Otto; or, Up with Dead People

Otto; or, Up with Dead People is a 2008 Canadian and German queer cinema horror film. The film was directed by Bruce LaBruce and stars Jey Crisfar, Marcel Schlutt, Nicholas Fox Ricciardi and Gio Black Peter.

Otto; or, Up with Dead People
Directed byBruce LaBruce
Written byBruce LaBruce
Produced byBruce LaBruce
Jurgen Brüning
Jörn Hartmann
StarringJey Crisfar
Marcel Schlutt
Nicholas Fox Ricciardi
Keith Boehm
Olivia Barth
CinematographyJames Carman
Edited byJörn Hartmann
Release date
  • November 7, 2008 (2008-11-07)
Running time
95 minutes
CountriesGermany
Canada
LanguagesEnglish
German
Box office$11,295[1]

Plot

A young gay man named Otto believes that he is a zombie and has hitched a ride to Berlin and begins to explore the city. Otto is discovered by underground filmmaker Medea Yarn, who begins to make a documentary about him with the support of her girlfriend, Hella Bent, and her brother Adolf. Medea is trying to finish Up with Dead People, the epic political-porno-zombie movie that she has been working on and convinces its star, Fritz Fritze, to allow the vulnerable Otto to stay in his guest bedroom. Otto discovers that he has a wallet that contains information about his past life, remembering details about his ex-boyfriend, Rudolf. He arranges to meet him at the schoolyard where they met. It becomes clear that Otto is human, but dealing with schizophrenia- the soundtrack and visual background repeatedly feature discontinuous sounds and abrupt flashes of light. As Medea prepares to finish her film with a climactic gay zombie orgy, Otto is queerbashed. He makes his way back to Fritz' flat and the two of them make love. Medea finally ends her project with the fictionalised version of Otto burnt to non-existence. However, offscreen, Otto decides to leave Berlin and is last seen hitch-hiking out of the city.

Cast
  • Jey Crisfar as Otto
  • Marcel Schlutt as Fritz Fritze
  • Nicholas Fox Ricciardi as Man in Hooded Sweatshirt
  • Keith Boehm as Man in a Suit and Hat
  • Olivia Barth as Woman in Black Burga
  • Christophe Chemin as Maximilian
  • Katharina Klewinghaus as Medea Yarn
  • Gio Black Peter as Rudolph
  • Bürger P.

Soundtrack

The film's soundtrack (released on CD and as a Limited Double LP on the Crippled Dick Hot Wax label) contains an eclectic selection of pieces by contemporary musicians. Among them: Antony and the Johnsons, CocoRosie, The Homophones, Othon Mataragas and Ernesto Tomasini.

Reception

Critical reception for Otto; or Up with Dead People has been mixed. On Rotten Tomatoes the film has an approval rating of 50% based on 20 reviews, with an average rating of 5.00/10.[2][3]

Awards

Merlinka festival International Queer Film Festival, Belgrade Serbia - Best Queer Film

References
  1. Otto; or, Up with the Dead People - Box Office Mojo Retrieved 2010-05-27.
  2. "OTTO; OR UP WITH DEAD PEOPLE (2008)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 1 June 2021.
  3. "Otto; or, Up with Dead People". Metacritic.
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