Repo! The Genetic Opera
posted November 7, 2008 8:58 AM
Gag me—it’s Glam Guignol
Without question, Repo! The Genetic Opera will pop up on worst-movies-of-the-year lists. More appropriately subtitled The Generic Opera, this adaptation of a stage musical by Darren Smith and Terrance Zdunich is a mangy mutt of a motion picture. A derivative concept, a screechy blend of musical styles, a mediocre book and lyrics, borderline production values and barely competent performances make for an excruciating experience. While it may aspire to cult status, the odds are not good that it will gain a loyal following, let alone make a killing.
All you need to know about Repo! is that Paris Hilton has a prominent role and that she’s the best thing in it. Sarcasm aside, the fact she was cast tells you where the movie’s head is at: namely, in the amateurish clouds where a celebrity connection might ensure much-needed attention—who cares if it’s for the wrong reasons?
In the year 2056, organ failures are rampant on planet Earth and a biotech company GeneCo is selling transplants. Buyer beware! If you miss a payment, scalpel-wielding repo men take back your organs. Infirm teenager Shilo (Alexa Vega) suffers from a blood disease and is quarantined by her doctor father (Anthony Stewart Head), who works on the sly for GeneCo as a masked harvester. GeneCo’s villainous CEO Rotti Largo (Paul Sorvino) was once romantically involved with her deceased mother and he’s got something on Daddy. Shilo is desperate to be cured of her disease and learn more about her mother, whose close friend Blind Mag (Sarah Brightman) is a singer with ties to Largo. Meanwhile, Largo’s three children, including the chameleon Amber Sweet (Hilton), are addicted to cosmetic surgery and chomping at the bit to take over the company when he kicks it. In addition, a grave robber goes around siphoning off a synthetic painkiller called Zydrate from dead bodies. Much of the world’s population is addicted to the drug and it’s a pity no Zydrate will be available for those unfortunate enough to find themselves in theaters where Repo! is unreeling.
Twenty musical numbers build to the climactic staging of (what else?) The Genetic Opera. The eclectic score eviscerates every style it tries to emulate—Goth, Punk, Disco, Acid Rock, Hip Hop, Andrew Lloyd Weber, Stephen Sondheim and Kurt Weill. Visual progenitors include Tim Burton’s oeuvre, The Rocky Horror Picture Show and the Saw franchise. Parts II, III, and IV of the aforementioned torture porn series were helmed by Repo!’s director Darren Lynn Bousman.
The gore isn’t a problem, unless you fail to see the humor in a repo man pulling out a man’s intestines and stomach, inserting his hand in the cavity and moving his lips as if the corpse were a ventriloquist’s dummy. In any case, the caterwauling that passes for singing is much more nauseating than the bloody violence. Sorvino, supposedly an accomplished opera singer, resorts to speaking his songs the way Rex Harrison did in My Fair Lady. Only Brightman’s solo number toward the end sounds particularly musical, or at the very least like it’s being sung on key. During the scene, Blind Mag plucks her eyes out and is impaled on an iron fence. If the alternative is being forced to watch and listen to Repo! The Genetic Opera again, hers isn’t such a bad fate.
Distributor: Lionsgate
Cast: Alexa Vega, Anthony Steward Head, Sarah Brightman, Paris Hilton, Ogre, Terrance Zdunich, Bill Moseley and Paul Sorvino
Director: Darren Lynn Bousman
Screenwriters: Darren Smith and Terrance Zdunich
Producers: Daniel Jason Heffner, Carl Mazzocone, Oren Koules and Mark Burg
Genre: Musical/Horror
Rating: R for strong bloody violence and gore, language, some drug and sexual content
Running time: 97 min.
Release date: November 7 ltd.
12 Comments
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Brian said:
i thought the movie was great! it was better than i expected... i know this movie is not for everyone but totally great in my opinion.
November 8, 2008 2:33 AM
Nick said:
This movie is simply perfect! The music is hilarious and it's sound very industrial and futuristic. The story is very sad but not a tragedy, it mixes some genres and it work together very well.
November 8, 2008 10:51 AM
AMAZING!!! said:
i loved it! wow how good was that!!!!
November 8, 2008 2:51 PM
Really? said:
That was a terrible, terrible review.
November 8, 2008 5:32 PM
Alex said:
It's clear here that this critic is only interested in the tripe that Hollywood tries to pass off as entertainment these days.
I had the pleasure and the privelege of seeing Repo! at the Toronto After Dark film festival earlier this year and was blown away. This is definitely worth seeing for yourself.
November 9, 2008 8:58 AM
JM said:
I understand that this movie is the type where people will either hate it or love it, and it is obvious which side this review skews upon, but I hate how it insinuates how the movie is terrible.
I saw Repo at the Montreal Fantasia Film festival, and I greatly enjoyed it. I understand that it is different in terms of what is considered "normal" from Hollywood, but it is at least trying to be original, and it succeeds at that with flying colours. It may not be the movie of the year, but I am sure many people would enjoy it if they actually saw it.
If you have any penchant towards musicals, or if you want to see something new and unique, go check it out and judge it for yourself.
November 10, 2008 7:38 AM
give it a chance! said:
One thing I would just like to mention:
Paris Hilton was cast because she was actually good. She wasn't even going to be given an audition, but they let her and apparently she rocked it. THAT is why they gave her the role. Not simply to have a "celebrity connection".
I thought she did well, and I'm not usually a big Paris fan. I actually didn't think she played a huge part in it though. You didn't see her that much in the film.
Personally, I absolutely loved this movie. It was something very new and original, which is very hard to find these days. I would definitely recommend it to people.
This is obviously not everybody's type of movie, but I think people would be surprised and find themselves liking this, even if it doesn't really seem like their thing. I think if people just gave this film a chance, they might be pleasantly surprised. =)
Oh, and way to ruin the surprise ending with what happens to Mag! Good one.
November 11, 2008 5:04 PM
dominic said:
the movie wasn't the best !!!! but is not as bad as the critics says i just feel like some cast members werent used to theur potentials!!!
one moore questions who are thoses hotties valets?? with paris???
November 12, 2008 10:13 AM
AJ said:
I don't know what the critic was talking about, he/ she made it sound so bad when it honestly wasn't. Go and see it, and this critic sucks, I'm guessing he/she doesn't like this type of movie but WE DO, so listen to us...
December 1, 2008 2:16 PM
Crystal said:
This stupid critic obviously wouldn't know a good movie if it jumped up and bit him! There is almost no originality in movies anymore, and this movie was definately original, it's a kind of movie I have never seen before. That's what makes it so great! This is why I hate movie critics, they take a great movie and say it's the worst film ever made, then they take a weird piece of crap movie and say it's an Oscar winner! What the deuce?! See Repo, you will NOT regret it!!!
December 1, 2008 10:02 PM
Joshua Barber said:
This is a horrible review. I Love how you spoiled part of the ending! God, where's an editor when you need them?
And I actually enjoyed this movie a lot. Once you realize this is a sci-fi rock opera made by the guys behind Saw, you know what you are getting into. And it was a damn good movie. It was original and different. It didn't recycle plots that have already been tossed around for years and years. It was fresh and inventive.
December 8, 2008 10:08 PM
twhite said:
horrible movie. trying WAY too hard. suck it, fangirls.
December 19, 2008 4:52 PM