For those of you aching for a horror opera that has nothing to do with Andrew Lloyd Webber, I think I may have found just the thing. Before it even hit screens, genre fans had 'Repo! The Genetic Opera' tagged as a 'cult classic' and true to its limited hype, this is one unique cinematic experience.
A pet project of 'Saw' mainstay Darren Lynn Bousman who helmed three of the 'Saw' films, 'Repo!' was originally unveiled in all of eight theaters nationwide but picked up a bit of steam that generated a 'Road Tour' which found the director and creators taking the pic state to state to spread it's gruesome charms (a third tour recently closed in LA on January 24th and I doubt it will be the last...a 'Rocky Horror Picture Show' phenom may not be out of the question).
Now arriving on DVD and Blu-Ray where it will hopefully find more mainstream success than its theatrical campaign and grass-roots road tour campaign, Bousman's adaptation of Darren Smith and Terrance Zdunich's original stage play features a fascinatingly disparate cast with a few weak links I'll discuss later.
Filling out top spots is Alexa Vega, of 'Spy Kids' fame all grown up now and Anthony Steward Head, mostly known to genre fans for his long-running role on 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer'.
Vega stars as Shilo, a young girl crippled by a rare disease and holed up in her home by her caring if overbearing father Nathan Wallace (Steward Head) who by day is a mild-mannered doctor but moonlights as a viscous Repo Man.
The world of 'Repo!' is a futuristic urban decay where an epidemic of organ failures has swept the world. Extinction of the human race was possible but Rotti Largo (Paul Sorvino) and his company Geneco, a biotech company specializing in organ replacements came to the rescue. But with the rescue came a corporate control nightmare and with millions of people mortgaging their lives for organs, some won't be able to pay; and when that happens, a repo man is sent to claim the company's organ...
So Nathan works for the most powerful man in the world as the lead repo man. Largo, who has harbored resentment towards Nathan for a past history, hatches a diabolical scheme to get rid of Nathan with Shilo also being part of the tragic plan - a plan of decidedly operatic proportions.
Filling out Largo's despicable fam is Bill Moseley, Nivek Ogre of Skinny Puppy and Paris Hilton who are all vying for their dads company with Sarah Brightman playing Blind Mag, a famous pop-opera singer who works for Geneco and co-creator Terrence Zdunich rounding out the cast as the Graverobber, a role that originated with him.
The narrative is slightly convoluted but also impressively elaborate with comic book panels used to nice effect to fill an audience in when events seem like they might get confusing. Vega and Head deliver great headlining performances considering the difficulty of the roles - all dialogue is sung and they have to find a tough tone that balances the operatic melodrama of the script with a gritty, horror realism.
Sorvino proves to be an apt choice for Largo with professionally trained vocals and who also popped up in another fringe musical, Luhrmann's 'Romeo + Juliet'.
I'm not quite as ecstatic for the over-the-top histrionics of Moseley and the usual blank-eyed stare of Hilton that passes for acting (it admittedly suits the role but c'mon...her name alone proves a deterrent to watch the film for a lot of people). So with fascinating visuals and narrative, how is the actual music? That's subjective, of course, but I found the music consistently rocking and I think will come to appreciate more on repeat viewings.
And of course it's bloody earning every bit of the 'R' rating. No surprise considering the 'Saw' alumni, Bousman displays real filmmaking talent with some great camerawork and a fluid handling of cutting the songs together (no easy feat...just check out this film's polar opposite 'Mamma Mia!' for proof).
The film is presented with a 1.78:1 1080p/MPEG4 AVC encode and the results are surprisingly effective. I probably would have preferred a scope image to fit the more epic story, but this gritty, dark horror story actually looks pretty great in high-def. Looking more expensive than its budget might suggest, detail and blacks are spot-on.
An English 7.1 DTS HD Master Audio track is provided and considering the importance of the audio for this movie, this is one rocking track.
Some great features are included which start off with two audio commentaries, the first with director Darren Lynn Bousman and Actors Bill Moseley, Alexa Vega and Ogre and the second with Director Darren Lynn Bousman, and Co-Creators Darren Smith and Terrance Zdunich and Music Producer Joseph Bishara. There's also select scene commentary with Paris Hilton and Bousman (Hilton was too busy for the full commentary I suppose?).
'From Stage to Screen' is a ten-minute featurette with cast/crew interviews, some behind-the-scenes footage and some history on the stage play itself. We get three short Webisode Featurettes looking at the various characters.
'Video Sing Alongs' pick a handful of notable songs from the pic and throw some karaoke text up. Kinda fun. We also get some 'Deleted Scenes' with optional commentary and a Trailer and Poster Gallery to round things out.
It's obvious this film will not appeal to everybody but for fans of such obvious inspirations such as 'Rocky Horror Picture Show' and even 'Blade Runner' as well as current pics like 'Sweeny Todd', I think you will be pleasantly surprised despite the presence of Paris Hilton. With some nice high-def visuals, lossless sound and a bevy of features, this comes recommended for the right audience.
Repo! The Genetic Opera [Blu-ray] is now available at Amazon . Visit the DVD database for more information.
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