In this economic recession, the word repossession can inspire fear and dread. Within the movie, “Repo! The Genetic Opera,” it can inspire something a lot more dire: death.
“Repo! The Genetic Opera” is a movie musical directed by Darren Lynn Bousman and currently in limited release. It tells of a dystopia located sometime in the near future, which arises when a mysterious epidemic of organ failure overtakes the world.
From the tragedy that ensues, GeneCo arises, providing organs to people for a nominal fee. How the company first acquired enough organs to help an ailing population is never adequately explained. Suffice it to say, if a payment is missed, the company sends the Repo Man who will repossess the organs by any means necessary (in short, with a scalpel and no anesthetic).
The film stars Alexa Vega (“Spy Kids”) as the heroine Shilo Wallace, who is kept locked inside because she has a rare blood disease. Her father Nathan Wallace, played by Anthony Stewart Head of “Buffy the Vampire Slayer”, is an overprotective parent by day and the head Repo Man by night. The story is primarily about her discovery of her father’s double life and the many other secrets, lies and blood therein.
While comparisons of this film to other cult movies such as “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” would be most obvious, the most viable comparison story-wise is actually “Sweeney Todd.”
“Sweeney Todd” and “Repo!” are both musical tales of revenge, reveling in gore and tragedy. Yet, while “Sweeney Todd” has characters whose motives are relatable, the same cannot be said for “Repo!”
Aside from Shilo, Nathan and Rotti Largo ““ the head of GeneCo ““ the rest of the characters are caricatures. Paris Hilton (“The Simple Life”) stars as the spoiled heiress, and Sarah Brightman (Broadway’s “The Phantom of the Opera”) plays a famous diva; in other words, they basically play themselves.
There is also a narrator (Terrance Zdunich) whose sole purpose is to reiterate what the audience already knows, such as saying there’s going to be a fight at the opera after the characters have just dedicated a musical number to that very topic.
Furthermore, the movie suffers from too many story lines and, clocking at 98 minutes, not enough time to adequately resolve them. It strives to be both a warning against corporatism and a coming-of-age story. The result is a movie that is both thin in plot and characterization and as such, ultimately unsatisfying.
Despite these things, the music composed by Darren Smith and Terrance Zdunich is top-notch, with songs ranging from operatic to rock, comedic to downright disturbing. Since the movie is categorized as a rock opera, expect singing in every scene and heavy metal guitars to accompany it.
All of the actors do well with their music material, especially Head, who uses his voice to differentiate his two personas, which sometimes borders on schizophrenic, with great success.
In short, “Repo!” has all the makings of a cult classic, namely dark macabre humor, wonderful music and that niche appeal.
One thing is for certain, this is not a movie for the mainstream. Only see it if you have a stomach for gore or operas (or both).