The best way to approach independent films looking to tap the comedy genre is to keep an open mind. Try a parking lot in the Grand Canyon type of open and you’ll be there. That’s the way I confronted Dave Campfield’s “Caesar and Otto” horror comedy. An apparent sequel to an earlier film of his, Dave Campfield enlists the horror genre to this installment and just goes all out wacky in every single instance he can muster up. Campfield doesn’t exactly follow a specific comedy formula here and it shows quite often with scenes that are just insanely nonsensical. From character Caesar’s inherent wackiness when indulging himself in a bit part as an extra in a television show (a scene that promised to be awful but was quite funny), to his implementing of “Where’s Waldo”-like glasses when reading a map, Campfield just seems to be using whatever he thinks will work no matter how nonsensical it may be and… It’s funny. It’s very funny.
Quite often I found myself shaking my head and giggling aloud for reasons I couldn’t quite understand. In spite of the fact that Caesar is drawn as being all over the place personality-wise, and tonally, he is quite an interesting leading character, a cartoon of a person who should be heavily medicated by all reason. Director Campfield (who also writes) stars as Caesar invoking the likes of Martin Short with ADD hooked on acid from the looks of it, who indulges in some utterly ridiculous moments that get him in to trouble. Attempting to find a destination in his taxi, a young pregnant girl begs him to take her to the hospital.
After trying to throw her out in vain he decides on taking her to the hospital and gets in to a scuffle with a rude man who happens to be mentally disabled. Is any of this making sense to you? I know, but hey it’s surprisingly fun and quite hilarious the way Campfield takes this material with a tongue in cheek attitude that allows the audience to relax because it’s clear he’s just trying to have some fun with his project. And the fun translates in to genuine laughs. When an APB is put out on Caesar he does only the natural thing: Books it for a job at a local summer camp; logical reasoning, right?
Once Ceasar and Otto high tail it to the camp, things get funnier and weirder as they attempt to adjust to camp life (cue a hysterical demonstration of Caesar dealing with kids through Otto), and suddenly… the body parts start flying. Hearkening the classic “Sleepaway Camp” storyline, there is someone residing in the summer camp taking it upon themselves to mutilate local passersby and camp counselors and who is on the case? Caesar and Otto, of course! Things get weirder when the guys happen upon mysterious counselor Carrie (the lovely Felissa Rose) who is most secretive and isolated. The comedy takes a turn for the worse when the counselors are found beheaded and mutilated and here’s a note: When Felissa Rose turns up at your local camp. It’s time to start putting yourself on the defensive.
Campfield of course takes full advantage of Rose’s supporting performance chucking every “Sleepaway Camp” reference imaginable (Otto to Carrie: “It’s not true you have a dick, is it?”) and Rose takes it in stride invoking her character from the film sitting shyly and playing a straight man to their antics. By all logic, this should have been one of the worst indie comedies ever made, but it works and it works very well. I laughed quite often and I enjoyed the winks to the audience when tapping the “Sleepaway Camp” franchise. Dave Campfield has an obvious love for the sub-genre, and he shows it with this mayhem he splashes on-screen. If Harry and Lloyd from “Dumb and Dumber” happened upon “Sleepaway Camp,” you’d essentially get “Caesar and Otto’s Summer Camp Massacre,” a random and erratic horror comedy that succeeds in pulling in raucous laughs and wild scares with a touch of Felissa Rose to top off the fun.