Repo! The Genetic Opera

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Repo! The Genetic Opera

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Repo! The Genetic Opera

Anthony Head, Paul Sorvino, Alexa Vega, Terrance Zdunich, Paris Hilton

In the not-so-distant future, a worldwide epidemic of organ failures devastates the planet. Out of the tragedy, a savior emerges: GeneCo, a biotech company that offers organ transplants...for a price...( read more  read more... ). Those who miss their payments are scheduled for repossession and hunted by the villainous Repo Men. In a world where surgery addicts are hooked on painkilling drugs and murder is sanctioned by law, a sheltered young girl searches for the cure to her own rare disease as well as information about her family's mysterious history. After being sucked into the haunting world of GeneCo, she is unable to turn back, as all of her questions will be answered at the wildly anticipated spectacular event: The Genetic Opera.

Id: 10235503

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Repo! The Genetic Opera Recent Reviews

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Repo! The Genetic Opera Recent Reviews
  • stopitgoaway
    October 27, 2009
    stopitgoaway
    A breath of fresh air in these formula times. While everyone else cashes in on old titles, brands and superheros, the film is surprisingly unique. Totally new age and ultra hip, it makes u feel you hang somewhere between the future and the past. A totally non-earthy feel, yet hum...( read more)an storyline and characters makes for a strangely 'happy' movie.The is story is marvelously set by the comic strips in the introduction, on to which the whole family/love drama is pasted on. The musics great, especially 'Zydrate Anatomy' and throughout the movie the story and dialoges are brilliantly delivered in songs, and even if your are not a fan of musicals, this will make you want more. BRILLIANT!!, although the ending could have been more ... dramatic
  • madmac17
    July 12, 2009
    madmac17
    How do I detest thee? Let me count the ways. I admit I was intrigued by the whole idea of a company that sells human organs on installment to people in need, and then repossesses them if the payments are not met. It's a concept that's definitely rife with possibilities, absolutel...( read more)y none of which are realized in this dismal film. There were some nice visuals, especially the Repo Man in full regalia, but otherwise this was a complete waste of 98 minutes. None of the characters are anywhere close to being likeable or even sympathetic. If the Repo Man had paid a visit to each and every character (including himself), and ripped the hearts from their chests, It would've made me so very, very happy. The music is a horrible metallic drone with something that slightly resembles singing being yowled over it. The acting is a joke, which is not that surprising in a cast that includes Paris Hilton. But how the hell did a good actor like Paul Sorvino get roped in to playing the part of Rotti Largo, the head of GeneCo? I suppose he needed the job, and he does his best with what he's given to work with. Too bad what he's given to work with is garbage. If I'd had any sense, I would have pressed the STOP button after the first 15 minutes, but I forced myself to watch the whole bloody thing, like the good Flixsterite I am. It really makes me doubt my faith in Flixster, when being a member leads to such catastrophic consequences. But, just knowing there are people out there like evillincoln gives me the strength to carry on. In closing, I would like to quote his concise and wonderfully scathing review: "this movie made very little sense and most of the songs were annoying, but it was nice to see Paris Hilton's face fall off."
  • YosemiteSamFan
    July 6, 2009
    YosemiteSamFan
    I couldn't get into the music; none of the songs were catchy or likeable. The subject of organ donation also made me squeamish.
  • FangsFirst
    June 1, 2009
    FangsFirst
    My interest in this film fluctuated wildly as I heard mixed reviews (I think, perhaps, the most mixed reviews I've ever heard--utter loathing and absolute love, but that's probably just the fault of my memory) and saw the cast and watched the trailer. Some faces and names were in...( read more)teresting (Anthony Stewart Head, Paul Sorvino, Bill Moseley, Ogre, I mean, Kevin, I mean Nivek....from Skinny Puppy) and some were not, or were even cause to think about maybe NOT seeing the film (Paris Hilton, Sarah Brightman...).. The concept intrigued me, but I wasn't sure about the musical option--which could be either fantastically engaging or intensely obnoxious and uncomfortable.

    Shilo Wallace (Alexa Vega) is the daughter of Nathan (Head), confined to her room by a blood disease, and thus almost unaware of the world around her. It's the distant future, and massive organ failure has led to the rise of GeneCo, a company that leases organs to people. By appropriately swinging their growing influence, the company manages to push through a bill that legalizes the repossession of organs on which loans have defaulted. GeneCo employes "Repo Men" for this purpose, and the most prominent one is Nathan. This is not a simple matter of employment, though, as there is a twisted and tragic story behind Nathan, his daughter, her mother and the current owner of GeneCo, Rotti Largo (Sorvino). Rotti and Nathan loved the same woman, the mother of Shilo. Rotti holds Nathan to an oath over her to keep him in his employ, while trying to contend with his selfish children Pavi (Ogre), Luigi (Moseley) and Heather Sweet (Hilton). Wandering around outside the endless tragedy of these lives, but affecting them, are the Graverobber (Terrance Zdunich, who co-created and wrote the film) and Blind Mag (Brightman), who is GeneCo's face and spokesperson for her beautiful voice.

    This is a musical, in case that somehow has not yet reached you. It's also a movie interested in gore (using the name of director Darren Lynn Bousman to market it, because he produced some of the Saw films) and horror and science fiction ideas. It's filled with ideas, really, some of which are rather Grand Guignol--especially the idea of a man who repossesses organs from living defaulters. Drugs marketed specifically to take advantage of their addictive nature but bootlegged by the Graverobber from corpses, addiction to surgery (the phrase alone has tinges of bands like Cannibal Corpse, Pungent Stench and a more clumsy Carcass) and the melodramatic enhanced clichés that make up the Lotti children--Sweet being the surgery addict, Pavi wearing other faces over his scarred one and womanizing constantly. It's all incredibly over-the-top, and one had better know that going into this. It's absurd and ridiculous and there's no way around it. The music is not designed to be like pop songs with clearly rhyming lyrics, though it often has something rather like a chorus.

    The sanely critical reviews I read said that the film overreaches itself, has too much for its budget, and this isn't an unfair take on it. It is reaching further than its budget would allow, and it does show, but it does very well with what it has, actually. The world is pretty fully realized (though it often shows that it's indoors, in truth, when it seems like it oughtn't) and interesting visually, all lit in bizarre and garish colours, with costuming and sets all very impressive and unusual. The story is solid and engaging, twisty enough to hold your interest without needing to be as ridiculous as the setting and effects are, which they are supposed to be as well. A lot of the music has a nice tinge of catchiness, with very appropriate lyrics.

    However, there are definitely some flaws here. Many of the lyrics are, frankly, juvenile in their angst and melodrama. Some of the music is a little simplistic, too, and that's definitely the biggest failing. It's occasionally a little awkward, though it's all earnest enough in its performance that it usually works just fine anyway. Of course, it's also somewhat humourous (deliberately, naturally) so that can often offset this (with the distinct exception of "17," which is an awful and ridiculous and stupid song), and also offset the other problem: Bill Moseley and Ogre are not opera singers. Really, no one in the cast is except Brightman, and possibly Sorvino--who at least seems to know the style well enough to fake it if he hasn't, and it shows. It's not offensive, but it has the same awkwardness as the occasionally deficient lyrics.

    Interestingly, the most exciting roles, at least vocally, were from Sorvino and Zdunich. Brightman and Head have great voices for different reasons, and possibly the most engaging songs as a result, but Zdunich and Sorvino manage to bring character to their voices instead of either performance or trying to push character into the voice (which is what Moseley does--which is actually probably the best approach for a man who strikes me as a non-singer, to be fair to him). Sorvino's menacingly tortured and torturous Lotti Largo comes out in his dark laughter and his well-paced singing, that is close to spoken word in a sense until it comes to appropriate crescendos. Zdunich, of course, is devoted to the role because he originated it, and it shows. He smirks and smiles in perfect ways for his extremely "goth" look, which works very well for both him and the character. His songs make his character very well-defined, and he uses his body and his face to enhance the songs and his singing. Hilton, for the record, is neither offensive nor problematic (and the cast and crew said she was actually fun to work with, even!).

    It's a film that trips itself ups a number of times, but it's still a fun experience if you are willing to forgive its limitations and appreciate the insane aesthetic and gory interests behind it.
  • evillincoln
    May 21, 2009
    evillincoln
    this movie made very little sense and most of the songs were annoying, but it was nice to see Paris Hilton's face fall off.
  • ebonyforest
    December 20, 2009
    ebonyforest
    my fave movie <3 <3 =D love repo sooo much <3 <3 AMAZING!!!!
  • Macgyver911
    December 16, 2009
    Macgyver911
    Picks up towards the end, but the build up is soooo disjointed and leaves dangling threads. The songs are badly written and repetitive for the most part. this COULD have been good, a good idea in smart hands is under this mess, but it never got there. Ironically it also tries to...( read more)o hard to be cool. And the actors playing the sons should probably never work again. At least until they've taken some lessons in acting
  • seanattle74
    December 12, 2009
    seanattle74
    The story isn't so bad, It's the music. Some of the tunes have some excellent parts and others made me want to grind my teeth. I know it was a rock opera, but there were scenes where the writing could have been better and simple dialogue could have been given instead of trying to...( read more) sing through it. Paul Sorvino can really sing, but I felt his voice was a mis match when paired with Sarah Brightman and others. I really liked the sets and the futuristic feel of this flm, and there is definitely a passionate filmmaker behind all of it. In the end, I just felt like it was a disturbing movie.
  • girlybat
    December 2, 2009
    girlybat
    i stood up and walked away from this movie TWICE. should have trusted my first impression and not even tried again. notably lovely, though, was a deliciously gothed out Sarah Brightman (as Blind Mag), but even she couldn't save this film. awful!
  • ifitz
    November 30, 2009
    ifitz
    OMG this was bad! What did Sarah Brightman do to deserve this- or want this? I don't know where to start on the badness that is this film! The horrible acting? The story with so many plot holes it looks like swiss cheese? The fact that it IS cheese? The really lame special effect...( read more)s? The corny- yet catchy (that's the high point- that and Paris Hilton's face falling off and her looking so ugly) songs? The sets that looked opulant but fake as well as being opulant for opulant's sake? It's all just BAD! Bad editing, bad direction, bad acting, bad songs- but catchy tunes. Bad, bad, BAD! Laugable bad yes, but not fun to watch bad at all!
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