Review of Repo! The Genetic Opera (2008) by Sarah H — 04 Jan 2010

So why care for these petty obsessions? Your designer heart still beats with common blood.

Repo! The Genetic Opera is a rarity by today's standards - it is a "Goth Rock Opera" with fairly big names attached to it (including Anthony Stuart Head, Sarah Brightman, Paris Hilton and Ogre of Skinny Puppy), and brilliant performances all round from the well-known actors to the lesser known among them, including Ogre, Bill Moseley (better known as Otis from House of 1000 Corpses, something which came as a welcome surprise to me), Paul Sorvino and notably Terrance Zdunich as Graverobber.

I wasn't completely impressed by the singing in Repo! the first time I heard all the songs, but after a long period of not seeing the film, I downloaded the soundtrack and found I actually really loved the varying voices, particularly Anthony Stewart Head, who's performance as the torn Nathan - a man trying to give his daughter a decent upbringing after the death of his beloved wife, but he harbours a terrible secret that he can never allow her to know.

Although to many Repo! may appear to be too "Goth heavy" (something which drew me to the film personally, having been a Goth some many years ago), it had a complex story which is compelling and mixes incredibly well with the vocal talent of the actors.

I was very surprised by Paris Hilton's turn in this film, as I had not heard of anything fairly serious she had starred in (things such as The Hottie and the Nottie).

Although her character does not appear as much as others in the story (Amber Sweet is one of Rotti Largo's three spoilt and greedy children, along with Luigi and Pavi), her performance as Amber Sweet showed me a different side to her concerning her acting career.

If she continues with more serious roles that do not always warrant her throwing her clothes off (it was almost managed in the House of Wax remake, but then came the tent scene), she may well become the revered actor that she clearly deserves to be.