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Jey Crisfar, Marcel Schlutt, Nicholas Fox Ricciardi, Keith Boehm, Olivia Barth ... see more see more... , Christophe Chemin , Katharina Klewinghaus , Kembrah Pfahler , Susanne Sachsse , Guido Sommer , Gio Black Peter

An gay teenage zombie falls in with a pretentious experimental filmmaker who casts him in a politically themed porno while documenting his experiences as a walking corpse in this existential gut-munch... read more read more...er from Canadian provocateur Bruce LaBruce. Adorable twink Otto (Jey Crisfar) was wandering the streets of Berlin and feasting on road-kill when avant-garde filmmaker Medea Yarn recruited him to appear in her latest film, a porno-political-zombie flick set during the gay zombie uprising. Gradually, over the course of shooting, Medea's interest in Otto grows and she decides to make a documentary about him. Flattered by the attention lavished upon him by both the filmmaker and his smitten fellow cast-members, Otto suddenly finds his life -- or death -- gaining a newfound sense of purpose. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Flixster Users

50% liked it

1,342 ratings

Critics

40% liked it

20 critics

Unrated, 1 hr. 35 min.

Directed by: Bruce La Bruce

Release Date: January 19, 2008

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DVD Release Date: February 10, 2009

Stats: 188 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (188)

  • Stinger839
    October 17, 2011
    Stinger839
    This film does a terrific job at eliminating audience members - weeding out the weak. Do not watch this film if you can't handle: gratuitous gore of the intestine eating sort, explicit gay sex (between zombies using fresh improvised gashes as sexual orifices), frequent cross-cutt... read moreing of "reality" and "film", and dedicating major segments of the film to an art house indie director criticizing art house and non-mainstream film.

    But if you're a weirdo like me and think all of that sounds like a hella good time, you will or will not be disappointed ;)

    Some things that are truly outstanding here: the director character's lover is constantly encapsulated in a bubble of silent film; the lengths to which this director goes to be "avant garde" and the heights to which those attempts accidentally succeed and the hilarious depths to which they intentionally fail. Otto, the main zombie character, is constantly battling for a sense of identity, and his story juxtaposed and interweaving with this director's vision (Up With Dead People is the title of her film) makes the titling very apt (which the title itself is a wink-wink nudge-nudge satirical jab at fringe cinema).

    Ultimately, this is not so much a film about zombies as it is a film about film; the zombie aspect is merely used as fuel for probing the subject of identity in both the personal and social arena.

    Hot Gay Sex notes: for those looking to avoid poorly done zombie sex and see hardcore human/human (in appearance) gay male sex in the context of narrative feature, around 1:20:00 is the best example; beyond that you're on your own and in for some zombie/zombie, zombie/human combos
  • vierasesine
    June 30, 2009
    vierasesine
    More than anything else, I think this film spoofs pretentious film directors who only like to make artsy-fartsy documentaries where they deal with more or less deep subject matters (being a zombie) through what they consider to be really thought-provoking means (gay porn).

    Don'... read moret despair during the first half an hour, the film becomes much clearer towards the end.
  • romy861
    April 4, 2009
    romy861
    I actually thought this could have been a really, really good film if it was minus a few bits and pieces. I loved all the black and white shots, then all the saturated colour, the voice overs, and Jey Crisfar makes an appealing zombie (what this says about me, I don't want to go... read more too far into. LOL). I was fine with the gay stuff, but I really thought the soft core porn aspect to it let the whole film down. And the gore, well, I the blood I could handle, the stringing out bits of guts could have done without. Minus those few elements, I thought this could have been quite an arty, good little film similar in tone to Nadja (but obviously about a zombie rather than a vampire!).
  • danieljparsons
    February 8, 2010
    danieljparsons
    Stupid, annoying, "knowingly" pretentious, but also playful, sexy, clever and sometimes moving. Bruce La Bruce's messy film has lofty intentions that it simply doesn't come close to achieving (it especially falls short in trying to use the persecution of gay zombies as a metaphor... read more for homophobia). However, there are some game performances (Jey Crisfar, as Otto, is actually quite subdued but very watchable, whilst everyone else is campy or hammy), some interesting technical bits and pieces (including a mute character perpetually seen in scratchy black and white footage with inter-titles, for no apparent good reason other than to comment on how pretentious film can be), lots of laughs and some occasionally good, though overdone, doses of irony. The bleak false ending and the almost as bleak actual ending are striking, the gore flows, the sex is hot and/or disturbing (including one guy fucking his undead boyfriend through his chest cavity). Prudes and/or homophobes - i.e. anyone who doesn't want to see a cock in another man's mouth, even if in context - should not watch.
  • patrickdol
    March 12, 2009
    patrickdol
    I don't know. It's seems to be a satire (or even lampooning) of "counter culture" and the underground art that results from it, but you could definitely file this flick under counter-culture art-film. So it is what it's making fun of, in a way. That's not to say that's a bad thin... read moreg, just I guess a funny thing. Speaking of funny, this film is heavily peppered with some great comedy, that's not so much laugh-out-loud, but the kind you think in your head "this is fucking hilarious". Plus, under the surface and even under the under-surface there's something going on with this flick, and all three levels keep the film interesting.
    Warning, however, this ain't for everyone. You're not getting a stable narrative and this is only going to hurt the average horror fans brains, or piss them the hell off. So do some research prior to watching the film about the director.
  • samanthablakealpert
    January 2, 2011
    samanthablakealpert
    im confused. i dont want to see it again.made me re-think movie production in contemporary society.i guess it would be post post modern.i liked it and i didnt like it. p.s dont see it
  • RicC
    October 19, 2010
    RicC
    Official acquired taste. (Looks at popcorn and tomato meters) Something about this film is just hard to dislike, whether it be the homo gorno, or the new genre it opens up to imitate. It's an ineffable experience, quite heavy on the indie, art and romantic bleakness. If you're ju... read morest not into experimental or taboo material, steer clear.

View All Otto; or Up with Dead People Reviews

Critic Reviews

Peter Hartlaub
January 16, 2009
Peter Hartlaub, San Francisco Chronicle

Moviegoers with a LaBruce fetish will appreciate another imaginative offering from the filmmaker. Mainstream audiences should stay far, far away. Full Review

Kevin Thomas
December 5, 2008
Kevin Thomas, Los Angeles Times

Otto deliriously intermingles sex and entrails but is also imaginative and witty Full Review

V.A. Musetto
November 7, 2008
V.A. Musetto, New York Post

LaBruce devotees will be tickled pink; others will be perplexed and/or disgusted. Full Review

Nathan Lee
November 7, 2008
Nathan Lee, New York Times

One of the more disciplined entries in the LaBruce oeuvre, Otto is sexy and silly in just the right proportions, a cult item with a real heart. Full Review

Aaron Hillis
November 5, 2008
Aaron Hillis, Village Voice

Campy but not comical, reactionary but not very clever, LaBruce's film is best saved for those tickled by the sight of homo-zombie orgies or the hardcore penetration of an open wound. Full Review

Justin Chang
January 28, 2008
Justin Chang, Variety

Canadian queer-cinema provocateur Bruce LaBruce continues his trademark blend of sexual explicitness and shoddy technique with his numbing necro-porno, Otto; or, Up With Dead People. Full Review

Kelly Vance
August 16, 2011
Kelly Vance, East Bay Express

Zombies don't ever take bubble baths, not even gay zombies. Full Review

Brandon Judell
July 29, 2011
Brandon Judell, indieWIRE

Its metaphorical examination of the plight of queer zombies in Germany is readymade for former LaBruce fans. Get ready for copulation with a hole in the stomach and such memorable quotes as "I was a z... Full Review

Jeremy Heilman
February 15, 2009
Jeremy Heilman, MovieMartyr.com

Concessions to the audience's expectations certainly make Otto a more palatable viewing experience, but they also make it seem less dangerous. Full Review

Don Willmott
February 11, 2009
Don Willmott, Filmcritic.com

Sadly, this is one of those moments where I have to scan my reviewer's list of dismissive nouns to come up with the perfect word to describe this mess. Ah, yes, here it is: claptrap. Full Review

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