Repo The Genetic Opera (2008)

Studio: Lionsgate Home Entertainment

DVD Release Date: January 20, 2009

Directed By: Darren Lynn Bousman

Cast: Paul Sorvino, Anthony Head, Paris Hilton, Bill Moseley, Alexa Vega, Sarah Brightman, Terrance Zdunich

Brutal As Hell Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Review By: Dustin Hall

 “Come Up and Try My New Parts”

Repo! has two kinds of people who must buy this disc. The first type is a fan of horror that enjoys music both rock and operatic, and who has a dark sense of humor. The second are fans of Paris Hilton. And bondage.

Repo! is the tale of Shilo, a young girl with a rare blood disease. She lives in a nightmarish future where industrialization has caused a series of genetic deficiencies in the human population, which in turn causes an epidemic of organ failures. The savior of mankind came in the form of Geneco, a biological engineering company that can create new, genetically perfect replacement organs. Beyond that, Geneco uses its massive wealth to reshape civilization with itself at its head. Now plastic surgery and organ replacement are nationwide fads, enjoyed by everyone… but if you miss your payments, Geneco’s Repo Man comes to reclaim your past due parts.

And of course, all of this is set to music.

Repo! has some very serious overtones. There are themes of hereditary disease, the negative sides of consumerism and commercialism, and the sins of the father being passed to his children. Despite that, there’s a lot of grisly, over the top fun to be had. Anthony Head (Buffy the Vampire Slayer) plays the Repo Man, that tortured soul, with ghoulish glee, singing and dancing while slicing apart his victims in song and dance. The spoiled, over-sexed Largo children provide slapstick laughs amid a torrid of flying brains and hearts. Of course, Paris Hilton plays the fascinating character of Amber Sweet, drugged-up and addicted to surgery, selling her body to change her look on a daily basis, never satisfied with the life of wealth her father afforded her.

Honestly, Paris may have been born to play this role, her reputation only adds to the sick laughs provided by her character.

If Repo! sounds like something you’ll want to check out, the Blu Ray version is certainly the way to go. The movie was filmed digitally and went through a lot of palette adjustment in post-production. What this translated to was a somewhat muddy mixture of contrast and hyper color on the big screen, but the Blu Ray sharpens this image to incredible clarity. The picture and sound blast right out, bringing out surprising details, like singer Sarah Brightman and the optical effects applied to her eyes, bionic replacements that shift and move as her gaze changes on screen. And of course, nothing brings out the musical talents of Otep and Joan Jett, among others, quite like a 7.1 surround sound mix.

The disc is packed with extra features as well. Art galleries, making of documentaries, webisodes, deleted scenes including a new song, multiple commentaries sing-a-long versions of songs and more. The only thing that is missing, and sorely missed at that, is the original Repo! demo movie and video from the original stage play. Director Darren Bousman had promised these on the DVD releases, but said they were mired in red tape, and it seems the beauracracy has claimed these items entirely. With Blu Ray live, it might be possible to download them in the future, just another incentive for the upgraded purchase.

It’s the most inventive horror film in ages, and sure to be a cult classic. “Everybody, everybody, make your genetics your bitch!”