whoa. every time i see this wicked little bit of horror it gets funnier and more disturbing. it is satire. no doubt. it satirizes our fear, our relation to it and how our emotional responses deal with it. it is a satire about society and how it deals with anger, revenge and our suppression of our blood lust. beyond satire, 'Otis' is also a really vicious and grisly horror B flick. worthy of comparison to some of the best of Romero and Craven.
lets start with the character of the piece, Otis. Otis is one of the best horror film monsters in recent years. Otis is off putting not only because he is a 6 foot tall, 400 pound, creepy gorilla who is demented in a particularly foul way, but also because he is disturbingly human. the viewer can't help but respond to both sides of the coin when Otis's much shorter, but older brother lays into Otis and berates him. nobody likes to see someone lectured or berated by another, but you also can't help but feel the brother has insight and is pointing out some truths when he calls Otis a "moron and a idiot". Otis IS a moron and a idiot, and worse, he's a mean, cruel, and evil young man. but it isn't hard to understand how a society that seems designed to confuse and frustrate, can create such a desperate monster. after all, Otis's brother's only solution is for Otis to keep his job as a pizza delivery guy.
after being exposed to Otis's disturbed and sadistic nature to start, we are then introduced to the family of Otis's next victim. they are actually nice enough, reasonable people with the usual amount of dysfunction. the husband and wife carry on in a repressed frustrated manner while their son degenerates into a sociopathic delinquent and their only daughter seems more interested in learning about her sexuality and boys more than math, history or science. a real brain the daughter ain't. doesn't mean she deserves to fall prey to the likes of a disgusting monster pig like Otis.
what results eventually is a hilarious send up of revenge and capital punishment, but also our obsession with violence and blood. we all have that crocodile brained carnivore waiting to be unleashed. lets just hope we don't all inner channel it to the extreme the victim's family does.
the acting, direction, photography and idea concepts here are excellent. the whole thing is executed (hah a pun) almost flawlessly. i can think of better horror films than 'Otis', but i can think of few that are brought off so well and with so few rough edges.
with so much talk of bullying in our society today it is good to remember that within every victim is a bully waiting to get out. it's not that i don't support victim's rights, but the "bully" cry that is being made at the moment is very outward in it's projection and accusation with very little insight on the victim's passivity and subjectivity about the incident. what do they say? don't take it too personally. i sometimes believe that every person is capable of being bullied and of being a bully. something this film points out in a very strange manner.
lets start with the character of the piece, Otis. Otis is one of the best horror film monsters in recent years. Otis is off putting not only because he is a 6 foot tall, 400 pound, creepy gorilla who is demented in a particularly foul way, but also because he is disturbingly human. the viewer can't help but respond to both sides of the coin when Otis's much shorter, but older brother lays into Otis and berates him. nobody likes to see someone lectured or berated by another, but you also can't help but feel the brother has insight and is pointing out some truths when he calls Otis a "moron and a idiot". Otis IS a moron and a idiot, and worse, he's a mean, cruel, and evil young man. but it isn't hard to understand how a society that seems designed to confuse and frustrate, can create such a desperate monster. after all, Otis's brother's only solution is for Otis to keep his job as a pizza delivery guy.
after being exposed to Otis's disturbed and sadistic nature to start, we are then introduced to the family of Otis's next victim. they are actually nice enough, reasonable people with the usual amount of dysfunction. the husband and wife carry on in a repressed frustrated manner while their son degenerates into a sociopathic delinquent and their only daughter seems more interested in learning about her sexuality and boys more than math, history or science. a real brain the daughter ain't. doesn't mean she deserves to fall prey to the likes of a disgusting monster pig like Otis.
what results eventually is a hilarious send up of revenge and capital punishment, but also our obsession with violence and blood. we all have that crocodile brained carnivore waiting to be unleashed. lets just hope we don't all inner channel it to the extreme the victim's family does.
the acting, direction, photography and idea concepts here are excellent. the whole thing is executed (hah a pun) almost flawlessly. i can think of better horror films than 'Otis', but i can think of few that are brought off so well and with so few rough edges.
with so much talk of bullying in our society today it is good to remember that within every victim is a bully waiting to get out. it's not that i don't support victim's rights, but the "bully" cry that is being made at the moment is very outward in it's projection and accusation with very little insight on the victim's passivity and subjectivity about the incident. what do they say? don't take it too personally. i sometimes believe that every person is capable of being bullied and of being a bully. something this film points out in a very strange manner.