The October Zombie-Thon 2009 - Day 19: Otto; or, Up with Dead People
Posted by Trevor Snyder on 10.19.2009
Everyone waiting for a zombie movie with graphic gay sex need wait no more.
OTTO; or, UP WITH DEAD PEOPLE (2008)
Written & Directed by: Bruce LaBruce
Country: Germany/Canada
Up with Dead People is a shockingly violent and erotic (often both at the same time) film, dealing with the recent rise of the undead, which the world has begrudgingly accepted. In particular, the film focuses on the proliferation of homosexual zombies (in fact, it appears that only those who were homosexual in life are the ones returning from death), and the hatred and brutality they suffer at the hands of the living – not even so much because of their cannibalistic desires, but more because of their sexuality.
But, wait, all is not as it seems. Up with Dead People is not really our movie. It is simply the film within the film, a "political zombie porno" that avant-garde lesbian filmmaker Medea Yarn (Katharina Klewinghaus) intends to be her masterpiece. Her secret weapon is one of the stars of her film, an apparent real-life zombie named Otto (Jey Crisfar).
But, wait, all is not as it seems…again. There is something a little off about Otto. And no, not just the fact that he is dead. Otto cannot remember much of his pre-death past (except for occasional flashes of an apparent former boyfriend), and is even more perplexed by his own lack of interest in devouring human flesh, which he chalks up to having possibly been a vegetarian in his former life ("or even worse," he muses, "a vegan"). Despite his shambling walk, awful stink, and propensity to eat roadkill to stay alive, a question about Otto begins to emerge – is he truly the living dead, or simply a confused, possibly schizophrenic young vagrant?
An undeniably unique entry in the zombie genre, Bruce LaBruce's Otto; or, Up with Dead People is – as you might have guessed from the above description – a very odd, often challenging film. With its fractured narrative, identity-seeking zombie, and art-house filmmaking techniques (check out Medea's girlfriend, who for some reason lives inside her own permanent silent film), it's tempting to label Otto as pretentious; and, in fact, many critics have.
I don't think they're completely wrong – there is a definite air of pretentiousness here. But this is the rare pretentious film that seems to understand how pretentious it is, and is completely willing to have fun with it. You can't tell me that that the over-the-top "me against the system" attitude of Medea isn't poking fun at the haughty self-importance of many underground filmmaking "mavericks" – including, perhaps, LaBruce himself, whose own career has been spent making controversial, satiric, politically-charged gay cinema. I suspect LaBruce is using Medea as a vehicle to playfully poke fun at himself, and the film's funniest moments are without a doubt whenever Medea is fully up on her soapbox, crying out against society's capitalism, fascism…give her an "ism," and she'll have something to say about it.
As for the aforementioned fractured narrative, which might also strike some as unnecessarily pretentious, well, I personally found it to be one of the movie's most compelling elements. For a good portion of the film's opening act, you're not exactly sure what is going on or how the various elements you're seeing are meant to relate to one another. Even as things start to become a little clearer, there are still questions as to which pieces are "reality," which are bits of Medea's film, and which might just be figments of Otto's possibly-cracked mind. But the good news is – and this is what I think separates Otto from other frustratingly pretentious films – if you stick with the film and watch it through to the end, you do get the answers you're seeking, and everything does come together to a satisfyingly entertaining whole. The plot is actually nowhere near as complex as the opening minutes might make it seem, and so I commend LaBruce's ability to liven it up a little with an unconventional approach to the story structure.
So if I don't believe the film is as annoyingly pretentious as many others do, and am not overly bothered by its somewhat artsy-fartsy approach, then I can't help but wonder what must have triggered the numerous walk-outs I've heard about when this film screened at Sundance. I mean, I guess maybe it's the hardcore gay sex, but I don't know…
Oh, I guess I shouldn't just gloss over that. No review of Otto would be complete without mentioning its most controversial aspect – the inclusion of graphic, homosexual pornography. And I don't just mean that LaBruce cut in scenes from other gay-porn films. Nope, these are the actors of Otto, going at it no holds barred. It's not to say the movie is non-stop gay-sex, as some of the negative reviews may have you believe. In fact, a fairly small percentage of the screen-time is actually dedicated to the actual XXX material (and when it happens, it's usually just quick flashes). But there's certainly enough here to scare off anyone not wishing to see an abundance of naked penises or hot man-on-man action (and, in one outrageous moment, man-on-man's-wound action).
I myself didn't particularly care for these sequences, either. Not because of the homosexuality, mind you. I'm secure enough in my sexuality to not be bothered or threatened by anything this movie showed me. And, in fact, I'll admit to slight amusement at the thought of a homophobic horror fan renting this movie and getting the surprise of his or her life.
So, no, it's not that the movie contained gay pornography that bothered me; it's that it contained pornography at all. Believe it or not, I would have been just as thrown off had the movie suddenly included straight porn. There simply didn't feel like there was a need for it. These scenes don't add anything to the movie's message. Instead, they come off as an incredibly transparent attempt to shock and provoke the audience. I suppose the argument is that all of the actual sex shown is from Medea's film, and she is in fact trying to shock and provoke. But that doesn't change how jarring and unnecessary the sequences feel here. It's a lazy attempt to stir up a reaction. Judging by the aforementioned Sundance walkouts, it clearly works…but I still believe the movie would probably be better off without these scenes, which stick out like a sore thumb (or something else), and unfortunately somewhat overshadow the film's more relevant moments.
Nevertheless, while the gratuitous pornography and a sometimes sluggish pace might damage LaBruce's film, they don't completely kill it. There is still much I liked about Otto, from its intriguing use of the living dead to explore homophobia and confused sexual identities, to the flat-out-funny machinations of Medea Yarn. I even found myself really rooting for the character of Otto (thanks in large part to the appropriately understated performance from Jey Crisfar), and hoping he would find whatever it is he's looking for (whether he does or not is a question left open to each individual viewer). LaBruce himself probably doesn't mind that his at-times overly confrontational filmmaking approach will make Otto a polarizing experience; heck, I'm sure that was part of his plan. But I think it's a shame that some of the film's more extreme elements not only undercut some of the film's stronger ideas, but also ensure that it probably never gets the kind of mainstream attention it might otherwise achieve.
But then, I suppose a film like Otto was never meant to be mainstream, anyway. I can't wholeheartedly recommend it to everyone, because I know it will either bore or just flat-out offend some. But for those looking for a very different kind of zombie movie – and that aren't bothered by the film's graphic portrayal of sexuality – there are enough interesting ideas and truly funny scenes in here to make it worth a look.
FINAL SCORE: 2.5 out of 4 Bubs (Mildly Recommended)
