Movie Reviews

"Otis" has everything he needs for the prom: the corsage, the convertible, the cool baby-blue tux (not to mention the fully equipped torture chamber in his basement). He even has the girl - a pretty blonde he's named Kim - who is dying to be his date. Literally.

This is the first title I’ve seen under Warner’s new “Raw Feed” line. Unfortunately, it wasn’t a good premiere for me. I don’t know what horror audience this one is trying to cater to. It isn’t scary, it isn’t even tense. At first I thought it might be the horror-comedy crowd, but it isn’t even that funny. The acting is really bad, the story is weak and there just are no real horror elements aside from some light blood. I would have to recommend a pass on this one.

Otis looks like it was shot using consumer grade HD cameras. The film has a veiled look to it with detail wavering a bit. Close ups look great but longer shots reveal a more video grade look. Black levels are elevated, which kills depth, and dimensionality is a bit weak overall. I saw some light video noise from time to time and some light ringing was evident. Considering its low budget roots, I wasn’t expecting much more.

So Warner’s recent release of Speed Racer doesn’t merit a lossless audio mix but this one does? Call me confused. Unfortunately this one doesn’t really take advantage of the benefits like Racer would have. The sound design isn’t bad overall; it just lacks the polish of a big budget horror production. Dialogue sounds natural enough but the film’s score is a bit cheesy and the surround soundstage is underutilized.

No extras on this one.

As a horror film I would definitely have to say, skip this one. I just didn’t find any of it enjoyable. Credit goes to Warner for trying their best to deliver good audio and video, I just wish they would apply the same principle to their bigger titles.