Movie Review: Feast of the Assumption: The Otero Family Murders (2007)

This film is a documentary, It was filmed in Wichita, Kansas. It was directed by Marc Levitz, and written by Marc Levitz, and Steve Armstrong.

I went to the premiere showing of this film in Wichita, Kansas. It was shown at the Orpheum theatre, on Monday, February 25, 2008 at 7:00 pm.

The film was mainly focused on, and centered around Charlie Otero. It was Charlie's version of the murders, and also his life afterwards. The main characters in the film were Charlie, Danny, and Carmen Otero. Danny and Carmen, being Charlie's brother and sister.

The murder of Charlie's parents, and his brother and sister happened on January 15, 1974. The were killed by Dennis Rader, who dubbed himself "B.T.K." Charlie's deceased family members were, his father Joseph, (38), his mother Julie, (34), his sister Josephine, (11), and his brother Joseph II, (9).

Charlie started out by talking about a strange coincidence that had happened three nights before the killings. He had watched the movie, "In Cold Blood." He had made a remark to his father about the movie, about how those crimes had happened in Kansas. His father had said something to the effect that Charlie wouldn't ever have to worry about something like that ever happening to them.

He told how he had walked home from school that day, (the day of the murders). When he was approaching his house, he noticed that his dog was outside. He thought that was strange. When he got inside the house, he saw that the contents of his mother's purse were strewn about, and there was a mess on the kitchen counter. He said that messes were uncharacteristic of his mother, as she didn't leave anything out, and the house was always neat and clean.

Charlie found his family dead, He said that his father's eyes were bugging out, and his tongue was one half of the way bitten off. His mother was on the bed, and he mentioned how she looked like a pile of rags. He was worried about his younger brother and sister coming home from school, and seeing this. He didn't know it at that time, they were dead too.

A little while later, he found his younger brother dead. He did not mention that he found his younger sister dead. Dennis Rader had taken his father's watch, and his brother's shirt.

There were a few other people in the film. One being a retired detective, Gary Caldwell. He had worked on the case, and was inside the house after the police had been notified. Mr. Caldwell was interviewed in his own home for the movie, and was still to this day visibly shaken about what he had witnessed. He said that this was the saddest case he had ever worked on. He said that when he was going through the house, he went down in the dark basement, and he bumped into something. It was after he turned a light on, he was able to see what he had bumped into. It was the body of Josephine. She was hung, and tied to a pipe. Gary Caldwell said that a psychiatrist had said that the person who had committed the murders in this house was just deranged. The police knew that Dennis Rader had spent a lot of time inside the Otero home.

There were pictures of the deceased family shown in the film. I had not seen these pictures before, and they were quite disturbing. There were ligature marks on his mother's neck. They showed pictures of the little girl hanging in the basement. It was a side view of her body, and her pants, and underwear had been removed. They also showed her bound hands behind her body, and a close up of her face. Dennis Rader had later confessed how he had touched her, after she was dead.

The film didn't tell about Danny, or Carmen's lives after the murders. There was one part where the surviving Otero children were riding in a car, to go by and look at the house where their family members had been murdered in, and they were standing in the yard, and they started crying, and holding onto each other. They did not go inside the house. It was heart breaking to see them standing in all of their pain.

It was basically centered around Charlie. I was hoping there would be more input from his brother and sister, but the main focus was on Charlie. He talked about the murders, his time in jail, and while he was on parole. He also talked about his son, and his son's mother. There was a lot told about an accident that involved his son. His son, had been riding his bicycle, and been hit by a car traveling seventy miles per hour. His son survived the accident, but he had a lot of problems afterwards. His son was living in Wisconsin at the time of the accident, and Charlie had been filmed leaving for the trip to go see his injured son, when he was recovering in the hospital.

Steven Relford was also in the movie. His mother, Shirley Vian had been killed by Dennis Rader. At one point, Steven talks about how he saw Rader put a bag over his mother's head. Rader had put Steven, and his brother and sister in the bathroom, and even though they were barricaded in the room, the children could still get the door open a bit, and Steven was able to look out, and see his mother.

Old news footage was shown, including Dennis Rader being apprehended by the police. There were also some clips of the court proceedings. Some of these were of Dennis Rader, and when the victim's families made statements. Dennis Rader confessed to the crimes, and went into detail about them, so there wasn't a trial. Charlie had mentioned how he wished there would have been a trial, as he wanted to get to the bottom of this. He wanted to know more.

A few still shots were shown of Dennis Rader when he had tied himself up, and took pictures of himself. I didn't expect to see these pictures in the movie. I thought later, that maybe these were shown to convey how crazy they thought he was. It was an attempt to show the world what kind of a person would do these things. There was one picture of Dennis Rader shown, where he was nude except for wearing a bra. He was tied up. He had also hung himself, somehow for the picture. Here, the world would see just how deranged that Dennis Rader was. It was noted that Dennis Rader had signed over his media rights. He won't be able to profit in any way of the horrific crimes that he committed. As I mentioned before, the pictures, and his behavior in court pretty much summed up the real person inside of Dennis Rader.

Overall, I liked this movie. Being a documentary, it was a little rough around the edges. It was very candid. There were times the characters were filmed just saying whatever came to mind, but that quality made it seem more real in a sense. It seemed unscripted, with raw emotions. Obviously, there was some outline to this film, to present things that had happened in chronological order. But there was also a feeling that what I was watching was happening right now, in the present. And, I was a witness to seeing it happen for the first time. It made it feel more real, instead of people reliving the events. There was a lot of content that did seem as if it was not rehearsed, and possibly could have been told for the first time in the film. More so, than just the footage of Charlie going to see his injured son.

It was recommended that no one under the age of fourteen be admitted to this movie, due to the graphic language, and some of the photos that were shown.

Since I have lived here in Wichita almost all of my life, I was very interested in this particular crime. I have known, and read about "B.T.K." for years. I have always wondered what happened to the surviving Otero children. I have also wondered what had happened to members of the other victims. I never thought I would ever see them in person. I am glad I had the opportunity to see this movie. I did feel sorry for them, and I left the theatre feeling really bad for them, but I knew there wasn't anything that I could do for any of them.

I got the impression that the making of this film was in a way, therapy for not only the surviving Oteros, but also for Steven Relford. It appears that there is some kind of bond that has been forged between he, and Charlie Otero. Maybe they can help each other. Maybe they can talk things out. It's just horrible, that this is how they came to know each other. The circumstances that they met under are more awful that I could imagine. It's sad when I think about what they have in common. They probably most likely would never have known the other one existed, had it not been for this serial killer who inflicted the damage inside their lives.

There was a question and answer period at the end of the film. A lot of people stayed to talk to the Otero's, and Steven Relford. I had taken my camera, and I got pictures of Charlie, Danny, Carmen, and Steven.

When I had arrived at the theatre, I saw Kevin Bright standing in the foyer, but I did not approach him about letting me take a picture of him. His sister, Katherine Bright had been also murdered by Dennis Rader.

In closing, again I mention that the film dealt more on Charlie's view of the murders, and his problems and emotional turmoils in the ensuing years of his life. It was not a "B.T.K." film in the sense that it was centered around a man who is a serial killer. It is more of an open book of Charlie's life, his feelings, and his struggles in his life as an adult. He is left to approach his problems head on, without his parents around for support, guidance, and help. It is not a feel good film. It presents the facts, and how people have to go on living with the horrific emotional pain they endured after losing their loved ones at the hands of a serial killer.

It presents how the pieces had to be picked up after this devastation, and that the survivors had to go on. I'm sure it was cathartic for some of the survivors to participate in this film, but I really wonder just how they must feel. To live the events over and over in their minds. It has been a long time since the Otero murders, but the horrible impact that this made on these people emotionally, was overwhelming. It was saddening to try and grasp the horror that must go on inside their minds due to this tragedy. And, now they are letting the world know all of this. And, they will be reliving this every time the film is shown.

If you like reading about true crime, or watching movies about real crimes, then I recommend this movie. If not, then you probably won't want to sit through this, I do hope that a lot of people will get the chance to see this documentary. Hopefully some day it will be released on DVD. Until then, try and catch it at another film festival.