Otis (2008)

I don't have all the words right now but this film is a work of art.

Excellent adaptation.

This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

Blistering performances.

I'll admit that I was biased toward the film because I knew Bostin Christopher in high school and was very interested to see what he could accomplish (outside of his all-too-brief turn in "Unbreakable"). The description of the movie and the seemingly low production value of the DVD jewel case warned me that this movie was going to suck and not live up to my hopes. I was pleasantly wrong about the film.Bostin himself completely lived up to my hopes, imbuing Otis with characteristics that included menace, dimwitted-ness, and ultimately I felt sorry for him in a weird sort of way. The rest of the cast were flawless, from Daniel Stern's timidity to Illeana Douglas' righteous Mom-Anger; everyone seemed to reflect real emotions to the developing plot with their flaws completely visible. The real brilliance of this film, though, is how it seamlessly blended suspense and terror with comedy. The parts that were supposed to be scary were scary, and the parts that were supposed to be funny were genuinely funny (in a dark way). For the first half of the movie, I was confused as to which genre it was trying to be. After my third cocktail, I just stopped trying to analyze the film and ran with it. Do the cocktails have anything to do with how funny I thought this film was? Likely. It's quirky, it's weird, it's funny, and it's something that is completely worth your while. Buy it? Maybe. I'd rent it first, because this sort of film isn't for everyone.

"Otis" is a huge surprise. Ileana Douglas, Daniel Stern, and Kevin Pollak, eat up the screen. The script is fresh, and the slob-loser kidnapping his date for role playing his senior prom is absolutely brilliant. Although most exploitation films of this type feature ample quantities of female nudity, there is zero t.&a. in "Otis". This might disappoint some in the crowd, but the fine script and acting keeps things interesting. If you think twisted perverts like Otis combined with biting black comedy can't be entertaining, seek this one out, and be amazed. Wildly imaginative, and highly recommended...................MERK

Dark comedy and slasher flick rolled into one. Sick humor to your delight. Otis(Bostin Christopher)is not your ordinary pizza delivery guy. Okay, he's pushing forty and living alone in the house his mother left. His brother Elmo(Kevin Pollak) comes by to downgrade his mentally challenged brother regularly. Otis is actually a sometime pizza guy; but a full-time psycho. He has a well equipped torture chamber in his basement and he has everything he needs for the prom; a baby-blue tux, corsage and a pretty blonde named Kim chained to the middle of the floor with no way out. Did I mention that Otis is a serial killer; kidnapping blonds and forcing them all to act out high school scenarios...and by all means answer to the name Kim. Otis likes to play rough at times and his playmates don't seem to last too long.Upon delivering a large with the "works" to repeat customers(the Lawson household) he is smitten with pretty Riley Lawson(Ashley Johnson), who becomes Kim #6 or is it #7? Anyway this little hottie has the smarts to escape. Riley's parents(Daniel Stern and Illeana Douglas)are told Otis' address by their beaten daughter and along with son Reed(Jared Kusnitz) this movie gets to be outrageously funny. They wait in the dark for Otis to walk in his front door. Bad time for brother Elmo to arrive. The suburban family go into maniac mode and beat the living daylights out of who they think is Otis. Down right gruesome; but pee your pants funny at the same time. Realizing their mistake...revenge is still just a pizza order away. Absolutely brilliant!Chritopher is a hoot as Otis; and you have to have sympathy for Pollak's Elmo. Also in the cast: Ellie Gerber, Tarah Paige and Jere Burns. Kudos to writers Erik Jendresen and Thomas Schnauz; and to director Tony Krantz for his choreographed violence.

Otis revolves around a abused, 40 year old pizza delivery guy, who's suffers from probably a slew of mental disorders, but most of all he suffers from a state of mind that I'm very familiar with, loneliness. Otis kidnaps hot blondes and makes them play "high-school" until the big day of the prom. Through, physical abuse and chains he keeps his victim tied up to his little escape-proof room and just simply prays and hopes the chick he kidnapped plays along. Well, his next victim is up, and he's up for another round of "high-school". With a whole new victim, he's bound to get a little ass outta this. But Otis doesn't know about his latest victim's family. They're almost as strange as him. Watch OTIS to see how it all plays out.Otis, for myself, unlike most the majority (it seems) who've seen it, was a pretty big let-down. There is zero tension, zero scares, barely any grue, zero nudity, and lots of humor that does not hit the mark. Though we do have some good acting, but mix that with less than stellar writing, the performances seem to lack. The son and mother are fed these way over-the-top lines that didn't even slightly begin to crack my smile. Just because the kid swears and the mother has a thing for violence....sorry, gotta be better than that. But for most people, it seems to be doing the trick. The Dad who constantly blamed the mother for everything that occurred was a nice touch and him and the head detective give by far the best performances. Otis and the chick, were alright, but nothing really outstanding. I also didn't even care for the story. I'm not a fan of kidnap movies, unless of course there's some serious torture or rape going on, cause that's what really happens, right? Well, nothing great occurs, and nothing funny really happens either. Oh by the by, the last scene of the movie, I f@ckin hated. Awful, predictable crap that made me seriously think about how weak the writing in this flick was.Funny thing happened while watching this flick. I had Deja Vu, during the church scene, and it completely ruined the surprise. Wouldya believe that. Ha! Nevertheless, it was a slightly predictable scene anyways.Overall, Otis delivers a constant average-feeling source of entertainment, but without anything truly remarkable it misses the bill. Average acting, average writing and well, average everything. But it is better than most crap being churned out these days. If you're looking for a better, sicker modern flick, check out Neighborhood Watch.