Otto; or, Up with Dead People

2008
5.1| 1h34m| en
Details

A young zombie named Otto appears on a remote highway. He has no idea where he came from or where he is going. After hitching a ride to Berlin and nesting in an abandoned amusement park, he begins to explore the city. Soon he is discovered by underground filmmaker Medea Yarn, who begins to make a documentary about him with the support of her girlfriend, Hella Bent, and her brother Adolf, who operates the camera. Meanwhile, Medea is still trying to finish Up with Dead People, the epic political-porno-zombie movie that she has been working on for years. She convinces its star, Fritz Fritze, to allow the vulnerable Otto to stay in his guest bedroom. When Otto discovers that he has a wallet that contains information about his past, before he was dead, he begins to remember details about his ex-boyfriend, Rudolf. He arranges to meet him at the schoolyard where they met, with devastating results.

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Also starring Katharina Klewinghaus

Reviews

Mjeteconer Just perfect...
Invaderbank The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.
Aneesa Wardle The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.
Bob This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.
clabkeloh 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)
mkrjr "Otto; or, Up With Dead People"- yes, that is the title- is a film (student-esque looking, really) about... well, not really 'about' because the plot barely delves into a story about him- except that he had an ex-boyfriend... a zombie named Otto. He walks around. A lot. Then in an Otto-unrelated situation, some other zombie fornicates with another zombie through a self-made stomach-hole. The film was like, half mockumentary and half some other crap. I'm sure there are some political revolutionary symbols that one could find relating the zombies to sex-repressed humans or blah blah, but I've seen political living dead films before, and this ain't it. Okay, I'm not one to completely tear apart some other artist's work, so I will say that the cinematography was great in certain scenes- like Otto walking through a field of yellow flowers- the colors were great, and there was one character that was a walking silent-film... that was pretty neat. So, when it all comes down to it: What Drew Me To See It: I was perusing through IMDb and saw the keywords "Gay Zombie Movie," and though, "Hey. That's new to me." What I Was Doing While Watching It: Falling asleep. I tried really hard to get into it. I was at a point where I felt like I would be ostracized on the internet horror-movie community if I didn't watch the whole film. So I watched it in 2 parts. Two long, long, slow-moving, confusing parts.Stood Out For Better: The walking silent film, some visual scenes, and my want to keep watching for the first half. Otto was interesting as well. I just wanted to keep watching him, at first. Oh, and the stomach-screwing was notorious with me.Stood Out For Worse: The stomach-screwing was okay with me- I'm a fan of outrageous gore and exploitation, but the big orgy of bear-biker zombies towards the end was just too much. And the 'freshman year in film school at the most' vibe of the film really threw me off. It had a hard time drawing my interest and keeping me entertained. I was more anxious to stay awake than I was to watch.Overall: I hate to be harsh, but this film gets a C-. The only reason I didn't give it a D was because I really wanted to watch it. I didn't enjoy watching it! But I did want to.
jonb-29 This movie is a masterpiece on several levels. The acting was excellent, cinematography compelling, script very good and the score fantastic. Otto is a multi-faceted gem and each bit shines. The black&white silent film era girlfriend is so delicious you could eat her. (That's such an original and well executed idea.) There is a lot of gayness, but that adds to the overall effect rather than detracting from it. Dr K (spouse) loved this movie even with the full-on intestinal sex bits. The flash-backs to Otto's previous life are so bright and happy it really accents Otto's current "un-life". The female director was slightly overdone but still hilarious. This has made our year movie-wise, and we'll be looking for more Bruce Labruce...
vodkashots dear Elly-belly; your comment really irritated me. i feel sorry for you if those are the real thoughts of you about the movie. first of all, Medea was not the only character that was political and "goth", in fact the whole zombie concept is goth so it suits the movie. the political elements were very clearly explained, its your problem if you fell asleep during the film. Otto is a character that not only should be watched, he also needs to be understood. there you need the ability to empathy, to see the dilemma; otherwise all of your precious time is wasted. i suppose your not sexually open minded either. thinking that all those people in the cinema could watch the porn scenes with a smile on there face is SICK. "..no joy expression on there face.." what should the man do? masturbate?? pf..finally, its a perfect movie for those who enjoy something extraordinary but not simple.