SYNOPSICS
Otis (2008) is a English movie. Tony Krantz has directed this movie. Tarah Paige,Bostin Christopher,Ashley Johnson,Tracy Scoggins are the starring of this movie. It was released in 2008. Otis (2008) is considered one of the best Comedy,Crime,Horror,Thriller movie in India and around the world.
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.
Otis (2008) Trailers
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Otis (2008) Reviews
Worth seeing, if only for the imaginative brutality of the parents...
Forget the character of Otis. Yeah, he's demented, calculating, and creepy in his own right...But the parents of the girl that Otis abducts...those people are insane in the best way celluloid could depict. This movie is certainly worth the price of the rental. But don't watch it thinking it's going to be a horror flick. It's got more going for it as a comedy than anything else. Anyone who is selling this as a horror flick is probably working for the advertising firm promoting the film, and they just don't know how to promote it as anything else. This film is hilarious, and is certainly a great show for a keg party, teen movie night, or just another Tuesday evening with nothing better to do.
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.
A nice little film.
It was great seeing Daniel Stern & Illeana Douglas back at work. They are both great actors who deserve to be working more. The story starts playing out and you are unsure as to what type of film it's going to be. Torture porn? FBI profiler idolatry? Cat & mouse psychological thriller? ... Comedy? There are a number of nice turns done by the actors here. The head up his ass FBI profiler. Riley, the daughter. Reed, the more than a little disturbing younger brother. Kevin Pollak's Elmo Broth, brother to the antagonist. And finally the nut-job kidnapper/killer Otis Broth who amongst all the different dramatic currents still is able to imbue his character with a bit of poignancy. You'll notice a few holes in the story but, again, this isn't a police procedural that you are watching. Counter to that there are some surprises as to the paths that the characters eventually end up taking. Nothing especially distinctive cinematographically, stylistically or in editing. But it is a good film, and that is enough.
Dark, funny, different
Saw this Friday at the local film festival and LOVED it. First half plays ALMOST like your standard horror fare; second half is like Home Alone with power tools: raunchy, painful, funny as hell. Without the strong performances of Illeana Douglas, Daniel Stern, Kevin Pollack and Bostin Christopher, the film wouldn't work half as well. Douglas is consistently amazing, a character actress who makes her every role believable. As she transitions from suburban mom to vigilante, she never makes one turn or expression out of place: her morph is both understandable and natural. The film leaves a few ends untied: we never quite learn what exactly happened between Otis and his brother, but we're given enough back story to guess the rest. We also never see the original "Kim." Which would've helped people better understand the obsession. Somehow, though, as everything is coming apart - it all comes together. Audiences in both festival showings loved this movie! I hope it gets distribution before Warner releases it to DVD this summer.
The Missed Birthday Party
The twisted forty year old idiot Otis Broth (Bostin Christopher) delivers pizzas and is a pedophile serial killer. When he abducts a teenager, he calls her Kim and fantasizes that she is his sweetheart and date of the high school prom. After killing his last victim, Otis kidnaps the smart suburban teenager Riley Lawson (Ashley Johnson) and brings her to the basement of his house, hiding the girl from his brother Elmo Broth (Kevin Pollak). Their desperate parents Kate (Illeana Douglas) and Will Lawson (Daniel Stern) have friction with the arrogant and silly FBI Agent Hotchkiss (Jere Burns) that is in charge of the investigation. When Riley escapes from Otis's house and calls her family, Kate convinces Will and their son Reed (Jared Kusnitz) to seek revenge and punish Otis. However, the vigilantes confuse Elmo with Otis in their rampage getting into trouble. "Otis" is almost a masterpiece of sick dark humor, with magnificent performances of the unknown Bostin Christopher and Illeana Douglas, very well supported by the great cast. The plot makes jokes with dramatic situations and is a sort of parody of the countless movies of torture that have been recently released. Unfortunately the weak open conclusion is not satisfactory and is disappointing. For my surprise, in the Extras of the DVD, there is an excellent alternate ending called "The Birthday Party" and in accordance with the explanation of the director, this would be the original conclusion of this movie. I really did not understand why this brilliant ending was not used. My vote is six. Note: With the original "The Birthday Party Alternate Ending", my vote would be eight. Title (Brazil): "Otis, o NinfomanÃaco" ("Otis, the Nymphomaniac")