Repo! The Genetic Opera (2008)
Director: Darren Lynn Bousman
Writers: Darren Smith and Terrance Zdunich
In the not so distant future, an epidemic of organ failures have decimated the world’s population. The epidemic sweeps the globe, killing millions. As the human race dwindles, a company, Geneco, emerges with a solution. Geneco develops a way to harvest artificial organs that can be used in place of failing ones. But these life saving procedures come at a steep cost for recipients. Many default on their payments. Geneco pushes a new law through Congress that allows them to forcefully repossess the organs of those that default on their payments. Enter the Repo Man. A violent surgeon and bounty hunter who will claim the organs at any cost. And this is all within the first 5 minutes of the movie.
The movie itself is a winding tale of deception, murder and lies set in a world where your internal organs may no longer belong to you. Repo follows the lives of Nathan, the father of a sick teen girl named Shilo (Alexa Vega of the Spy Kids movies). Nathan lost his wife, Marni, on the day his daughter was born. She died from a supposed cure that Nathan had developed for the unnamed disease that was killing her. Nathan hides a very dark secret from his daughter as he is Geneco’s dreaded Repo Man. The Repo Man works for Geneco’s villainous owner, Rotti, who is dying of an incurable disease. Rotti is determined to make sure his company, and legacy lives on, but his children are nothing short of disappointments. His daughter, Amber Sweet (Paris Hilton), is a trashy surgery and drug addict. His son Luigi (horror staple Bill Mosley) has a deadly temper that boils over at the slightest nudge. And his other son, Pavi, is a psychopath that steals faces and wears them as masks. Shilo acts as the stories centerpiece. The movie follows her as she attempts to live a normal life, though she is deathly ill. Her dangerous travels lead her to cross paths with Rotti, who seems to know more about her than even she does. As the story unravels, we see that all of the characters paths are intertwined with lies and blood.
Repo is unlike any horror movie I had ever seen. The film is setup like a violent comic book inspired rock opera. Each scene unfolds in a chorus of song, and sometimes dance. But it is unlike any rock opera you are likely to see on Broadway. The film is filled with gory organ repossessions, rotting dead bodies and enough blood to fill a swimming pool. The sets are built to resemble stage sets, and the lighting of the movie is filled with dark backgrounds and spotlit character focus. It all amounts to a stunning visual presentation that will keep you captivated throughout. Repo features a very contrast heavy and desaturated look. The cool color palette and washed out colors serve to make reds, such as blood, really pop when onscreen. It’s effective and violently beautiful.
The cast performances, for the most part, are pretty fantastic. As someone who can take or leave most rock opera’s, I found the music to be quite effective. Emotions are portrayed fairly well, and the story is never confusing, as can happen in some rock opera’s. The story is served well by the music, and never gets lost in it. Alexa Vega’s (Shilo) performance is particularly eye-opening, and her chemistry with Anthony Head (Nathan) is strong. Bill Mosley is at his best when he is allowed to unleash his anger, and it serves him well here. His upscale appearance and clean trimmed hair continually come unraveled as he unveils his murderous emotions, and it’s nothing but a joy to watch. Most surprising was Paris Hilton as Amber Sweet. Somehow, the filmmakers were able to reign in her prissy demeanor and squeeze a tragically strange performance from her. Keep an eye out for Sarah Brightman as Blind Mag. Brightman is best known as Christine in the original Broadway run of Phantom of the Opera, and she fits perfectly in this strange world. Sadly, not all the performances are perfect. Nivek Ogre as Pavi seems strangely out of place at times. His psychotic look and over the top portrayal never seemed to gel well with Luigi, whom he shared the most screen time with. Also, the Grave robber, who at first seems to be the narrator of the story, fades in and out of focus and never truly fits well with the events on screen. He seemed to garner a bit too much screen time for a character who ultimately played no major part in the story. There are also times when the story seems to lose focus as the main story arc is pushed side for something less important. Thankfully, that isn’t often.
But the negatives are far outweighed by the positives. Don’t let the fact that it’s a “rock opera” turn you away. Horror and suspense fans looking for something completely different should give Repo a shot. It’s a beautifully shot film with a great twisting story and some catchy music that never seems out of place.
Overall: 8 out of 10
Great review Joe.
I loved Repo, and I am glad you seemed to like it as well.
Definitely took me by surprise but I was happy to have gotten the chance to see it. I actually found myself humming some of the tunes days after watching it. Great stuff!
Thanks man. After watching it, I want to pick it up on Blu-Ray. I know the visuals will look stunning in hi-def.