Tuesday, October 26, 2021

Cult Flops - Repo! The Genetic Opera

Lionsgate, 2008
Starring Anthony Head, Alex Vega, Paul Sorvino, and Sarah Brightman
Directed by Darren Lynn Bouseman
Music and Lyrics by Darren Smith and Terrance Zdunich 

This seems to be the month for really bizarre musicals...but I think I finally found one of the strangest musicals ever created. Some of you won't be surprised to hear it comes from the same writers and crew as the equally strange The Devil's Carnival and Alleujah! The Devil's Carnival, which I reviewed last year. Let's trade a not-so-heavenly theme park for a sci-fi dystopia that makes The Hunger Games films look cheerful and see just how weird a rock opera can get...

The Story: It's the year 2056, and an epidemic of organ failures spreads across the Earth. GeneCo, the world's largest corporation, provides organ transplants for desperate people on a payment plan. Those who miss the payments are hunted down by "Repo Men" who repossess the organs. Among those men are Nathan Wallace (Head), who is trying to shield his daughter Shiloh (Vega) from the terrors of the outside world. He's told the girl she has a genetic illness like her late mother, but she's desperate to see the outside world. Rotti Largo (Sorvino), the head of GeneCo, lures the girl into his clutches in the hope that she'll take over his empire in the place of his three spoiled children. Meanwhile, Nathan, unable to kill Magdalene (Brightman), a friend of his wife's who has Geneco eyes, is now pursued by Rotti's men...and he'll do anything to keep Rotti from harming anyone else he loves.

The Song and Dance: Hoo boy. Well, you can't say this one isn't unique. Science fiction stories about evil corporations controlling bleak futures have become rather popular over the past 30-40 years or so, but this is the first time I've seen one such story done as a rock opera. The bombastic style is very much in line with the European rock operas of the 80's and early 90's, closer to what Stage Fright attempted to parody. Sorvino and Head take top honors as the nasty corporate exec and the lackey with the tragic backstory, but Vega isn't bad as the sheltered daughter, and even Paris Hilton, of all people, works out better than you might think as Rotti's surgery-obsessed youngest child. 

Also love the opening and closing sequences, drawn in the style of fairly realistic comic book panels as the Grave Robber (Terrance Zdunich) explains about the genetic failures and what happens after Rotti dies and Shiloh flees.

Favorite Number: We're introduced to Shiloh as she and the Grave Robber search for a "21st Century Cure" for her condition. She admits she's tired of being "Infected" after her father reminds her why she has to stay at home. Nathan sings of his nasty job being a "Legal Assassin" with the help of a ghostly chorus. Mag explains "The Tao of Mag" to show why she needed those eyes. Shiloh angrily sings to her father why it's tough being "Seventeen" when you have few choices in life, but it's worse being an adult who doesn't understand. "At the Opera Tonight" brings together most of the cast as they prepare for a big GeneCo variety show. In the end, when Nathan's shot and almost gone, father and daughter admit "I Didn't Know I'd Love You So Much."

What I Didn't Like: Did I mention how weird and depressing this movie is? Weird, loud, and even bloodier than Smith's Devil's Carnival and Saw movies. If you don't love rock opera, bloody horror, flashy in-your-face musicals, or stories about ultra-pitch-black futures, this is absolutely not the movie for you. The heavy violence, swearing, skimpy costumes, and sexual references makes this absolutely, positively not for children, too. 

The Big Finale: There's few musicals out there quite like this one. Worth checking out at least once if you're a fan of bleak sci-fi, really bloody horror, or other recent flashy musical extravaganzas like Moulin Rouge

Home Media: Easily found in all major formats. Tubi currently streams it for free. 

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