Repo! The Genetic Opera is an opera, but not in the traditional sense. In the world created, a worldwide organ failure epidemic has opened the doors for Rotti Largo (Paul Sorvino) to start GeneCo, a company that makes genetic organs for people suffering from disease. They are extremely expensive, and many opt to pay for them in payment plans. If you miss a payment, however, you don’t just get a letter in the mail. GeneCo sends a Repo Man (Anthony Heald) to come to your house, or wherever you are, to take the organ back, murdering you in the process. Largo himself is dying and is looking for an heir to his company, not believing in his three crazy kids: the hothead Luigi (Bill Moseley), Amber (Paris Hilton…yes that Paris Hilton), and the multi-face wearing Pavi (Nivek Ogre). Largo decides to give his company to the Repo Man’s daughter, the sickly Shilo (Alexa Vega). However, there is intrigue and mystery afoot: it appears that Rotti murdered Shilo’s mother Marni in jealous rage over losing her to The Repo Man (also known as Nathan to his daughter, who doesn’t know of his true profession), which caused Nathan to lose himself in his work. The whole story is narrated, in essence, by the Graverobber (Terrence Zdunich), who takes the painkiller Zydrate from the dead bodies of GeneCo patients to sell on the black market. Also in the story is Blind Mag (Sarah Brightman, in her first film role), the star of the GeneCo Genetic Opera and has a connection to both Nathan and Shiloh.
The movie itself is 98 minutes, and it is all done in song. The songs are very well-produced, and run the gamut from metal to classic opera. The actors involved all handle the material well, and are actually not tone deaf, so no Rosario Dawson in Rent-like pitch fixing in post production. Paul Sorvino, especially, bolts out opera like a professional, showing a whole new facet to him that I doubt anyone knew he had. Alexa Vega has been trying to use film to boost her singing career forever, so that's nothing new and Anthony Heald did the singing thing in Buffy, so that’s no shocker. Paris Hilton even manages not to screw up, but to be fair, her singing time is limited.
Repo is not a PG movie. Much like Sweeney Todd (which Sweeney Blew), it is a gory and vulgar film. Nathan’s exploits as a Repo Man are graphic and violent, as we watch him rip kidneys out of people still alive and begging for their lives. The violence mixes well with the music, and while you would think the two wouldn’t work, apparently operas are a lot more violent than we all think (according to my super quick Google research).
Repo The Genetic Opera is an inventive, fun, and just all around crazy movie musical, and unfortunately its subject matter will leave it being a cult film rather than a mainstream success. This Halloween, when you’re looking for a nice violent film to celebrate, go against the grain and choose Repo The Genetic Opera; you’ll get your violence, and more importantly, you’ll pretend you’re cultured by watching a musical.
You can buy Repo The Genetic Opera on Amazon.com or rent it on Netflix.