Presents

Otis

Horror and comedy are cut from the same cloth, they both illicit visceral reactions from the viewer, it's one of the things that I enjoy about both, you don't have to guess if it's being done right...you just know!  The new movie, Otis, may be one of the hardest horror/comedies I've ever seen, it's too scary to be a straight on comedy and it's too weird and funny to be a full blown horror movie, but either way, it's a movie that you have to see to believe.

  Our tale begins with Otis, a 40 year old pizza delivery man, who's just a bit 'off'.  Otis has fantasies about a girl named Kim, and, because Kim is unavailable, he keeps kidnapping girls that remind him of Kim, chaining them in the basement and making believe that they're on their way to the prom!  So far, there have been five girls who Otis has kidnapped, 'dated', and then killed, now number six is Riley Lawson, a girl from a fairly normal family.  Otis' M.O. is that he kidnaps the girl and then lives some strange fantasy by having them role play about the prom in his house, but he also makes calls to the girls parents to ask for permission to date and to torment them.  At first, Otis seems like your standard serial killer movie, but with a cast that includes Kevin Pollack, Daniel Stern, Illeana Douglas and Jere Burns you know that this is something more than straight on horror...and it is.

You see, after tolerating FBI Agent Hotchkiss (Jere Burns), Riley's mom (Douglas) begins coming unglued and eventually threatens Otis when the FBI is trying to trace the call.  Not long after that, Riley manages to escape when Otis' brother (Pollack) comes home a bit early.  Now, Riley contacts her parents and tells them everything about Otis and the family decide to withhold this vital info from the Feds and take justice into their own hands...that's where this movie gets even weirder! 

To say that it has to be seen to be believed isn't any type of understatement with Otis, this is a movie that will have you laughing and then feeling guilty about what you just laughed at.  You'll begin to feel a bit of sympathy for the serial killer and then question what's wrong with you that you're feeling bad for someone who cuts teenaged girls into pieces!  Laughs, scares, confusion, it's all here in Otis and it's all good.  Bostin Christopher, who plays Otis, is either one of the best actors in the business today, or he's a creepy weirdo that you'd want to steer clear of!  I'm giving Otis four out of four cigars, because it's a horror movie that's as unrelenting as it is weird and it really is a 'must see' movie!  So, until next time, when I'll be stalking my own high school sweetheart and chaining her in the basement, remember that the best movies are bad movies.