by Hayley Charlesworth
With Repo! The Genetic Opera celebrating it's 5th Anniversary in New York tomorrow, Hayley has a look over this cult musical.
When I first heard that Giles from Buffy was going to be in a dystopian musical gore-fest, my excitement levels were approaching critical mass. Imagine the torture, then, that the heavily-delayed release of Repo! The Genetic Opera caused, owning the soundtrack for a full thirteen months before being able to put those songs into context. Eventually, on the day of its DVD release, I organised a double-bill screening with Dr Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog at my former university.
While Horrible was a resounding hit, the assembled crowds were less receptive to Repo!
Except for me, I was in love.
With Repo! The Genetic Opera celebrating it's 5th Anniversary in New York tomorrow, Hayley has a look over this cult musical.
When I first heard that Giles from Buffy was going to be in a dystopian musical gore-fest, my excitement levels were approaching critical mass. Imagine the torture, then, that the heavily-delayed release of Repo! The Genetic Opera caused, owning the soundtrack for a full thirteen months before being able to put those songs into context. Eventually, on the day of its DVD release, I organised a double-bill screening with Dr Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog at my former university.
While Horrible was a resounding hit, the assembled crowds were less receptive to Repo!
Except for me, I was in love.
Repo! The Genetic Opera is set in a not-too-distant future where a pandemic of organ failures has led to the creation of synthetic organs, making the company GeneCo, and its owners, the most powerful people in the world. Thanks to the addictive painkiller Zydrate (extracted illegally from dead bodies by underworld figures such as Grave Robber, the film’s one-man Greek chorus), organ transplants are now a fashion statement. But they’re also expensive, and if you fall behind on your payments, GeneCo send the Repo Men after you to take them back. It’s all rather bleak.
Anthony Stewart Head plays Nathan, a widower and the doting but controlling dad of 17-year-old Shilo (Alexa Vega), who inherited her mother’s blood disease. Unbeknownst to Shilo, who is kept locked away from the outside world; Nathan is also a Repo Man, working for GeneCo boss and former rival for wife Marni’s affections, Rotti Largo (Paul Sorvino). Nathan’s struggle to reconcile his love for Shilo with his murderous occupation, and Shilo’s quest to discover the truth, drive much of the plot, but there’s much more going on. Rotti’s three children, vain Amber Sweet (Paris Hilton), psychotic Luigi (Bill Moseley) and Pavi (Ogre), a man who likes to wear women’s faces and yet is still desired by other women, are an embarrassment to their father. When Rotti discovers he is dying of a disease that even GeneCo can’t cure, he sets out to lure Marni’s daughter Shilo away from her father to inherit the company. Meanwhile, Marni’s best friend, Blind Mag (Sarah Brightman), GeneCo’s famous opera singer, wants to quit, even though she knows that breaking her contract will result in GeneCo repossessing her eyes.
Anthony Stewart Head plays Nathan, a widower and the doting but controlling dad of 17-year-old Shilo (Alexa Vega), who inherited her mother’s blood disease. Unbeknownst to Shilo, who is kept locked away from the outside world; Nathan is also a Repo Man, working for GeneCo boss and former rival for wife Marni’s affections, Rotti Largo (Paul Sorvino). Nathan’s struggle to reconcile his love for Shilo with his murderous occupation, and Shilo’s quest to discover the truth, drive much of the plot, but there’s much more going on. Rotti’s three children, vain Amber Sweet (Paris Hilton), psychotic Luigi (Bill Moseley) and Pavi (Ogre), a man who likes to wear women’s faces and yet is still desired by other women, are an embarrassment to their father. When Rotti discovers he is dying of a disease that even GeneCo can’t cure, he sets out to lure Marni’s daughter Shilo away from her father to inherit the company. Meanwhile, Marni’s best friend, Blind Mag (Sarah Brightman), GeneCo’s famous opera singer, wants to quit, even though she knows that breaking her contract will result in GeneCo repossessing her eyes.
The first thing you should know about Repo! The Genetic Opera is that it is an opera, not a musical. Like Jesus Christ Superstar and Les Miserables, almost all of the dialogue is sung, with repeated motifs in the music. Even without the Saw-franchise levels of gore, it’s quite a shock if your only prior musical experience was Oliver! or Mamma Mia. The second thing of note is that it is very, very bloody, and not for viewers of a nervous disposition. But there’s humour in the horror, too. For example, Nathan coldly pulling out a man’s intestines is horrific, but Nathan then reaching up the man’s throat and having him duet a song as a ventriloquist’s dummy is darkly hilarious.
There is very little subtlety in Repo!, and that is its charm. From the violence, to the set design, to lyrics such as “I remember, I dismember!” and Luigi’s memorable “I WILL SHOOT YOU IN THE FACE!”, the entire world is exaggerated. Except when it comes to Blind Mag. Sarah Brightman brings an inimitable touch of class to the proceedings with her elegant voice and quiet moments of defiance and dignity. Her stand-out performance is in the song Chromaggia, where she is able to convey a wealth of emotion in her eyes, even when wearing ludicrous contact lenses.
There is very little subtlety in Repo!, and that is its charm. From the violence, to the set design, to lyrics such as “I remember, I dismember!” and Luigi’s memorable “I WILL SHOOT YOU IN THE FACE!”, the entire world is exaggerated. Except when it comes to Blind Mag. Sarah Brightman brings an inimitable touch of class to the proceedings with her elegant voice and quiet moments of defiance and dignity. Her stand-out performance is in the song Chromaggia, where she is able to convey a wealth of emotion in her eyes, even when wearing ludicrous contact lenses.
There are wonderful performances from all the cast. Paul Sorvino is deliciously evil as Rotti Largo, while Tony Head plays the dual role of ‘loving father figure’ and ‘the Night Surgeon’ to an even greater effect than the contrast between Rupert Giles and Ripper. I want to take a moment to praise Paris Hilton. She was perfectly cast as Amber Sweet (let’s face it, she’s basically playing herself), fully dedicated herself to the role, and offered her own insight and input to the character, Yes, performing alongside Sarah Brightman reveals the weakness in her singing, but that was her only real failing. While I will agree that Hilton deserved a Razzie for The Hottie and the Nottie, her Razzie for this film was entirely unjustified and only awarded because she’s Paris Hilton.
But the stand-out character for me is Grave Robber, played by co-creator Terrance Zdunich. Zdunich takes a role that is essentially Exposition Guy and makes him likable, endearing, and worth investing time and emotion in. He makes Zydrate Anatomy, a song that’s basically an info-dump for a fictional drug, the best number in the whole thing . You will, however, be left wondering why he’s screaming “GRAAAAAAAAAAVES!” while trying to hide from the Repo Men for much of the film. As I said earlier, this film lacks sublety.
Finally, onto the songs. The film combines a number of styles, but the most prominent are hard rock and opera. Surprisingly, this is a mix that entirely compliments each other. It’s when the film deviates from either of these styles that it suffers, like in Shilo’s pop-rock Seventeen. That said, that song features a Joan Jett cameo, so it’s still awesome.
If you hate musicals, this isn’t the film for you. If you can’t handle gore, avoid at all costs. If you want a bloody good time watching Rupert Giles rip out a man’s spine while singing, enjoy!
Also, if you like this, be sure to check out Darren Smith and Terrance Zdunich’s follow-up project, The Devil’s Carnival, because it’s excellent.
But the stand-out character for me is Grave Robber, played by co-creator Terrance Zdunich. Zdunich takes a role that is essentially Exposition Guy and makes him likable, endearing, and worth investing time and emotion in. He makes Zydrate Anatomy, a song that’s basically an info-dump for a fictional drug, the best number in the whole thing . You will, however, be left wondering why he’s screaming “GRAAAAAAAAAAVES!” while trying to hide from the Repo Men for much of the film. As I said earlier, this film lacks sublety.
Finally, onto the songs. The film combines a number of styles, but the most prominent are hard rock and opera. Surprisingly, this is a mix that entirely compliments each other. It’s when the film deviates from either of these styles that it suffers, like in Shilo’s pop-rock Seventeen. That said, that song features a Joan Jett cameo, so it’s still awesome.
If you hate musicals, this isn’t the film for you. If you can’t handle gore, avoid at all costs. If you want a bloody good time watching Rupert Giles rip out a man’s spine while singing, enjoy!
Also, if you like this, be sure to check out Darren Smith and Terrance Zdunich’s follow-up project, The Devil’s Carnival, because it’s excellent.
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