Otto; or, Up with Dead People

2008 German film

November 7, 2008 (2008-11-07)

Running time

95 minutesCountriesGermany
CanadaLanguagesEnglish
GermanBox office$11,295^[1]

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.

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

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