Otis (2008)

Suburban America gone haywire. In the midst of a serial abductor/killer's rampage, a beautiful young teen, Riley Lawson, goes missing. When her desperate parents, Will and Kate, are ... See full summary »

Director:

Tony Krantz

Writers:

Erik Jendresen, Thomas Schnauz

Stars:

Tarah Paige, Bostin Christopher, Ashley Johnson

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Tarah Paige	...	Kim
Bostin Christopher	...	Otis Broth
Ashley Johnson	...	Riley Lawson
Tracy Scoggins	...	Rita Vitale
Illeana Douglas	...	Kate Lawson
Daniel Stern	...	Will Lawson
Gary Kraus	...	Mr. Warner
Kristen Trucksess	...	Mrs. Warner
Jared Kusnitz	...	Reed Lawson
Angelo Custino	...	Scott
Jamie McBride	...	Police Officer
Jere Burns	...	Agent Ralph Hotchkiss
Burt Bulos	...	Agent Nogi
Kevin Pollak	...	Elmo Broth
Brett Golov	...	Trace Tech.

Storyline

Suburban America gone haywire. In the midst of a serial abductor/killer's rampage, a beautiful young teen, Riley Lawson, goes missing. When her desperate parents, Will and Kate, are contacted by her kidnapper, an insufferable FBI Special Agent takes charge of the case.But, from deep within the psychopathic subterranean world created by Otis, Riley turns the tables on her tormentor, manages to escape and to contact her parents. And, fed up with the tragi-comic inability of the FBI to find their girl, Will, Kate, and Riley's brother, Reed decide to take matters - and justice - into their own hands.

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Plot Keywords:

black comedy | child in jeopardy | kidnapping a child | eyeglasses | kidnapping of daughter | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Crime | Horror | Thriller

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Did You Know?

Trivia

The opening sequence with Tarah Paige was filmed in a single day.

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Quotes

Agent Hotchkiss: You should feel good now. I have an 80% recovery rate.
Will Lawson: 80 percent? Really?
Agent Nogi: Well... we only recovered 60 percent of Debbie Pilter.
Agent Hotchkiss: Right. Beautiful legs. Track star.

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Alternate Versions

German version was cut by ca. 7 seconds (torture scene with Will and Elmo) to secure a light SPIO/JK approval (the FSK rejected the film).

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Connections

References Larry King Live (1985)

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Soundtracks

Don't Fear the Reaper
Performed by Blue Öyster Cult
Courtesy of Columbia Records
By arrangement with Sony BMG Music Entertainment
Written by Donald Roeser
© Sony/ATV Tunes, LLC (Publisher) (ASCAP)

User Reviews

One of the Best Films of 2008, Hands Down

Otis Broth loves pizza, Froot Loops and Kim. And Kim. And Kim. Multiple times now he has tried to make a girl love him by chaining her up in his basement and calling her Kim. His latest victim, Riley Lawson (played by Ashley Johnson, perhaps best remembered from "Growing Pains" or "What Women Want") isn't ready to die like the others. And her family doesn't trust the police, preferring to take matters into their own hands.

I keep seeing the quotation comparing "Otis" to "Juno" and I don't know what to make of that. I really liked "Juno" and I really liked "Otis". But I don't know that they have all that much in common. The tone is completely different, the humor is different, Otis doesn't talk like he lives next door to Pacey Witter or Josephine Potter. I would love to know the reasoning behind this claim, as it seems a bit of a stretch. I see it as a darkly humorous take on other horror films -- but "Juno"? "Otis" has a rocking soundtrack (best of the 1970s), a dark humor that many will not appreciate, and takes on horror motifs of today. Want a girl imprisoned in a basement (like Jack Ketchum's "Girl Next Door")? Want torture ("Saw")? You'll get it, but without all the rape and gore. All of the torture takes place off-screen. Or, at least, almost all of it. Your imagination might leave you feeling grossed out, but the film doesn't cross the boundary. How do you balance rape, torture and humor? I don't know, but the makers of this film came as close as anyone probably ever will.

The actors were great. Bostin Christopher (Otis) couldn't have been cast better. Ashley Johnson (Riley) is both sexy and yet girl-next-doorish, alternating one scene to the next. Daniel Stern (Mr. Lawson) is a welcome addition, although one wonders where all the extra weight and gray hair came from. Are you getting older, Stern? Has Kevin McAllister worn you down? It's understandable.

The special features on the disc are decent. The obligatory audio commentary appears, which I'm always a big fan of. There's an alternate ending (which is even more grim than the standard finish, though not as satisfying). And there's an "Otis Broth Joint" (thanks, Spike Lee) called "Suite 16" that seems ready-made for placing on YouTube as a promotion, but is worth at least one watch (it's short).

Of the horror movies I've seen this year -- and it's quickly approaching 100 -- this ranks in the top three, alongside Ryan Harper's "Circulation" and Ryan Nicholson's "Gutterballs". If you see only one horror film this summer, I suggest "Otis". Warner Brothers and Raw Feed make a compelling case that horror can be fresh and new no matter how stale the genre seems to be getting with each passing day. How this skipped theaters and went straight-to-video is a modern mystery.

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

7 March 2008 (USA)

Also Known As:

O psyhopathis Otis

Filming Locations:

Santa Clarita, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Home Video, Raw Feed, Flame Ventures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

100 min

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1