FANGORIA.COM
By. MICHAEL GINGOLD
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So many films have visibly strained for cult status in recent years that it's refreshing to see one that's guaranteed to attain it simply by staying true to its own demented vision. Which is not to say that REPO! THE GENETIC OPERA doesn't deserve more than the limited release it's currently slated to receive this November from Lionsgate. If the cheers it received at the just-concluded Fantasia festival are any indication, director Darren Lynn Bousman's labor of love will touch a lot of sympathetic nerves—and if a musical about a deranged barber who slits throats and sends his victims to be turned into meat pies can be embraced by the mainstream, why not one set in a future where replacement organs can be purchased on a layaway plan—and are bloodily reclaimed from those who can't keep up their payments?

That's the scenario dreamed up first for the underground stage and then adapted for the screen by Darren Smith and Terrance Zdunich, the latter of whom also created the eye-tickling comic-book panels that help tell the story and, for good measure, gives an electric performance as a graverobber who serves as a kind of Greek chorus. He's part of a criminal underground that has arisen thanks to a massive surge in organ failures, and the resulting rise to power of Geneco, which provides replacement parts for a price. Lording it over the company and thus the world is Rotti Largo (Paul Sorvino, clearly having fun in this atypical role but never condescending to the material), assisted by his perpetually squabbling adult children: sons Luigi (Bill Moseley) and the masked Pavi (Ogre from Skinny Puppy), and surgery-junkie daughter Amber Sweet (Paris Hilton).

Rotti's most trusted underling, however, is his repo man, Nathan Wallace, who's ruthless in making his extractions from pleading victims but also a loving father to sickly teen daughter Shilo (Alexa Vega), with both sides of the role given great feeling by Anthony Stewart Head. (That sound you'll hear in theaters playing REPO! will be the swooning of young female audiences who grew up adoring Head on BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER.) But there's more of a connection between Rotti and Nathan than just the former's employment of the latter, which leads to all manner of surprising, dramatic and downright nasty developments, all conveyed in song.

This kind of all-musical storytelling may be an acquired taste for some, and the lyrics occasionally succumb to repetition or become too on-the-nose. Just as often, though, they're powerful and moving, and delivered with gusto by the eccentric ensemble; Moseley enthusiastically snarls his way through his numbers, while Hilton is undeniably well-cast as a spoiled brat. Shining at the center of it all is Vega, growing up nicely since her SPY KIDS days and providing a sane center amidst the craziness surrounding Shilo. Whether lamenting her sheltered life under the overprotective Nathan, rocking out with Joan Jett as her guitarist or declaiming her feelings at the climax, she seems born to take on this very singular role.

Shilo also provides a core of empathy that REPO! THE GENETIC OPERA otherwise rather lacks. As good as Head is, it can be hard to reconcile Nathan's tenderness toward Shilo and his viciousness with which he dissects the human objects of his work, and most of the rest of the characters are grotesques, albeit entertaining ones. What holds the attention throughout is the complete immersion in this strange world that Bousman and his team of craftsmen have undertaken, which makes it easy to follow them along. Bousman's direction is pacey but never frenetic, conveying a sense of energy without the jittery cutting of the SAW sequels. There's something to tantalize the eye or shock the senses in practically every frame, and the movie is sumptuous on its low budget. Production designer David Hackl, another SAW series veteran, really comes into his own with this fully realized world of contrasting decay and extravagance (and sometimes extravagant decay), all captured with the right balance of harsh light and pervasive gloom by cinematographer Joseph White. REPO! THE GENETIC OPERA is something different in both the horror and musical fields, and it's to the film's credit that, under Bousman and co., the two genres complement rather than contradict each other. It'll be interesting to see how a mass audience takes to this audacious cinematic experience—which is to say that they deserve the chance to see it. This is one movie whose visual vibe cries out to be witnessed on a big screen, and like a traditional opera, it's an experience that can only be significantly enhanced by the presence of a packed house of fellow appreciative spectators.

VARIETY.COM
By. JOHN ANDERSON
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If the concept of the midnight movie weren't moldering in its grave, "Repo! The Genetic Opera" would be cutting-edge fare for the latenight crowd; one can almost hear the aud's partisan cheering for different internal organs, depending on what is being eviscerated at any particular moment. Pet project by Darren Lynn Bousman (who helmed the second, third and fourth "Saw" movies) is a bloody mess, saddled with a score that suggests Stephen Sondheim joined Blue Oyster Cult. But the Nov. 7 Lionsgate release will be a good time for the very strong of stomach.

Based on screenwriters Darren Smith and Terrance Zdunich's stage tuner, which Bousman directed in Los Angeles several years ago, "Repo! The Genetic Opera" is so over-the-top it's purple. At the same time, it's not too many lengths of intestine beyond some mainstream movies, "Sweeney Todd" being the most obvious comparison. In fact, while "Repo!" is set in a futuristic world where replacement organs can be bought -- and repossessed, if you're late on the payments -- it otherwise fits quite snugly into a "Todd" template.

There's the guilt-wracked, blade-wielding principal, Nathan (Anthony Stewart Head, of TV's "Buffy the Vampire Slayer"), a scientist convinced he was responsible for his wife's death and the illness of his only child, Shilo (Alexa Vega, of "Spy Kids").

There's a truly black-hearted villain, Rotti Largo (Paul Sorvino) -- owner of GeneCo, the world's leader in human replacement parts -- who has manipulated Nathan into becoming Repo Man, Rotti's collector of bad debts and the occasional kidney. Abetted by his demented sons, Luigi (a venomous Bill Moseley) and the mask-wearing Pavi (Nivek Ogre of the band Skinny Puppy), Rotti is evil incarnate, manipulates everyone, and isn't a bad singer.

Shilo is the emotional center of the film, the innocent who is somehow unsoiled by the dementia rampant in her universe, and Vega gives it her all. The same can be said for all the cast -- including Paris Hilton, who delivers a limited but thoroughly appropriate performance in a movie in which almost everything is inappropriate. All the players throw themselves into their parts, so to speak, and given the limited amount of direction going on here, this is probably Bousman's biggest accomplishment.

This full-blown enthusiasm extends to the movie's most eccentric bit of casting, Sarah Brightman (Andrew Lloyd Webber's ex, best known for playing Christine in "The Phantom of the Opera"), who, as the mysterious Blind Mag, is the most operatic element in this genetic opera.

Bousman has created a world limited by the story's stage roots, and, no doubt, by its budget, but he creates a unified whole within a very untidy realm. Would that the music were more memorable: A Sondheim reference isn't entirely unwarranted -- much of the sung narrative is atonal, but it's also unremarkable. The best number is performed by co-writer Zdunich, who, as the ghoulish Grave Robber, may be the pic's most engaging character, despite his unpleasant occupation: The painkiller used in organ transplants can be harvested from the dead, it seems. And Grave Robber is really into recycling. Production values are adequate.

FILMTHREAT.COM
By. Mariko McDonald
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Because of to the rabid and pervasive cult following it was able to generate in the 33 years since "The Rocky Horror Picture" show first appeared in theaters, it's been easy to forget that it had been a resounding flop when it premiered. Numerous attempts have been made to cash in or imitate this phenomenon: there was the sing-a-long "Sound of Music" and midnight screenings of "Showgirls," but both projects felt too engineered to spark an actual movement like "Rocky Horror" did. The reason "Rocky Horror" became the monster it did is because it was allowed to grow slowly, through word of mouth. Friends brought their friends, who brought their friends, and while most people weren't sure what they were seeing, they were at least touched by how different it was and felt like they were a part of something.

And now we have "REPO! The Genetic Opera," which while obviously aspiring to cult classic status, might actually succeed because it shares something in common with "Rocky Horror": they're not actually that good as films.

There, I said it. But the truth is this fact probably helps "REPO!'s" case for true cult status. There are going to be people that are going to LOVE this movie right off the bat (they're called goths), and there are going to be people who will HATE this film right off the bat (they're called film critics), but the fact is the film is such a unique animal that it developing a cult following over time is inevitable. It is unlikely that it will be very successful initially outside of small, isolated pockets, but it's reputation will grow on in the years that follow until we find ourselves shaking our heads as our kids run off to midnight screenings dressed as Pavi the Face Stealer or Blind Mag.

Based on a little known off Broadway play, "REPO!" tells the operatic tale of Shilo (Alexa Vega, "Spy Kids"), a pale girl with a rare blood disease kept a prisoner in her own home by an overprotective father (Anthony Stewart Head, or Giles to "Buffy" fans). What Shilo doesn't know is that her father is also the murderous Repo Man, using his surgeon's skills to extract designer organs when their owners fall late on a payment. The organs are the property of Geneco, a giant conglomerate owned by the evil Rotti Largo (Paul Sorvino, no really). Rotti's days are numbered, but he has to stick around long enough to find an heir to his fortune who isn't one of his disastrous children: the murderous Luigi (a rather embarrassed looking Bill Moseley), face stealing Pavi (Nivek Ogre of industrial music pioneers Skinny Puppy) and plastic surgery addicted daughter Amber Sweet (Paris Hilton). Also playing a major role is Sarah Brightman in her film debut as Shilo's godmother, Blind Mag.

There isn't really much point in recapping the plot further, the film does a pretty good job of that all on its own, which is definitely one of its main weaknesses. Almost all of the dialogue is sung, making it closer to being a true opera than a regular film musical, but director Bousman, best known for "Saws II, III & IV," also includes comic book panel sequences to fill in the back story. The problem is that these explanations start to feel redundant as they are usually followed immediately by a song which sums up the pertinent facts, or at least the ones we need to know at that point. Much of the story probably would have played stronger if we were allowed to discover things as they were being sung, since the comic panels can't convey the emotion that the songs can.

As for the singing itself, it's largely top notch, with Brightman being an obvious stand out and Head and Sorvino clearly enjoying this rare chance to strut their stuff (Head played in "Rocky Horror" on stage and Sorvino is a trained opera singer). Also very strong is the teenaged Vega, and while he doesn't actually have much singing to do, Ogre is delightfully arch and engaging. Not faring as well are the usually addictively watchable Moseley, who seems uncomfortable and confused and Hilton, who does her best to portray a spoiled brat and almost succeeds despite it not being that big a stretch. The one thing in the film's favor is that everyone manages to play everything deadly straight, lending credibility to Shakespearean hysterics, with the possible exceptions of Moseley and Hilton who do seem to be trying, just not very hard.

The biggest surprise of all is co-writer Terrance Zdunich as the Grave Robber, a sort of troubadour character who appears intermittently and introduces the epilogue. He has a wonderfully dark singing voice and a commanding presence that makes you wish he was in the film more. As it is most of his appearances are kind of confusing as his relationships with the other characters are often not clear.

The real weakness however, is the music itself. While the novelty of a goth/industrial/techno musical is undeniable, the film lacks a real show stopping number that the audience can hum all the way home. Singing all the dialogue means a lot of the lyrics are expository and other than the final climax at the opera, the lyrics are not very strong. For example, Shilo has to ponder such doosies in song as, "why are my genetics such a bitch?" Not helping matters is the sometimes schizophrenic editing, with as many as 10 separate cuts during a single phrase. It is obvious that Bousman is trying to create visual interest by showing things from as many angles as he can, but the frequent shifts in focus actually take us out of the moment emotionally, lessening our connection to the characters.

Which is in a way the film's biggest weakness, but also the reason it is destined for cult status: it's just too much. While the universe Bousman creates for us is as fully realized a visual world as we are likely to see, the attention to detail starts to feel obsessive and fetishistic. And yet this is what will appeal to fans the most in the long run. The film is in many ways a triumph of style over substance and the style is impressive, from the oddly saturated cinematography to the goth/punk art direction. But the parts do not add up to a satisfying whole, nor is the film quite gory enough, though there is some good grue.

Only time will tell whether "REPO!" can live up to its cult potential, but the potential is most definitely there.

ALTFG.COM
By. Keith Waterfield
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The world premiere of Repo! The Genetic Opera took place at Montreal's Fantasia Film Festival on Friday, July 18. When I approached the theatre (over an hour early) there were hundreds of dedicated fans — who knew about the film through the original play, snippets of songs, online blogs, or short trailers — wrapped around the building, all waiting to see one of the most imaginative and spellbinding films to come out in recent memory. Some people had driven across the border to be there that night; others had made signs begging for extra tickets to the sold-out show.

When I entered the building, the energy was overwhelming. Everybody inside was soaked in enthusiasm, biting their nails while waiting to be herded in. The media/VIP section wasn't quite filled when I got there, but shortly thereafter that lineup had more than tripled. We were told only the first ten VIP or press guests in line would make it in; if there was any room left, they would let in the others. Luckily, I was number six. I had already seen Repo! The Genetic Opera a few days earlier at a press screening, but Repo! is the type of film that begs to be watched several times in order to take it all in (just for the background art alone). Also, the second time around I could sing along (with great confusion to my neighbor).

As audience members walked into the theatre, they were greeted by women in small white dresses, wearing see-through red plastic shields that covered the top half of their faces. They were handing out the playbill to Blind Mag's final show. (Later, audiences would realize that those ushers were nurses in the Repo! world, while Blind Mag, played by Sarah Brightman, was the string that tied the film's events together.) In attendance were director Darren Lynn Bousman, writer/actor Terrance Zdunich, co-writer Darren Smith, producer Daniel J. Heffner, actor Bill Moseley, and actress Alexa Vega. I was fortunate enough to get interviews earlier in the day with Bousman, Vega, Zdunich, and Moseley, who were all thrilled and perhaps a little nervous about that evening's screening.

The event's MC was Fangoria's Tony Timpone, who seemed to be as excited to be there as the cast, crew, and audience members. He brought in Bousman, who gave a quick introduction to the film. Then the show began.

Repo! The Genetic Opera starts almost fifty years into the future, more than two decades after the creation of GeneCo — a corporation in the organ-leasing business. They fuel the human desire to improve one's looks, but that comes at a high cost (and with a hefty interest rate). If a patient misses a payment, the Repo Man (Anthony Stewart Head) pays them a visit and rips the organ from the live client's body. A nice touch is that each GeneCo organ has a barcode stamped on it.

In this very near — and not so farfetched — future, the city is run by GeneCo and the "industry of beauty," an industry that rests on the haunches of the dead. The story's narrator, Graverobber (Zdunich) makes his living by selling a street form of Zydrate — a pain-relieving drug used to numb patients before they go under the knife to enhance their appearances (or to add organs), which Graverobber extracts from the dead.

Sarah Brightman in Repo! The Genetic Opera by Darren Lynn BousmanThe basic plot, which takes place during Blind Mag's Farewell Concert, follows the president of GeneCo, Rotti Largo (opera-trained Paul Sorvino), and his three children, Luigi (Moseley) Pavi (Ogre), and Amber Sweet (Paris Hilton), who are all fighting to become the head of the GeneCo empire. Repo Man Nathan Wallace is their "Legal Assassin," who, ashamed of what he does, tries to hide his "profession" from his 17-year-old daughter Shilo (Vega). The girl is kept locked up by her father due to a genetic blood disease — passed down from her absent mother — to which there is no cure. Shilo is at the heart of Repo!, embodying the growth from innocence to experience.

The past and paths of each of those individuals are intertwined, and as the story unfolds the viewer gets a little treat of the Repo! heaven that this team of dedicated artists have put together. With twenty amazing rock opera ballads (including a punk-inspired piece, with cameo by Joan Jett) ranging from blood-chillingly gothic to hilariously deviant and tearjerking-ly sentimental, in addition to sexy, messy, and divinely choreographed numbers, Repo! will leave most viewers humming, singing, and slicing for days after. Sitting through Repo!, I couldn't help but be reminded of Rocky Horror Picture Show. Not because Anthony Stewart Head has played Dr. Frank N. Furter and not because both films are similar in terms of aesthetics or characters — but because Repo! has emerged during a time that is void of a collective agreement of representation. Repo!is for today what Rocky Horror was for the '70s. Speaking to this generation's many different facets, it is truly a historical film event. Years from now, when I have kids or grand kids digging through retro materials from my past, and they go on about how cool Repo! is, I will understand what it felt like when my mother first told me about throwing toast at the screen during Rocky Horror following my discovery of a VHS tape with glossy red lips on the cover.

Throughout Repo!, fans roared with cheers after each of the musical numbers. At the film's conclusion, the vocal celebration could not be calmed for several minutes. Then the cast and crew were introduced, took part in a thirty-minute Q&A, signed autographs, and met with fans. I'm not sure who got more pleasure from that night — the fans meeting the creators and stars, or the stars and creators meeting their fans. The Repo! family was genuinely interested in each of their fans and took time to speak with anyone who went up to them. It was heartwarming (after seeing blood and guts) to see the Repo! filmmakers get the recognition they deserve after making such an incredible film.

Every moment in Repo! — a film that is far different from anything I have ever seen — oozes with talent, be it in the performances, the design, or the narrative. In fact, it wouldn't be fair for me to single out anyone in particular (though I do think that Zdunich is going to get a lot of attention for his goth rock god portrayal of Graverobber).

Now, it's time for people to start thinking if this Halloween — or at the next Repo!screening — they will be a Gentern, a Graverobber, a Largo, or a Repo. Although the theatrical release of Repo! The Genetic Opera isn't until November, hopefully the soundtrack will be released before then. For the time being, to get your Repo! fix check out the samples at the film's official website, where you can see the trailer, video blogs, clips, and hear some music.

One tip: when you finally do get to see Repo! make sure you stay for the credits; if not to see and acknowledge all of those who worked on it, then so you can hear some great songs that did not make it into the film.

HORROR.COM
By. Staci Layne Wilson

Imagine if The Big Lebowski-era Coen Brothers had helmed Blade Runner, and you might have some idea of what to expect from deft director Darren Lynn Bousman's latest blood-romp, Repo! The Genetic Opera.

Repo! The Genetic Opera is a spirited, absorbing, astounding, thought-provoking futuristic and fulsome fable quite unlike anything I've ever seen. My first comparative consideration upon seeing an early screening was: "1984 meets Cemetery Man." Then I thought, "No, it's more Brazil vs. Rocky Horror Picture Show." However, it could be "Gattaca gets withSweeney Todd." Or maybe even "Moulin Rouge melded with Fahrenheit 451." Then again... there's a little Wizard of Oz in there. And some Metropolis.

See what I mean? This outlandish, lavish tale will be impossible to pigeonhole — which, personally, I love; nevertheless, it's movies like this that give marketing people and publicists tics — but what it really has going for it is heart. And hearts.

In the not-too-distant future, it will be fashionable to not only clothe and accessorize yourself with designer brands, but it'll be trés trendy to actually be super-chic from the inside-out. As you pass through the ever-present x-ray machines, everyone will see your Gucci guts, your Halston heart, and your Prada pancreas. But what happens when you can't make your payments? Much like a leased auto that's subject to repossession, so too are these impressive innards!

The action follows mid-21st century fox, Shilo (Alexa Vega, of Spy Kids fame), a genetically-infected teen who takes a taste of freedom in spite of her overprotective father's precautions, and runs with it. Even though Shilo is on a medication monitor and has a holographic GPS on her, her widowed dad (Anthony Head from Buffy The Vampire Slayer) can't be everywhere at once. Nathan is a medical man by day and a covert organ repo-man by night, so his dance card is pretty full.

Did I mention there's dancing? And singing? While Repo! The Genetic Opera is definitely the anti-Sweeney Todd (Bousman plays the genre fun and funky, as opposed to Burton's dour emo vibe), there will be inevitable comparisons between the two films thanks to the glorious grand guignol connection. In one scene, when Nathan is repossessing some poor sap's overdue organs, he gleefully makes a hand-puppet out the corpse while doing some fancy footwork and belting out about his "Thankless Job."

While the emotional core of the story centers on conflicted Nathan and his rebellious child, we are also invited to spend some quality time with Nathan's ne'er do well employer, GeneCo. The faces behind the big biz baddies are another motherless family, the Largos.

Rotti (Paul Sorvino, who treaded similar territory before in Baz Luhmann's Romeo + Juliet) is the pugnacious patriarch, who's just barely able to keep his trio of adult children in check as they run roughshod over the little people. Rotti's sons, Luigi and Pavi (Bill Moseley of Devil's Rejects note, and Nivek Ogre who's in the band Skinny Puppy), go through women like handi-wipes, while Rotti's little princess, Amber (Paris Hilton, of… well, Paris Hilton fame), chases after the local drug-lord, GraveRobber (Terrance Zdunich, who originated the stage play and co-wrote the script along with Darren Smith, who enjoys a frisky cameo in the film).

Amber, who changes her countenance constantly, believes that "Happiness is a Warm Scalpel" and that she can only find joy in the arms of a man her father finds reprehensible. During her never-ending pursuit of painlessness, Amber also rehearses for the Genetic Opera, a huge event and gala sponsored by her high-profile family and scorned by her lowdown lover.

The scary, yet tempting and charismatic, GraveRobber is one of the more intriguing characters in this already heavily-populated ensemble opus. As the main supplier of Zydrate — a fictional fluid extracted from the brains of corpses and said to have extreme opiate effects — GraveRobber knows the city, and its inhabitants, inside and out. He's the compass of the parable, and he brackets the action at the beginning and the end. He's sort of a Greek chorus of one.

There is also some back story fleshed out via comic book like graphical exposition; while it does explain things, it's not germane to the rest of the viewing experience and is unfortunately jolting at times. (Then again, if you can buy the basic premise of this purely peculiar and gory fantasy, you've already got the deed when you walk into the theater.)

There is yet another character of import, Blind Mag (played by Sarah Brightman, the former Mrs. Andrew Lloyd Webber, and a star in her own right). The beautiful, fragile and birdlike soprano has connections to both the Wallace and Largo families, not to mention a major part in the Genetic Opera.

The singing voices are thankfully as eclectic as the movie itself (Sorvino delivers his lines operatically, while Head belts them out rocker-style), but the acting is aces across the board. Bousman's direction is akin to an eight-in-hand stagecoach driver, or a juggler of chainsaws. It really is "sex, drugs, and opera."

Every actor shines, yet blends with the story. Not only is this by far Hilton's best role, she's actually got a grain of gravitas in the end. The entire Largo clan is excellently cast, but it's no mean feat when, in a horror/genre movie like this, we bloodthirsty sorts find ourselves actually rooting for the good guys. Head is an absolute standout, as he shows layers ranging from cavalier and callous, to caring and compassionate. When Blind Mag sings her swan song, even the hardest hearts will budge a bit.

That's not to say Repo! The Genetic Opera isn't indeed wild and crazy and over the top, but all the elements are cleverly contained. As you get swept up in the precarious premise, you may not notice that there's some real filmmaking going on: It's especially evident in an early scene involving Shilo, as she sings about being "Infected" by her genetics. It's emotionally engaging, augmented by gorgeous, smooth camera sweeps and inspired editing that helps each expression resonate. When all the characters converge during a big number called "At The Opera Tonight," the editing talents of Harvey Rosenstock once again arouse awe. Repo! The Genetic Opera not only sounds good, it looks amazing (already master of the clever segue from his stint on the Saw films, Bousman's eye is obviously only becoming more focused).

Speaking of focus, Repo! The Genetic Opera is the rare movie that actually compels you to concentrate, as you listen to the story unfold entirely through lyrics — it's really an opera, and there are only a few spoken words. It is not always an easy movie to watch, and is the kind that actually needs additional viewings in order to fully appreciate all its aspects.

It can't have been an easy story to tell, either — this cinematic alternate reality is the usual territory of quirky, visionary auteurs like Terry Gilliam or Baz Luhrmann — but Bousman's confidence is evident at every turn. It would have been far too tempting to let the inherent kitsch factor devolve into a world-class cheese fest of self-indulgence, but Bousman shows restraint ("restraint" as it applies to the medium) and lets the story and characters speak for themselves.

On March 4 (Happy Birthday to me!) I caught a test screening of REPO! and left the theater a little dizzy – and I'm not talking CLOVERFIELD dizzy. REPO! is a rock ‘em, sock ‘em sensory overload. The human brain simply cannot compute the film immediately, as it took me an entire night to let it all sink in. When I woke up the next morning, I knew exactly where I stood – and that's fully behind this gutsy project, which should be appreciated on the mere fact that someone got it made.

So what the hell IS REPO!? In the not-so-distant future when an epidemic of organ failures devastates the planet, scientists gear for a massive organ harvest. A biotech giant comes up with easy organ payment plans, but all financed organs are subject to legal default, including repossession at the hands of repo men. Alexa Vega plays Shilo, a 17-year-old girl with a rare blood disease that killed her mother. Her father (Anthony Head) is secretly a repo man who works for Genco and is being blackmailed by it's owner Rotti Largo (Paul Sorvino). Meanwhile, Rotti is dying and holds the key to many secrets and many lies, all while he's trying to figure out who should take over his thrown. Should it be the insane Luigi (Bill Moseley), the drug-addicted Amber Sweet (Paris Hilton) or the surgery addicted Pavi (Nivek Ogre). All of these twisted tales are wrapped into one giant musical production that is REPO! THE GENTIC OPERA.

Stealing the show were Anthony Head, Bill Moseley, Alexa Vega and most of all, Sarah Brightman. This odd cast of characters gave the film a special flavor that only a Tarantino type film could deliver. Each character was developed so uniquely from their personalities to their backgrounds to their wardrobes. The film looked like a cross between BLADE RUNNER and ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW - and seemed like it could be taking place at any time, any year. The city design was very reminiscent of something you'd see in BLADE RUNNER, as there were floating digital billboards and bricked walls everywhere, while the final scene throws a little ROCKY HORROR flavor in your face by concluding on a stage.

While REPO! comes from the director of SAW II-IV, it must be clear that this is by no means a Jigsaw spin-off. There is no flash cutting and most of the shots are well thought out and incredible smooth. BUT, REPO! does in fact carry some intense violence and a bloody finale that's not to be missed. You don't want to miss your payment…

And what's a review of REPO! without a little talk about the music? The sound design was remarkable (and it should be) and most of the songs were catchy and had me singing them in my head all night. And don't even get me started on how cool (and random) Joan Jett's cameo was.

I think what was so remarkable about REPO! was that the first thing I did when I woke up. I thought about how I wanted to stick the movie in my DVD player and watch it right then and there. It really festers with you and infects you, sort of dwelling in your subconscious for hours upon hours. It is a very rare thing when I can sit through an entire movie without squirming, but wanting to watch it more than once NEVER happens (you should see my tiny DVD collection, it's all ‘80s movies). REPO! is a special treat, a film that should have never been, the bastard child of a studio, something that is so distinct that you can barely begin to compare it to anything else. If you're a fan of musicals, I GUARANTEE that this will become a cult classic in your collection, for everyone else this is a unique film that – whether it's good or bad - will give you a new theatrical experience. And that's something special in this day and age.

SHOCK TILL DROP
By. Burt Wilson

Last night I was invited to an early test screening of "Repo: The Genetic Opera," which was directed by Darren Lynn Bousman, who directed all of the "Saw" sequels to date. All I knew about the film was that it starred Paris Hilton and Paul Sorvino, and that it was a musical. The trailer I saw on You Tube didn't exactly thrill me much, but hey, free movie. So I was surprised to find I really enjoyed it, though I don't think that will be the universal feeling (the guy next to me walked out after a half hour).

The film's multiple storylines all revolve around Geneco, a company that specializes in organ transplants, which we are told is the new plastic surgery (the film takes place in 2057). The company president is a dying Rotti Largo (Paul Sorvino), and his children, including Paris Hilton and Bill Moseley, are eager to take over once he expires. Meanwhile, a young girl named Shiloh (Alexa Vega) is suffering from a rare blood disease, and her surgeon father ("Buffy's Anthony Stewart Head) is perhaps a bit too overprotective of her. He works as a Repo Man for Geneco, "reclaiming" organs from patients who failed to keep up with their payments, but is having second thoughts about his line of work, especially when his new target is Blind Mag (Sarah Brightman) who was a dear friend of his late wife and also Shiloh's godmother. How all these plot threads come together is part of the fun of the film, so I don't want to say much more.

What I really liked about the movie, besides the fact that it was just so out there and different, was how the songs never really stop. If the characters aren't singing, there are always instrumentals to bridge the vocal numbers. At first it's a bit strange, because I am used to musicals that are more song - talk - song - talk, and not all of the songs are full-fledged numbers (more than a couple are just a few lines), but once the movie's plot picks up steam there is no reason for the music to stop, because it's pretty fast and pausing would only hurt the pace. The energy the film has is unparalleled; if you thought "Moulin Rouge" was a sensory overload – you haven't seen anything yet.

I wasn't familiar with some of the cast members, such as a guy named Ogre (he's from a band called Skinny Puppy – sorry to say I am not familiar with them) as one of Sorvino's sons, but I was still surprised to discover that they were all pretty good singers. Even Bill Moseley carries a tune quite well, and I have to admit, Paris can sing. The cuts I heard from her album sounded like a machine, but you can tell it's really her singing here, and as an actress she fares far better here than in "House of Wax" (her role is also not very large compared to Vega and Head). There might be hope for her yet. The film's co-writer, Terrance Zdunich also has a role as a grave robber/drug dealer, and he's largely in the film to dispel exposition, but he also has one of the film's catchiest numbers. Bousman has cast from all sorts of backgrounds – opera singers (Brightman), rock singers (Ogre), child actors (Vega), theater actors (Head), old school actors (Sorvino) horror stars (Moseley), and...whatever it is Paris Hilton does, and it actually works almost flawlessly. The songs vary from ballads to opera pieces to big rock numbers, so the varied cast fits the bill.

One thing I'm not sure about is the "horror" aspect. While there's a lot of killing and gore (mostly courtesy of Moseley and Head's characters), it's not exactly scary or suspenseful (nor is it supposed to be). But I think Lionsgate will have some trouble marketing it to the people who are expecting "Jigsaw Sings!" or something, because the violence is mostly played for laughs. The closest film I could compare it to would be "Phantom of the Paradise," but even that doesn't do it justice. I don't envy whoever has to figure out the best way to cut a trailer for the film (the current one is basically just one song in its entirety – doesn't really explain what the film is about though). It's hard to even write a review. I wouldn't even know what genre to call it – it's horror, it's a musical, it's a comedy, it's even got some light sci-fi and dramatic stuff.

In short, some movies you just have to experience for yourself, and this is one of them. Put aside any expectations you might have based on the cast or the filmmakers, and just take it in.

FEARNET
By. Joseph Mccabe

Horror musical, sci-fi saga, goth fable…Repo! The Genetic Opera is many things, and yet, in the end, it's like nothing I've ever seen before. Director Darren Lynn Bousman's screen adaptation of the off -Broadway musical—like so many ambitious, uncategorizable films before it—could easily have spun out of control. Consider such movies as Francis Ford Coppola's Dracula or Luc Besson's The Fifth Element; films that, in the end, amounted to little more than noisy, expensive blurs. But Bousman (who helmed Saws II through IV) keeps the craziness focused, and he's helped by a terrific score of fifty-seven songs and one of the most eclectic casts in recent memory. His film instead invites comparisons to such grand visions as Blade Runner, Brazil and The Rocky Horror Picture Show.

Repo!'s near-future world, established in a prologue of snappy comic-book panels (a recurring motif used to explain backstory throughout the film), is one in which human organ failure has become a global pandemic, allowing Geneco, the world's leading organ supplier, to seize and maintain a tyrannical hold on the populace—a hold enforced by the masked Repo Men, who viciously reclaim Geneco's property when their clients fail to make timely payments. Geneco's president is Rotti Largo, and Largo's role, like most of the film's, is perfectly cast, in this case with veteran actor Paul Sorvino (Goodfellas' mob boss) turning in a gravelly, understated performance. Largo's three ineffectual children include the short-tempered Luigi (played by Bill Mosely—here even more *beep* crazy than he was in The Devil's Rejects), Pavi (Skinny Puppy's Nivek Ogre)—who wears a clown-like mask of human flesh—and the spoiled Amber Sweet. Amber is played by Paris Hilton, but those who fear that this bit of casting, with America's premiere celebutante, might be a cheap publicity stunt threatening a bold, left-of-center experiment, needn't worry: as with her castmates, it's hard to imagine someone better suited for the role. Even Hilton's brief singing is unobtrusive (and, truth be told, she is pretty easy on the eyes).

Rotti Largo, however, is less interested in his disappointing children than in seventeen-year old Shilo Wallace (played by the now-grown-up Spy Kid Alexa Vega) and her father Nathan (Buffy the Vampire Slayer's Anthony Head). It turns out that many years ago Largo was in love with Shilo's mother. But when she rejected him for Nathan, he maneuvered to trap the kindly husband and father, and forced him to become a Repo Man. As Buffy fans are well aware from that series' musical episode, Head has a tremendous singing voice; and he turns in the film's best performance, acting through his songs and creating two distinct personas at war with one another.

Vega is almost as good as Shilo; and the triangle she creates with Nathan and Largo gives the film its emotional core. In fact, with her pale face and long black hair, Vega's the perfect Goth princess, trapped in a fairy tale as dark as any imagined by the Brothers Grimm. But the only fairy godmother she has to speak of is Blind Mag, an opera superstar employed by Largo, and played by Phantom of the Opera's songbird Sara Brightman. (Mag's eyes are enhanced biomechanical implants, with a nifty ability that I'll leave viewers to discover for themselves.) The only prince in sight is the mysterious Grave Robber, who sells a black-market version of a painkiller called Zydrate, which he extracts from dead bodies, to addicts like Amber Sweet. Grave Robber's played by Terrance Zdunich, who co-wrote the film's script and songs. It's Zdunich's first feature film role, but if the fates are kind it won't be his last—his Grave Robber belts out some of the film's best songs, functioning as a macabre narrator, and inviting comparisons to both The Rocky Horror Picture Show's Richard O'Brien and Cabaret's Joel Grey.

Repo! could be described as an instant cult classic, but that label downplays its potential appeal. Rock opera fans will love it of course, as will aficionados of horror, fantasy and sci-fi. Anyone, however, with a taste for the bizarre or adventurous, who loves films smart enough to acknowledge their predecessors and brave enough to forge their own paths, won't mind giving their heart to this opera.

Let me first make a few disclaimers: First, what was shown was an early, unfinished print with unfinished VFX and a temp sound mix. Second, I have been highly anticipating this film based alone, on the fact that OGRE from Skinny Puppy is involved. Lastly, I do know a few of the filmmakers involved – but I believe my opinion is still unbiased (take it for what it's worth). Just so there is no question of my integrity of this early test screening review… all my cards are now on the table and with that said, this film is one of the most unique movie going experiences I have ever had.

The Plot:

To shortly sum it all up… enter the near future where body enhancements don't stop at just plastic surgery. Fueled
by a drug called Zytrate, people are re-organizing their internal parts as well to live on and as beautification. The titular Repo Man is there to collect body parts that have gone unpaid for. At the heart of the story is Shilo, a 17 year old girl (Alexa Vega of the Spy Kids films). She has been kept locked up in a house, where she is guarded from the outside world by her father who is secretly THE Repo Man. But like any teenager, she wants out and knows that there is more to life than her room (and her father's affection). Enter the Largo family who own Genco - the biotech company that fuel the financing program (similar in nature to a standard car loan) - a twisted bunch of weirdo's that will stop at nothing to remain the most powerful run company in the world.
The Gore (aka The SAW Factor):

The often-gruesome repossession scenes are wonderfully orchestrated to be slightly horrific and completely gross, yet never losing the edge of fun. This is not anything like the torture stuff we have come to expect from Bousman's past films, but he continues the trend of sparing no one in blood volume. In one particularly kickass moment, two characters end up underneath a cemetery where they land in a pile of hundreds of dead bodies! Blood is flowing left and right - in the first ten minutes alone a woman gets her throat cut, a man is shot in the head, a few people are gutted and at no time does Bousman cut away. But let me be clear, this is NOT a proper horror film. Sure it is extremely graphic, but it's not scary (and it's not meant to be). Either way, horror fans will be happy to know that there is plenty of red flowing throughout the film.

The Music:

A musical is never an easy thing to pull off, specifically because everyone has different musical tastes. What's really cool about REPO! is that it brings a melody of musical genres together that are all based in Rock and Roll. Bousman goes as far as to have Joan Jett make a cameo during a hardcore rock sequence! The music ranges from traditional Broadway style to Opera to Industrial and so forth… and it never lets up. Make no mistake about it, this music will get in your head and have you wanting to cheer and sing along (it has it's ROCKY moments) - during certain moments in the film you want to get up and applaud for the performances.

On that note, hats off to the folks behind the music and sound design; I cannot wait for this soundtrack to come out so I can rock out to these songs in my car! I have to say that there are about four or five songs that can (easily) be Oscar contenders if The Academy Awards have any taste for something other than the typical Randy Neuman crap that seems to be regularly nominated. You heard me right, REPO! has a very certain chance at being an Oscar nominated film!

The Actors (aka The Paris Factor):

Many people will be turned off at the fact that Paris Hilton has a role. While she may be the focus of TMZ and other craptacular tabloid shows, she seems to put away all of that and just act. She doesn't remove you from the film, nor does she get the undeserved attention that the media normally pays to her. Here Paris is one piece of an ensemble cast, and she does just fine… actually she is pretty good. When the hype about her involvement wears out, people will be talking about Sarah Brightman, Bill Moseley and Alexa Vega.

Bill Moseley steals every scene he's in by chewing the scenery and having a blast killing, singing and acting like a complete maniac. Sarah Brightman is about as huge as you could get when it comes to her reputation as a female vocalist. She spreads her wings further by bringing a very cool amount of class and elegance - and she is even Rock and Roll embodied! Alexa Vega is going to be a very big star; she seemed custom made for this roll as she sings with such effortless finesse, and fragile truth that you are drawn into her teen angst, without it looking forced. She is simply the standout performance of the film. And last but not least, I cannot write a review about REPO! without talking a bit about one of my favorite musicians in the world… Ogre. He doesn't get nearly the screen time that I was hoping for, but what he does with it is super memorable; the fact that he wears other peoples faces through the film, further cements in the mystique behind the man himself even on film. He's truly amazing.

Overall

REPO! THE GENETIC OPERA is a stunning and original film that will have a long lasting impact on the audience that will, without a doubt, generate a huge cult following. If you are here at Bloody-Disgusting, you are probably just as sick as I am of remakes, sequels and "re-imaginings"… REPO!'s captivating and surreal, showcasing a visual flair that many filmmakers would never dare to attempt. If you want something completely original that delivers juicy, fun, bold and exciting music, and of course loads of blood, REPO! Will rock you silly.

HORROR MOVIE A DAY
By. Brian Collins

NOTE – As this is a test screening, the following review may not 100% reflect the final product. Furthermore, as a lazy man who is often broke, I can't guarantee that I'll see the film during its theatrical release and/or update the review to include any changes.

I first became intrigued by Darren Bousman's Repo: The Genetic Opera a year or so ago, when he mentioned Shock Treatment as a sort of influence. While I'm not a die hard fan of the Rocky Horror"series", I do quite enjoy both films, and particularly liked how utterly batshit Shock was (I still don't have a goddamn clue what is going on during large chunks of the film), and how it managed to "outweird" the original film. Well, Repo makes both of them look sane. And I mean that in the goodliest way possible.

The movie is based on a play (which Bousman directed a version of a few years ago, before he entered the world of Jigsaw), but since I haven't seen it I don't know how close the film follows it. There is no real "main plot", but instead a series of interconnecting stories about a group of folks with ties to a futuristic organ donor/replacement company called Geneco. The film's central character is Shiloh, played by Alexa Vega, aka the chick from Spy Kids (she's like 20 now, so it's OK to think she's hot, right? Hope so.). She is suffering from some blood disorder and kept largely confined to her bedroom by her dad, played by Anthony Head (Giles!). Unknown to her, he works as a Repo Man for Geneco; killing and "taking back" organs from patients who failed to keep up with their payments. Geneco is run by Paul Sorvino, who is dying, and his kids (Paris Hilton, Bill Moseley, and Ogre from the band Skinny Puppy) are fighting one another over who gets to run the company once he passes. Sorvino also holds a grudge against Head, and there's also an opera singer (who is also Shiloh's godmother) and a grave robber who is over-medicating the surgery obsessed Hilton. While some plots are justifiably given more screen-time than others, it's to Bousman's credit (as well as the screenwriters, Terrance Zdunich and Darren Smith, who also appear in the film) that the film weaves so many different story threads while never once really pausing to let the audience take a breath, yet maintains coherency and a pace that builds and builds at a steady rate.

Also, this isn't Rocky Horror or Nightmare Before Christmas, where the best musical numbers come in the first half and then the film sort of treads water for a while – here the best numbers come near the end. In fact, the one concern I had with the film was that it took 15 minutes to get to the first song that would make for enjoyable "stand-alone" listening (many of the "songs" are just a verse explaining story details). The opening of the film is a graphic novel style prologue explaining what has happened to the world in the future and how Geneco came to be – I'd rather they had a big number with these plot elements explained in the lyric. But the way the film just builds and builds up more energy as it unfolds is pretty astonishing, so in a way the "slow" feel of the first few scenes makes total sense – think of it as a roller coaster with a 10 foot climb rewarded by a 100 foot drop.

The cast is about as random as one could get (Paris Hilton and Bill Moseley as brother and sister? Giles playing a murderous boogeyman?), but there isn't a single weak link in the cast. In fact, I must admit that Hilton is QUITE good in her role, both acting and singing (all of the primary characters sing their own songs). I usually can't stand her in anything, but she won me over here. Moseley also has some great moments as the most violent character in the film, and it's nice to see Head finally play the "Ripper" he never got a chance to be on Buffy. However, the godmother character, played by Sarah Brightman, doesn't get to work with the other characters as much, so her scenes have a slight disconnect, and she is sort of MIA (other than TV screens) for the first half of the film – I would have liked to have her given something earlier on that would make her importance to the second half of the film have a bit more resonance.

The movie's also just damn hilarious. Moseley singing "I'll shoot you in the face!" to a guy offering him decaf is possibly the best moment in movie musical history. There's also a rocking number called (I think) "I'm 17!" by Vega, who rocks around her room while two of her stuffed animals headbang along and Joan Jett shows up out of nowhere to provide the guitar riffs – I was laughing my ass off the entire time.

As for the violence/gore, it's pretty over the top, but also sparsely displayed throughout the film. I would say it's about as violent asSweeney Todd (but also about 20 min shorter), and it doesn't stick out as much as it did in Todd, since the over the top slashing and "repossessing" is just as nutty as everything else in the film.
I'm sure that Lionsgate will market the film as "Saw meets Rocky Horror" or something to that effect, but that would be selling it short. While it's certainly an easy way to describe it, the real hook for me was just the sheer originality and insanity of it all. You know how Sweeney Todd was almost all songs, but would occasionally "stop" and just have dialogue? No such thing here. There were a few songs that I really dug and wanted to applaud after, as is sort of customary for musical films, but the problem was: I couldn't. My applause would be interrupting the next musical segment. I just hope people give the movie a chance and appreciate, if nothing else, the sheer originality on display. Anyone reading this site knows how many horror movies I endure, so when I see one that never ONCE reminds me of other movies (even the obvious comparisons – Todd, Rocky Horror, etc, only came to mind in generalized thoughts), and is able to totally suck me in and keep me entertained almost nonstop for 90 minutes, I get pretty thankful and happy. Sure, I love my formulaic slashers and action movies about guys taking over some sort of vehicle only to be thwarted by a rogue cop, but I secretly crave for more movies like Repo; where I am almost at a loss as to how I can review it or recommend it to others. It truly does need to be seen to be believed, and I hope you fine folks not only do just that, but enjoy it as well.

What say you?

DREAD CENTRAL
By. Andrew Kash

The term "cult classic" has been used and abused to the point where most of us have stopped caring. Over the years we've been bombarded with so many bad midnight movie wannabes, it seemed as though something truly inventive would never come. Well, the wait is over because Repo! The Genetic Opera is the real deal: a fiercely original sideshow freak-out of killer tunes and bloody mayhem unlike anything you've ever seen!

Based on the stage play of the same name, Repo! is an industrial rock musical told entirely through song (barely a word is spoken) and set in a neo-Gothic future world of flesh, blood, and leather. But it's much more than a Goth circus manufactured for the Hot Topic crowd. Underneath the madness is the structure of a timeless opera tale with a full cast of Shakespearean archetypes. In short, Repo! works because its makers actually know a thing or two about opera and concentrate on characters over shock value and incessant weirdness (not that there isn't plenty of both).

This rather complex tale unfolds through multiple perspectives. After an epidemic of organ failures ravage the planet, the greedy corporation "Geneco" controls the cities by selling transplants. But there's a catch. Those who miss their payments get their organs repossessed by knife-wielding "Repo Man" Nathan (Head). As the story's tragic protagonist, Nathan is forced to do the dirty work by greedy Geneco president Rotti Largo (Sorvino) in order to protect his sick daughter, Shilo (Vega). On top of that, Largo is dying, and a power struggle over his empire is being waged by his three demented children (Moseley, Hilton, and Skinny Puppy's Nivek Ogre). Toss in a mysterious blind diva (Sarah Brightman) and a crazy narcotics-dealing grave robber (co-writer Terrance Zdunich), and you have a recipe for absolute chaos – with poor Shilo at the center of it all.

The set-pieces are wild, and the gore is plentiful, but Repo! wisely grounds the emotion with its bizarre cast of characters. There are certainly a lot to keep track of, but the multiple character threads are perfectly intertwined and helped along by a series of back stories told in the form of animated comic strips. The cast is about as diverse as they come, but each actor – from Sorvino to Moseley – gives a perfect contribution to the film. Above all, Buffy: The Vampire Slayer fans will rejoice the most: Seeing Anthony Stewart Head sing and hack his way back into the spotlight is a real treat, and he utterly dominates this film. Also of note is Alexa Vega (the Spy Kids girl, all grown up and hot), who delivers her big break-out performance. Of course, the addition of Paris Hilton will be the media focal point but for all the wrong reasons. She's actually quite good here, playing a send-up of herself as Largo's spoiled, surgery-addicted daughter.

Having cast off the shackles of the Saw sequels, director Darren Lynn Bousman (who also helmed the stage version) has finally come into his own as a filmmaker. No longer working with an established franchise has given him the chance to build his vision from the ground up, and he wisely abandons the music video stylings that plagued his previous films. With no more shaky cams or rapid-fire editing, Bousman's visuals are sweeping and gorgeous. With stellar production design, Repo's bleak futuristic world comes to life in stunning detail the likes of Ridley Scott or Terry Gilliam. Recent dystopian films like Southland Tales have had similar ambitions but ultimately drowned in their own excess. Thankfully, Bousman keeps a firm grasp on his universe and explores it all in a coherent fashion.

As with all feature-length musicals, some songs are better than others, but Repo! more than delivers its share of memorable and eclectic tunes. (The soundtrack is a must-buy!) Lovers of industrial/rock/experimental will feel right at home here, while others will have to approach the experience with a more open mind.

Whether or not it's your cup of tea, Repo! feels 100% uncompromised, and you have to applaud Lionsgate for having the balls to take a chance on it. While it's certainly original enough to stand on its own, its status as a bizarro opera will place it right up alongside The Rocky Horror Picture Show and Phantom of the Paradise as a cult favorite that will be revisited (and emulated) by an ever-growing legion of fans. You can't ask for more than that.

4 1/2 out of 5

KILLER REVIEWS.com
By: Tristan Sinns

Power corrupts! The reeking rot of the highest powers to reign in history have shown again and again the dangers of ultimate authority. From mad Caesars to crazed kings; power drenched emperors to megalomaniacal dictators; time has shown and proven that unlimited power brings along the urge to use it to mean fashion. This theme was a particular darling of Shakespeare and can be found in plays such as Macbeth and King Lear; however it can be found since and can be found now, wearing black patent leather, crazed make-up, and singing a mad little tune that might just follow you home from the theater.

Repo! The Genetic Opera is an orgy of corruption; an art deco slaughterhouse of Shakespearean themes, vivid and bizarre characters, and pounds of grisly guts all glistening to the beat of its clever and oft classically styled soundtrack.

Set in a time somewhere in the future and on the flip side of reality, the great masses suffer an extraordinary and extensive epidemic of organ failure. Around the same time arises the company Geneco, a powerful biotech organization that is willing and able to provide organ transfers for a price. The masses become so dependent upon the organization that Geneco wins the right to repossess any organs where the patient defaults on payment; a process which almost invariably ends in a rather gruesome death for the debtor. This life debt creates an environment where the ruler of Geneco is the veritable ruler of the world; his scheming and evil children the heirs.

Shilo Wallace (Vega) has led a preserved life thus far, raised by her loving father and kept secluded from the public due to a rare and disabling blood disease. Little does she know her father, Nathan Wallace (Head), hasn't told her everything and has some rather dark and bloody secrets to hide. Inexorably she becomes pulled into the twisted world of the Geneco monarchy, becoming exposed to its two malignant princes and vile princess, and put under the cruel thumb of Geneco lord Rotti Largo (Sorvino).

The first striking thing about this film is its powerful and stylized look. It's a blend of old art deco, twisted gothic fashions, and dark science fiction fantasy. Anyone who played last year's Bioshock should be able to picture something similar; a strange world that mixes the styles of the past with those of the future and fills it with gibbering freaks of surgery and addiction. Given its gothic leanings, one might be tempted to compare it to something that Tim Burton might do, but it is not. The world of Geneco is a harsh world, cruel and cold, and chills without the endearing cuteness that seems to permeate the worlds dreamed by Burton. Some of the scenes hit the extreme, such as in the first act when Shilo and her rogue acquaintance Graverobber (Zdunich, also the co-writer of the film, along with director Darren Bousman) stumble upon great piles of thousands of nude rotting human bodies. It's a striking and harsh vision not unlike something straight out of an old Bosch painting of hell and its broken hordes.

The music behind the film is classic and catchy. There are only a few lines in the film that are spoken without being sung, and many times the music feels truly classically operatic. Other times the tunes break free into catchy rhythms or raucous and modern ballads that'll shake the roof. There are a few peak moments that are strikingly beautiful, such as nearly every time when Blind Mag (Brightman), Shilo's estranged godmother, throws her vocals into the mix.

The plot behind this story is rich, imaginative, and complex. Much of the necessary exposition is handled in several comic panel vignettes that break up the film into its various acts. This device is clever and effective; it's a delicate thing to provide necessary back story to the viewer without appearing ham-fisted and obvious. The panels themselves are as stylized as the rest of the film, looking like some dark old pulp comic such as the classic Tales from the Crypt.

The characters of the film are fully realized and wild. Each of the three children of Geneco overlord Rotti Largo is cast to fit a different warped ideal. Luigi (Mosely) is a tornado of rage, Pavi (Ogre) so treacherous that he won't even wear his own face, and Amber Sweet (Hilton) so filled with vanity that she is ultimately, even comically, self-destructive in her pursuit of exotic body altering surgeries. All three of these characters are perfectly cast and completely memorable. Mosely appears to be channeling R. Lee Ermey in his face-contorting temper tantrums; Ogre makes himself a perfect sinister sniveler hiding behind the skins of others; and Hilton should deservedly redeem herself with many horror fans in a role that is arguably a lampooning self-commentary, and one done well.

The themes behind Repo are classic, and contain an important message regarding the corrupting influence of power. It's hard not to compare the film to something like King Lear (and so transitively, to Kurosawa's Ran). Both films have their three children lusting after the power of their ailing father, and both have their jester, here in the form of the enigmatic Graverobber. This similarity is unintentional by Repo's creators, but it just goes to show the classic and timeless note that they have struck with their bold, bloody, and memorable film. Go see this movie.

FEARZONE.com
By: Mars

SCOOP! Exclusive Music Review: REPO! THE GENETIC OPERA - Advance Soundtrack CD

"REPO! THE GENETIC OPERA" Advance Soundtrack CD
Darren Smith & Terrance Zdunich

"It is 2056. Organ failure is rampant, and the company responsible for the transplants isn't acting out of altruism. If someone misses a payment, Repo Men come to reclaim what belongs to the company."

So reads the synopsis for Lions Gate's upcoming film "REPO! The Genetic Opera", the Rocky Horror-meets-Blade Runner musical directed by Darren Bousman ("Saw" franchise), starring Alexa Vega (Spy Kids), Paul Sorvino (Goodfellas), Anthony Head (Buffy the Vampire Slayer), Ogre (lead singer of Skinny Puppy), Bill Mosely (The Devil's Rejects) and vocalist Sarah Brightman (Phantom Of The Opera).

The transition from stage to screen has proved a perilous journey for more than a few productions, with musicals tending to fare the worst of the lot. Usually the most noticeable casualty is the music itself, second only to key roles being re-cast, and story elements reworked to accommodate the new medium. The end results can be hits (the brilliant "Hedwig and the Angry Inch") or misses (the lackluster "Phantom Of The Opera") While I don't claim to know anything about the stage version of "Repo! The Genetic Opera", I can say that given the strength of the upcoming film score; this creepy,quirky,violent and decidedly black-toned musical has a strong head start towards landing in the "hits" category.

Using contemporary music elements in musical theatre and especially in musical films, is a potential disaster waiting to happen. Given the fickle nature of the public's taste, it is very likely that instead of a timeless "Grease", or "Hairspray" the end result is more apt to be a very dated "Shock Treatment", "The Wiz" or "Phantom Of The Paradise"; aka: really cool, but painfully time stamped with the decade of it's creation.

It seems that the duo of Darren Smith and Terrance Zdunich (screenwriters/composers) were well aware of this, and have taken great care to insure their efforts may stand the test of time with a little more grace.
This "futuristic" sound is, in fact, kind of retro to the discerning ear. As all of it is safely rooted in the industrial that was cutting edge circa 1994 or so. Some of it sounds like J.G. Thirwell's Foetus Interuptus album "Thaw" (circa 1988-89), in terms of the string elements mixed with acidic rhythms. Acts like Foetus, Skinny Puppy, Ministry, and Nine Inch Nails were doing this way back then, and paved the way for the incorporation of these production techniques that have been subsequently absorbed by more mainstream artists. What this means is that the distorted drum loops, low-fi filters, sequenced guitars and layered samples of "Repo!" are actually pretty easy on the ear in 2008, after having been thoroughly processed thru the collective ear, via radio friendly acts like Garbage, Evanesence, Rob Zombie, and even Madonna. Simply put; if you've had your head in the sand musically for the last decade and a half; this is gonna come across as very edgy, and I think that was the intent of the composers. Edgy, but familiar; so that the potential for acceptance is still there. Thematically, this opera is dark enough without having to fight it's way up two fronts at the same time.

All the production finesse in the world isn't gonna save a crappy song, and again the composers have paid close attention to ensuring this music is first and foremost, good. The score has been crafted with a sensibility that makes it all work together very well, and the attention to detail is remarkable. These tracks slither thru melodic and dark passages; riding upon wicked lyrics, until firmly taking up root in the brain. To say this stuff is catchy is an understatement. I defy you not to come away humming this music. As tempted as I am to give a song-by-song synopsis, I'll just turn the focus on some highlights.

Opening with "Zydrate Anatomy" (a dead ringer for the opening riff to Rob Zombie's "Living Dead Girl"), the soundtrack is off to a visceral, up-tempo start. This track incorporates a great deal of the wonderful and weird that is to follow.

"Thankless Job" is a well crafted slice of Tom Waits- infused melancholia featuring a "Mystery" vocalist growling away maniacally over a jazzy-dirge of tinker-toy rhythms.

"Night Surgeon" is just evil enough in it's flath -fith execution (the Devil's interval of medieval infamy...think the main riff of "Black Sabbath"), to make it's point while still being damn catchy.

"Worthy Heirs" ...picture the score to "The City Of Lost Children" as fed thru a Skinny Puppy album. Accordian,choir elements, and noise all colliding in a pretty enchanting way.

"Seventeen", with it's teeth -grindingly sweet happypunk is painful. And I'll bet that is the point. It's perfectly packaged angst ala Avril Lavigne (even down to the "My Fender Twin is on fire" craptastic guitar tone) meaning that these guys haven't missed a beat. The attention to detail is wonderful. In the future, teens will still listen to crap.

Apparently all the vocals are performed by the film's cast themselves, and the performances run the gamut from pristine (Sara Brightman) to awkward, yet perfectly appropriate to the character (Orge). Brightman does lend the whole production an air of "Legitimacy" that will be able to serve as a preemptive strike against the many "Purists" that will rally against this as something of a Pop-opera abortion. And in truth it is; but I don't think that is a bad thing.
There are moments of genuine tragic beauty, sullen harmonies, and ethereal textures that set this musical apart from other pop-opera cliches. In a few instances I found myself wishing that they had elected not to put lo-fi processed piano, or casio-tone keyboard in the background, and had just let the music sing on it's own voice , free of the trappings of the "Tech" vibe. This is especially true of the instrumental underscore pieces, but in all fairness to the artists, they do have a story to tell, and so the continuity of the audio palette must be maintained

"Legal Assasin" is a fine example of leaving the aforementioned trappings behind, and it comes close to perfection just being a straight forward crunch number, with the pre-requisite soft/acoustic elements here and there. The only problem I have with it is the vocalist's similarity to "Counting Crows"singer Adam Duritz (never a good thing), but that is a personal bias that I don't expect others will share.

"Depraved Heart Murder At Sanitarium Square" being another fine spooky-fest that gets a bit bogged down under the decidedly low-fi trappings, but the music itself is very good. Even if the textures seem to be trying a bit too hard.
During the albums instrumental moments, there are perhaps more chances taken than during the vocal interludes. A consistent emphasis on narrative storytelling is front and center throughout the cd, and tends to keep the stranger musical embellishments at bay; making room for the story to unfold...I t's hard, and I mean hard NOT to like this stuff.

The copy I have as an advance that was burned for me by the co-composer himself, and is unmastered, but the production quality is still readily apparent. For all the bravado of "Most origifatigue nal music" that may become the film's marketing line, the tones here are all quite wisely refined to work well together, and don't the ear at all. Don't be afraid, this is not John Zorn or Zhia Ghiva here (do a Google search), which is wise.

Too much genuine pushing of the envelope wouldn't be doing this musical any favors. The influence of co-producer Yoshiki is most likely at work here; as his stint with one of Japan's more pop-oriented visual kei acts ("X Japan") has served to give this score a polish and marketability that is well within the parameters of most folks ears.

I hope this film will catch on with an audience outside of trend-hopping scenesters who are bored with "Avenue Q", and goth-wankers who will embrace it as a darker alternative to"Sweeney Todd". This music deserves a wider audience, as it is a top quality effort by all concerned.
4 out of 5
MARS

by: Ryan Bruce Levey

Friday has reenergized me! The quality of work is building and the festival buzz could not be higher. The entire city is alive with a crazy amount of anticipation for the world premiere of Darren Lynn Bousmann's REPO :THE GENETIC OPERA.

I saw people sitting waiting at 2:30 pm to try and snag tickets to the already sold out show as I was on my way for the Thai romantic dramedy HANDLE ME WITH CARE. The creative, but quirky story of a three armed man looking for love and acceptance, who is contemplating surgical removal of the third arm. It's sweet and has some fine absurd moments, but will not likely breakthrough beyond festivals, as it very rooted in Thai cultural references, that could be too obscure for North American audiences.

Next in line was the Korean thriller OUR TOWN. Despite some mixed reviews from many, I absolutely was enthralled by the films twisting plot, it's gruesome killer versus killer chase elements, all of this is anchored by revelatory turn by Ryu Deok-hwan, who's creepy turn is the polar opposite of his Fantasia prize winning role as a transgender sumo fighter in LIKE A VIRGIN. The film does ask a lot of patience from the viewer, but it is a slickly paced thriller worth the effort.

I took some time out before the premiere of REPO to join many Fantasia guests like Variety/New York Times writer and jury member John Anderson for a bite to eat. It's always great to sit down with others and talk about the state of the industry, especially Self-Distribution, and its many different forms, the state of the business, etc. Its a crazy world we all work in so different perspectives like John's and others are important to keeping things fresh.

Afterwards, we joined a small group of cast and crew for a private VIP reception to celebrate the night's upcoming hot ticket. Everyone from the beautiful and oh so sweet Alexa Vega, to many executives and crew were in attendance.

The film was introduced by Fangoria's own Tony Timpone and director Bousmann was flanked by 2 beautiful costume clad nurses in red masks. This pomp and circumstance was a perfect fit for the film.

REPO: THE GENETIC OPERA, has been a well traveled project; from a small theatre production to short film to the theatrical incarnation, all of this guided ever so carefully by Bousmann.

The film is a stunning, creative and ingeniously gruesome rock opera. Intercutting graphic novel comic panels into a goth cyber punk universe that is equal parts BLADE RUNNER and ROCKY HORROR. It tells the story of a young girl (Alexa Vega), stricken by a blood disease, who's doctor father (Buffy's Anthony Stewart Head) is forced to hide her for safety reasons, as he secretly pays of a debt as a vicious organ repo man for Geneco a vicious biotech conglomerate. Geneco is the company that rules the land, run by the tyrannical Rotti Largo, played by veteran character actor Paul Sorvino, who attempts to lure our young heroine into his clutches with promises of unearthing secrets and leaving his company to her, a plan which alarms his 3 maniacal and cracked children, played with gusto by Bill Moesley, Nivek Ogre from Skinny Puppy and Paris Hilton.

A special note needs to be made as many have criticized casting the hotel heiress/tabloid temptress. Truth be told she is outstanding here; sexy, funny and she sings her ass off. If this breaks through, then hopefully it will provide her an opportunity to really step out of the dark shadow that has been cast over her public persona.

The music in this film is well composed, catchy and incredibly well performed by all involved and the film keeps the gore flowing to the bitter, glorious end. Also keep an eye peeled for a kick ass cameo from rock goddess Joan Jett.

REPO: THE GENETIC OPERA definitely rocks!

HORROR-MOVIES.CA
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by: Serena Whitney

Recently, I got to see a movie I had been very interested in seeing since director Darren Lynn Bousman (most known directing for the Saw sequelfranchise) started raving about this movie on his myspace. There has been lot's of talk of Repo!, and unfortunately a lot of it was negative. However, I still believed this project would surprise even the most pessimistic cynic, for it breathes with originality and creativity. So was Repo! a bang or a bust? Read on to find out!

Repo! The Genetic Opera takes place in the not so distant future, in a chaotic world where a mysterious epidemic of organ failures has taken over society. Geneco is an insatiable company which profits on selling transplants to those in need through a trusty payment plan. However, if one can not afford to make payments, they will have their organs repossessed by "Repo Man" Nathan, (played by Buffy the Vampire Slayer's Anthony Steward Head.) a man who is forced to take the gore-filled job by the evil Geneco President Rotti Largo (played by Paul Sorvino.) in order to save his very sick daughter, Shilo. (played by Alexa Vega) Repo!( which is told all through song) takes on an even more deranged turn as more characters are introduced to the plot in this sick and twisted futuristic tale. Heavy metal, blood, and mayhem ensues.

I have to give it up to Darren Bousman for delivering this film, which will define him as a soon to be a visionary director. Helming both the stage and film version, Bousman demonstrates his undying passion for this project and although trying to set himself apart from the franchise he had left behind, he still remembers who his fans are and delivers both Saw fans and newcomers a movie experience they will never forget. The first 15 minutes of this horror musical are absolutely mind blowing on a visionary level. It sets the tone for the rest of the film and the audience is offered a film that blends in the perfect elements from films such as Blade Runner, Rocky Horror Picture Show, and Phantom of the Opera. (A combination that I would never expect to see in a horror film.)

Bousman also takes his experience as a music video director in terms of how he shot the many musical numbers. All of them were slick, and sharp, and they made me feel like I was on an acid trip. (Kudos to him for creating such a bizarre and trippy atmosphere.)

However, credit can't all be given to the director, because the cast was just as important to the success of this project. Anthony Steward Head and Sarah Brightman were the ones that shined the most however, for they were both able to give their all in terms of acting and singing. Anthony Steward Head will make fans cheer with his surprising knack for singing heavy metal and for his ferocious hostility as the killer anti-hero. (Anybody who is expecting to see the sweet and lovable Rupert Giles is in for a rude awakening.)

The most surprising performance however comes from Miss Paris Hilton herself. Her performance as the spoiled and plastic surgery addicted daughter, Amber Sweet was actually quite good. So good in fact, it made me feel guilty for all those times I ever doubted she would be the worst part in this film. Although her role is minuscule compared to the rest, all her scenes are quite memorable (especially the comeuppances her character gets on stage) and she can actually hold her own in terms of singing as well. If Paris is the reason you are avoiding this film, you should reconsider, because if anything she is one of the strongest parts. (Yup…I can't believe I said that either! :P)

On the downside of things, the film's biggest weakness is actually its biggest strength. The film is actually too unique for its own good at times and because it's a non-stop musical, it will in fact likely turn off a lot of viewers for this fact.

Also, the film faces a problem typically shown in other musicals featuring celebrities who are not trained as singers. There were a few stars in particular who were able to give serviceable performances as actors, but really were cringe-worthy when it came to their vocals. Alexa Vega who is the film's star and does well as the young protagonist, Shilo was a hit and miss when it came to her songs. (Something that was quite apparent since she's in 90 percent of the film.) Also, as much as I love Bill Moseley, I have to say I was glad his songs were far and few in between. (Great actors don't always make great singers.)

Lastly, although I initially felt the comic strip angle the film would project into the film to tell back stories of certain characters was clever on a visceral level, it got fairly repetitive after a few scenes. I would have rather much seen more of the flashbacks acted out, instead of drawn out on a comic strip.

Repo! The Genetic Opera is a film that showcases a level of imagination and bravery so rarely seen in most mainstream horror films today. Although not for everybody, Repo! still has all the elements of tragedy, dramatic irony, and innovative songs that essentially make a great musical. If blood, guts, and catchy tunes are something you would like to see onscreen, then Repo! The Genetic Opera is the film to see. A guaranteed crowd pleaser!

MONTREAL MIRROR
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by MALCOLM FRASER

On the phone from L.A., director Darren Lynn Bousman and screenwriter/actor/composer Terrance Zdunich can't stop talking about how bizarre their new film is. I don't quite have the heart to break it to them that in the context of Fantasia, a post-apocalyptic sci-fi/horror musical about a human-organ repo man is only a half-notch stranger than business as usual.

But to be fair, by any normal standards the film is pretty far left of the dial—plus it's genuinely original, wildly ambitious and great fun to boot. And you really couldn't imagine a better venue for the premiere of REPO! The Genetic Opera.

Anthony Stewart Head, who some will remember as Rupert Giles from the Buffy series, stars as repo man Nathan, who seizes organs from those unfortunate enough to find themselves in debt to mega-corporation GeneCo. Though he slices guts out of still-squirming humans for a living (all the while breaking into song), he does have his sensitive side, taking care of his sickly daughter Shilo (Alexa Vega of the Spy Kids franchise).

Meanwhile, Rotti Largo (Paul Sorvino), the nefarious head of GeneCo, faces the headache of determining which one of his offspring will inherit his empire. In a feat of so-crazy-it-works casting, his feuding progeny are a knife-wielding psychopath (horror-flick veteran Bill Moseley), a human-skin-masked dandy (Skinny Puppy's Nivek Ogre), and a plastic-surgery-obsessed diva (tabloid phenomenon Paris Hilton).

OPERATIC ORIGINS

Performed entirely in song, the audaciously unique film is a labour of love for co-writers/composers Zdunich and Darren Smith as well as director Bousman, noted to date as the man behind the three sequels to Saw. Interestingly enough, the epic concept had quite modest beginnings, in a stage show devised by Zdunich and Smith. "The genesis of it was around 2000," Zdunich recalls. "We were doing these things called '10-minute operas' at coffeehouses and little clubs around L.A."

"It was more along the lines of performance art. Darren Smith was basically a one-man band, and I was a narrator. One of the pieces was about a grave robber who would observe different people coming in and out of a cemetery; one of the characters he met was an organ repo man. For some reason, that really resonated with audiences. So we decided to push the story in that direction."

"I came to Los Angeles to make musicals, believe it or not," says Bousman, who, after seeing a performance, collaborated with the authors to mount a full-length stage spectacular. "After Saw II came out and made a lot of money, [the studio] said, 'Okay, Darren, you can do whatever you want to, what do you want to do?' and I said, 'Make a rock opera.' They laughed at me and said, 'Forget it.'"

After two more cash-raking Saw sequels resulted in similar conversations, the team shot a short film as a demo, which finally succeeded in raising the funds for the feature. Zdunich and Smith found themselves once again retooling their idea.

"Everyone's heard the horror stories about how Hollywood treats writers," Zdunich recalls, "so we were hoping to be involved, but expecting to be shuffled off to the side. But what we wrote was so bizarre and unique that there aren't really experts in it… it ended up that we were involved way past the point we wanted to be," he laughs.

SPECIAL TIMES

The creators' vision assured that the results would be novel, but it's the inspired cast, led by the flamboyant Head, that makes REPO! truly successful. "I cut my teeth on musicals when I got out of drama school, and I've done them here and there," he recalls on the phone from a TV shoot in his native England. "One of my favourite experiences was Rocky Horror, where I got to play Frank N. Furter. And I didn't think I was gonna get to do anything like that again."

By all accounts, the film was a special experience for the cast and crew. "I love it," says Head simply when asked to describe the result. "It's got a real flow to it, a real fluidity. And I can absolutely assure you that you've never seen anything like it."

"We wanted to do something that really challenged us," recalls Zdunich, who'll attend the premiere along with Bousman, Vega and Moseley. "The sheer audacity of attempting so strange, and so difficult—just to see that come to fruition, I'm proud of that in itself… it's not for everyone, but for the people it is for, it'll be very special."

MONTREAL GAZETTE
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By. Al Kratina

Every year, towards the end of Fantasia, compulsive film-watching and lack of sleep starts to make me feel a little loony. The solution to this, it seems, is not to watch a deranged horror-themed sci-fi rock opera. I woke up this morning wearing two dead pets as a hat, only to discover that the review I'd written last night contained only profanity composed in binary and a pornographic ASCII drawing.

But I feel calmer now, fully rested and better able to coalesce my thoughts about Repo! The Genetic Opera. The film, originally a stage play by Darren Smith and Terrance Zdunich, defies coherent description, but that's a good thing. It's pure energy, Ritalin, caffeine and maybe some misused allergy medication, all put on screen like a schizophrenic finger painting.

Starring Buffy's Anthony Stewart Head and Alexa Vega from Spy Kids, the story is set far in the future, where replacement organs are sold by an evil corporation, and narration has been replaced by comic book art and song lyrics. Head is a company Repo Man, repossessing organs from those unable to pay their debts, and Vega plays his daughter, kept cooped up to prevent her from wandering around a world resembling a cross between Blade Runner and a Cradle of Filth video. Performances by Paris Hilton, Ogre from Skinny Puppy, and horror icon Bill Moseley further push the film into surreal dementia.

Repo, directed by Saw's sequel mastermind Darren Lynn Bousman, is completely unhinged, trumping The Rocky Horror Picture Show with inventiveness and kinesis without turning the audience into a shrill gaggle of drunk club kids in drag. The constant music is surprisingly catchy at first blush, though the soundtrack's production does occasionally veer into territory better served by an Evanescence concept album. The visuals are dark, gloomy, and violent, but don't bog down the film's momentum. It's fun, energetic, and completely original, in a way that requires medication, and a long nap afterwards.

Cinemafantastique.be
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By. Béatroce

Un vingt-et-unième siècle apocalyptique, un monde dévasté par une épidémie qui provoque un dysfonctionnement des organes. Résultat : dix millions de morts sur le globe. Dans la panique générale émerge une société, GeneCo, qui prévoit la transplantation d'organes par profit. Dictant ses propres règles, la multinationale prévoit de récupérer les organes des mauvais payeurs. Des agents, appelé Repo Man, sont chargés de cette repossession qui entraîne inéluctablement… la mort du possesseur.

Créée par Terrance Zudnich et Darren Smith, Repo est à l'origine une comédie musicale inspirée d'une de leurs saynètes au titre déjà évocateur (The Necro-Merchants Death), comédie qui fait son petit bonhomme de chemin de théâtres en théâtres aux States. Tombé en amour pour cette œuvre dont il admire l'ingéniosité ténébreuse, Darren Lynn Bousman décide de lâcher la franchise Saw pour s'adonner à la transposition sur grand écran de cette fabuleuse fable d'anticipation.

En adressant un adieu légitime à Jigsaw, Bousman abandonne également sa mise en scène foutoir et son style clippesque renforcé par la caméra amphétaminée et le montage excessif qui étaient ses marques de fabrique (ou celle de la franchise finalement ?). Optant pour une mise en scène sobre et sans artifices, le réalisateur sublime les images ténébreuses et frénétiques qui défilent, s'écoulant en un déluge torrentiel de délices picturaux et musicaux. Car, ne l'oublions pas, Repo ! The Genetic opera est avant tout une comédie musicale.

Opposée au récent délire burtonien dépeignant les pérégrinations d'un barbier sanguinaire, l'œuvre de Bousman partage pourtant avec lui une propension à verser dans le grand guignol. Nonobstant cet amour mutuel pour l'obscurité nocturne, les décors fumeux et les flux sanguins, les deux comédies musicales précitées ne participent au même sous-genre qu'en raison de la dominante instrumentale de l'ensemble. Repo d'ailleurs ne correspond pas à cette étiquette simpliste appliquée à tous les films qui proposent l'une ou l'autre partie ânonnée sur fond musical. Repo est un opéra comme le démontre son titre en ce sens que l'histoire est entièrement dévoilée par le truchement des lyrics sans avoir recours aux dialogues de personnages.

L'histoire transvasée par le flot de musiques enivrantes et hypnotiques aux accents rock-metal élève les passions et se joue des émotions. Dramatique et passionnante, tragique et bouleversante, celle-ci magnifie les destinées éparses de ces personnages que tout oppose et qu'un rien rapproche, reliés qu'ils sont par le funeste fardeau qui pèse sur leurs épaules et le sinistre pathos qu'ils partagent avec leurs contemporains.

Assurément, Repo ! The genetic opera marque autant l'accès d'un homme au panthéon des metteurs en scène qu'il ne sonne le glas des comédies musicales aux intrigues simplistes et aux accents populaires flagorneurs. Massacré par la franchise Saw, Bousman se retrouve sacré par l'entremise de cet opéra, bâton de maréchal d'une carrière à peine e

(ENGLISH TRANSLATION)

A twenty-first century apocalyptic world devastated by an epidemic that causes dysfunction of organs. Result: Ten million dead on the globe. In general, panic emerges a society, GeneCo, which provides organ transplantation by profit. Dictant its own rules, the multinational plans to recover the bodies of bad debtors. Officials called Repo Man, are responsible for this repossession… which inevitably leads to the death of the possessor.

Created by Terrance Zudnich and Darren Smith, Repo is behind a musical inspired by one of their skits already under evocative (The Merchants Necro-Death), a comedy that makes its way to theaters in the United States . Fell in love for the work he admires the ingenuity dark, Darren Lynn Bousman decided to release the Saw franchise to engage in the transposition on the big screen this fabulous fable anticipation.

By sending a farewell to legitimate Jigsaw, Bousman also abandon its staging foutoir and style clippesque strengthened by the camera and editing amphétaminée excessive who were his trademarks (or the franchise finally?) Opting for a staging sober and without tricks, the director sublime images dark and frenetic that parade, flowing into a torrential flood of delight painting and music. For, let us not forget, Repo! The Genetic opera is first and foremost a musical.

Opposed to the recent delirium burtonien depicting the wanderings of a bloodthirsty barber, the work of yet Bousman sharing with him a propensity to pour into the grand guignol. Notwithstanding this mutual love for the dark night, sets smoky and blood flow, the two musicals mentioned above are not involved in the same sub-genre that because of the dominant instrumental of all. Repo also does not correspond to this simplistic label applied to all films which offer one or the other party ânonnée with music. Repo is an opera as evidenced by its title in the sense that history is fully revealed through the lyrics without resorting to the dialogues of the characters.

The history transvasée by the flood of intoxicating music and the hypnotic rock-metal accents student passions and emotions is played. Dramatic and exciting, tragic and shocking, it magnifies the destinies of these people scattered all oppose and that nothing approaching, they are bound by the deadly burden on their shoulders and claim they share pathos with their contemporaries.

Certainly, Repo! The genetic opera mark provided access to a man the pantheon of directors in that it sounded the death knell of the musicals simplistic plots and accents popular flagorneurs.

AMERICAN GOTHIQUE
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By. Nancy Kilpatrick

TWITCH
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SCREEN JABBER
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