre, although for some, the lack of typical genre staples may disappoint. Recommended for Bruce LaBruce fans and/or indiscriminate zombie film lovers.

Bruce LaBruce is (very weirdly) becoming one of my favorite indy film makers. WWaaaay back in the early nineties in film school we saw "no skin off my ass" and I dismissed it then as pretentious soft-core. I was glib and wrong. Ages ago my friends and I went to see "Hustler White" at a midnite showing and frankly we were at once titillated and impressed. Then when "Raspberry Reich" rolled out I was ALMOST convinced....That film struck a pitch-perfect chord between 60's revolutionary porn (I Am Curious Yellow) and modern satire. I just watched "Otto" and I am officially a fan. Through the use of explicit sex and graphic violence M. LaBruce is actually making a point! I'm impressed and pleasantly surprised. This is maybe a "zombie" movie...but more specifically a neat commentary on modern youth with a great sense of humor and a chilling overtone. If you're older and adventurous and want to get a sort of "summary" of the present youth-culture and this whole "zombie thing" this is a great film to watch. Underrated and sublime (after you get-over all the gay sex...if you have to get-over it at all)