Repo! The Genetic Opera
by Darren Lynn Bousman
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Alexa Vega, Anthony Head, Paris Hilton, Paul Sorvino, Sarah BrightmanDirector: Darren Lynn Bousman
Brand: Lions Gate
Writer: Terrance Zdunich
Writer: Darren Smith
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); English (Original Language)
Format: AC-3, Color, Dolby, DVD, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.78:1
Running Time: 98 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2009-01-20
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Studio: Lions Gate
Movie Reviews of Repo! The Genetic Opera
Movie Review: Should I buy this? A guide to REPO for Sarah Brightman Fans
Summary: 5 Stars
First of all let me state that this review is written exclusively for Sarah Brightman fans debating whether or not to buy "Repo" however, I do feel that others may also find this review helpful as well.
Before I begin let me say that I feel that "Repo" was very unfairly slammed by the American Press and did NOT get a fair review at all. It's a very, very good movie when you consider what it is...which is a CULT film/musical like the famous/infamous "Rocky Horror."
Sarah Brightman's fans may be puzzled why she made such a film. Let me state that if you look at her career, she's ALWAYS liked scary stuff and is obviously a fan of classical British horror (i.e. Hammer Films, etc.) In fact, in her latest stage production of "Symphony" there is a very cool sequence where she, as "Red Riding Hood" pedels a bike frantically through a forest pursed by wolves that is brilliant (this is the actual live tour, and is sadly NOT, I repeat NOT on the "Symphony" Vienna DVD.)
"Repo" is very scary, and also very funny and also very moving. Before passing judgement on it unfairly, consider this...when it first came out "Rocky Horror" was viewed as shocking and NOBODY liked it...in fact it tanked. Now, over a span of literally DECADES it's cool and even oldsters like it. The same holds for "The Phantom of the Opera" which, when it was released was a ground-breaking horror/musical which people thought was somewhat shocking. So use this perspective to judge "Repo" which is the 21st century version of "Rocky Horror" (yes...remember guys it's a NEW century!) With that being said let's talk about Sarah Brightman in the movie.
Her performance is nothing short of brilliant and is, frankly the BEST performance in the movie, even though she isn't the main character. She's a real show-stealer. Her appearance at Shiloh's house is one of the best scenes in the movie and for those of us who didn't get to see her in the original "Phantom of the Opera" we can get an idea of why she made it the most popular musical thus-to-date. (As an aside, it's sad that apparently NOBODY made a visual recording of the original "Phantom" although original cast CD's exist.)
Unless you've seen her live, this will be one of your best bets, and perhaps your only chance to see how good she is at live theatre/stage musicals. She's GREAT. It's very important to remember that before she became a cross-over artist, Sarah Brightman was a singer and a dancer and a stage performer. "Repo" gives you, her fan, a chance to see why she's so good in live theatre. However, before you buy it, you need to consider two things: 1. Many people in the USA who like Sarah Brightman are somewhat conservative...so you have to visualize the following scene. Remember at the start of "La Luna" where Sarah Brightman appears on the steps dressed like a Greecian priestess and sings, "Winter in July." Now imagine the end of "Harem" where she sings, "A Question of Honor." Now combine both of those and visualize her being brutally and ritually sacrificed. (I'm not adding any spoilers here...just setting the tone.) If that thought bothers you, and you do NOT like blood and gore then DON'T buy "Repo!!!!" That simple. If, however you are intrigued...perhaps remembering how the great Kate Bush also let herself get brutally strangled on the stage at the end of her song, "Hammer Horror" then BUY "Repo." 2. MANY of Sarah Brightman's USA fans also have children who LOVE Sarah Brightman. DO NOT, I repeat DO NOT show this movie to your kids...it will upset them TOO MUCH. Did you hear that...don't show this movie to young children!
With that being said, let's recap our criteria for buying "Repo." First: You have to be willing to want to be really scared and be willing to see Sarah Brightman bring off a death worthy of Shakespeare or Sophocles or John Webster and Second: If you have young children who love Sarah DO NOT show this to them! Did you hear that...NO children should watch this no matter how much they love Sarah...ok!!!!
So, if you are up to it, "Repo" will give you an idea of how brilliant Sarah Brightman is in live theatre (since most people in the States have never been able to see her in that medium.) I loved "Repo" and hope that Sarah Brightman might actually be encouraged to do some more(perhaps less violent)movie musicals so we can see her talent in that medium as well. I also think that it's exciting she did this because younger adult Americans who've never heard of her (she gets virtually NO air time here in the States) will perhaps become intrigued and start buying her music.
Let's remember that it's easy to judge something young and new like "Repo" and say it's violence and trash. HOWEVER, let me remind everybody that at one time that remark was made about all classical drama or literature. Shakespeare is EXTREMELY violent as is Sophocles. One of the most violent and sexy snuff scenes I've ever seen was a live stage production of the "Duchess of Malfi" by John Webster. (I'm a military historian, but my undergraduate degree is World Literature.) In fact, I'm pretty sure that this violence is the reason why the "Duchess of Malfi" is seldom performed in the USA and that there is NO DVD of it. In addition, if anybody has ever seen live Kabuki theatre it's EXTREMELY bloody with heads flying off, blood spraying and women dying from being stabbed in the throat. So it's important to remember that in a stage production like "Repo" the violence is NOT the mindless violence of a "Terminator" movie...the violence has a point. "Repo" like the "Duchess of Malfi" or "Oedipus Rex" or "Hamlet" is a morality play. However, it's a MODERN morality play for a young-adult audience. So...if you're a Sarah Brightman fan,and bloody stage violence ala "Julius Caesar" doesn't bother you and you think you can stand watching her die nobly and tragically like the Duchess of Mali does in Webster's play, then get "Repo" with the caveat that you DO NOT show this to younger children who might also be Sarah Brightman fans. Did you hear that...don't show it to young children who like Sarah Brightman! (But you can watch it, shudder with terror and enjoy!) P.S. I must admit that even though I enjoyed "Repo" I hope that if Sarah makes any more movies perhaps they won't be this violent so that her younger, more sensitive fans can see her stage/theatre talents as well.
Summary of Repo! The Genetic Opera
By fusing THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW and BLADE RUNNER, this futuristic tale of horror modernizes the "rock opera" genre with original music and rich, dark production design.Likening Repo! The Genetic Opera to its predecessors, Little Shop of Horrors and Rocky Horror Picture Show, conveys this film?s high camp and operatic bursts of song, but does little to describe how absolutely bizarre Repo! is. Like Rocky Horror, Repo! was written for stage performance by Darren Smith and Terrance Zdunich, who stars as a Graverobber, dolled up in vampiric makeup to resemble Rocky Horror?s iconic tranny, Dr. Frank-N-Furter. Hiring newbie director, Darren Lynn Bousman, fresh out of film school to shoot this mutant movie, Smith and Zdunich clearly focused on writing comedy into extremely gruesome slasher scenes, which works with mixed results. Stills of comic strips contextualize each scene, telling the story of biotech corporation Geneco?s repossessions of organs that they implanted into various patients to save human lives during a long history of operations. Organs, here, were bought on credit, and as the economy nosedives, citizens of this a makeshift Gotham City cannot pay bills, and must forfeit their lives to repo men make a killing around town, literally. Heading this enterprise is CEO Rotti Largo (Paul Sorvino), who has two bickering sons, Luigi (Bill Moseley) and Pavi (Nivek Ogre), whose white facemask is third generation Phantom, borrowing directly from Winslow Leach?s in Brian De Palma?s Phantom of the Paradise. Central to the plot is head repo guy/slaughterer, Nathan Wallace (Anthony Head of Buffy the Vampire Slayer), who hides his career path to preserve his sexy teenage daughter, Shilo?s (Alexa Vega), innocence. As Shilo discovers her godmom, Blind Mag (Sarah Brightman), and the "Z"-addicted surgery slut, Amber Sweet (Paris Hilton), she embarks on adventures through an urban landscape constructed of metal gear, corpse piles, and S/M zombie girls, while dad straps people up in his torture chamber to take back body parts. Hmmmm. Since Repo! looks likes a Marilyn Manson video, its musical niche sensibility will only appeal to fans who like Goth and Industrial music. To anyone who doesn?t go for that look, it does impress for its sheer dedication to choreography and song. In the least, Repo! The Genetic Opera is an anomalous glimpse into visionary horror. --Trinie Dalton
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