MonsterPerfect Good idea lost in the noise

Afouotos Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

ChicDragon It's a mild crowd pleaser for people who are exhausted by blockbusters.

Brendon Jones It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

Rockstardollbaby I'm blown away by how much I like "Otto." I'm a straight woman who is not into horror films, B movies or zombie flicks. I am, however, studying gay cinema; still, everything I read about this film told me I would hate it. Ultimately, my reasons for liking it have little to do with an interest in gay cinema but rather I am touched by what "Otto" says of heart and head. Which was a big surprise! I was intrigued by the silent film element. I absolutely love the idea of refusal to participate in "consensual reality" as a revolutionary act. That was what made me decide to keep watching and I'm glad I did. I'm rating this highly because I love to be surprised. I enjoy having my preconceived notions shattered, especially when I am so certain that I know how I feel about things. I have never seen anything like "Otto" -- which impresses me and has me thinking. Not only do I not regret the time spent watching this film but now I'm writing this. Who saw that coming?If you have patience, there is something lovely in all of this messy, gory absurdity. The surreal pretension leads to something rare and sweet.******SPOILERS!******

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.

rumblefish80 OK, I am open minded, I love filmmakers that think out of the box and I love when genres are messed about with. I love going to the cinema, especially to film festivals where you can discover gems that no one else has seen yet. Sadly this film was not a gem. It did not shock me, it did not thrill me. I found it all a bit amateurish and before you attack me and say it was low budget and therefore excusable then don't waste your time. I don't believe in negative reviews, I like to look at the good and the bad, no doubt I will get eaten (no pun intended) by the super fans. The acting was pretty terrible to be fair and the camera work was at times clumsy. The sexual scenes sometimes seemed to interrupt the films flow, as if they were slotted in there because that is what his fans expect and want. It is important that films like this are made though and the have an audience of die hard fans but I'm just letting other horror fans in particular zombie fans know that this is more of a porn film than a zombie film.

Justin Stewart It takes a certain caliber of film-maker to approach a genre which was intended to horrify its audience and, instead, make it amuse and move them. I found "Otto; or, Up With Dead People" to be Bruce LaBruce's strongest work to date. The plot was both the most linear and accessible, and at the same time the most convoluted. Even with a lack of chronology, a dizzying metafilm of movie within movie, and multiple points of view and filming techniques, the movie manages to devote more time to standard plot development than previous Bruce LaBruce works. Perhaps this was necessary to reach out to all the viewers on a more explicit level, and create empathy for a character, who belongs to a group of otherwise reviled monsters. It was quite bizarre to leave the theater relating to characters who had been shown brutally eviscerating each other in graphic detail. But it is this feeling of commonality with a supposedly terrifying monster that makes the movie powerful and touching. The equivocal metaphor that compares conformist society to zombies is more like a thinly veiled reality: take away the blood and guts and what's the difference between the two? It goes to show that you don't always need a grandiose and earnest tone to say something significant. Sometimes, the silliest and most ridiculous metaphors are the ones which uncover the most meaningful truth.