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To most people, he’s just the fat slob who delivers their pizza. To his older brother, Elmo (Kevin Pollak), he’s a 40-year-old waste of time. But deep inside Otis Broth (Bostin Christopher), there’s a high school football star waiting to come out—a football player who’s going to take a beautiful cheerleader named Kim to the prom.
Since Otis’s prom days are well past him, though—and since he’s got no chance of getting a hot cheerleader to go out with him—he’s forced to kidnap his “Kim”s, one after the other. He locks them away in a room in his basement and forces them to be his “girlfriend.” And everything is just fine for “Kim”—as long as she doesn’t put up a fight.
But when Otis kidnaps his sixth victim, Riley Lawson (Ashley Johnson), he gets more than he bargained for. Though he’s managed to evade the incompetent and insensitive FBI Agent Hotchkiss (Jere Burns), he’s never faced anyone like Riley’s angry, vengeful parents (Illeana Douglas and Daniel Stern) or her delinquent brother, Reed (Jared Kusnitz).
Though I initially had my doubts about this dark and twisted torture-porn satire, Otis eventually won me over. It’s a bit shaky in the beginning—and, for a while, I was worried that director Tony Krantz wasn’t going to commit to the over-the-top humor that a good horror-comedy requires. But the simple story builds well—and the last 40 minutes or so are so ridiculously and disturbingly hilarious that they make up for the film’s somewhat slow build.
Christopher is both kooky and creepy as the stereotypically mild-mannered deviant. And while you’ll be absolutely disgusted by his actions, at times, he’s such a pathetic (and almost sympathetic) character that you might just feel the slightest bit sorry for him—especially when his brother shows up.
Pollak is hilarious as Otis’s big brother, Elmo. He may be small in stature, but his big mouth more than makes up for it. The rest of the cast does a wonderful job of bringing the story to life, too—showing what can happen to a perfectly mild-mannered family when something (or someone) finally pushes them over the edge.
With its odd mix of over-the-top humor and dark and demented violence, Otis is a quirky film that’s sure to shock, chill, and entertain—often at the same time. If you’re a horror-comedy fan, be sure to check this one out.
Kristin Dreyer Kramer has been writing in some form or another (usually when she was supposed to be doing something else) since the ripe old age of ten—when she, her cousin, and their two Cabbage Patch Dolls formed the Poo Authors’ Club. After a short career in advertising, Kristin got sick of always saying nice things about stuff that didn’t deserve it—so now she spends her days criticizing things, and she’s much happier for it.
Since creating NightsAndWeekends.com in February of 2002, Kristin has spent her life surrounded by piles and piles of books and movies—so many that her office has become a kind of entertainment obstacle course.
As if her writing and editing responsibilities for N&W.com weren’t enough to keep her out of trouble, Kristin also hosts a number of weekly radio shows: Reel Discovery, Shelf Discovery, and On the Marquee. She’s also a proud member of the Broadcast Film Critics Association (CriticsChoice.com), the Central Ohio Film Critics Association (COFCA.org), the Online Film Critics Society (OFCS.org), and the Women Film Critics Circle (WFCC.Wordpress.com).
Kristin lives in Columbus, Ohio, with her husband, Paul, and their daughter, Anna. She welcomes questions, comments, and fan mail at kdk@nightsandweekends.com.
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Kristin Dreyer Kramer has been writing in some form or another (usually when she was supposed to be doing something else) since the ripe old age of ten—when she, her cousin, and their two Cabbage Patch Dolls formed the Poo Authors’ Club. After a short career in advertising, Kristin got sick of always saying nice things about stuff that didn’t deserve it—so now she spends her days criticizing things, and she’s much happier for it.
Since creating NightsAndWeekends.com in February of 2002, Kristin has spent her life surrounded by piles and piles of books and movies—so many that her office has become a kind of entertainment obstacle course.
As if her writing and editing responsibilities for N&W.com weren’t enough to keep her out of trouble, Kristin also hosts a number of weekly radio shows: Reel Discovery, Shelf Discovery, and On the Marquee. She’s also a proud member of the Broadcast Film Critics Association (CriticsChoice.com), the Central Ohio Film Critics Association (COFCA.org), the Online Film Critics Society (OFCS.org), and the Women Film Critics Circle (WFCC.Wordpress.com).
Kristin lives in Columbus, Ohio, with her husband, Paul, and their daughter, Anna. She welcomes questions, comments, and fan mail at kdk@nightsandweekends.com.
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