Review of Repo! The Genetic Opera (2008) by Zach B — 11 Oct 2012

In my life time, there have been few films that have taken over my mind, entranced me, or even became a staple in my subconscious as this indie horror/ rock opera. Now, is it a great film? No. It is not. In fact, I would not even call it good. It's okay if nothing else. Well, seeing as how it was made with half of the budget of Saw IV, what is one to expect? But, now you are wondering why it is that I have given this film a perfect five star rating? Simple: it's entertaining, original, and created the first real horror musical.

Now, the main idea of this film deal with a post apocalyptic world where everyone is being killed via organ failures. So, GENco is created to satisfy the need for organ replacements. But, there is a catch: if you don't pay your bills, the Repo Men come for you. And when they find you, your time is up. The cool thing is that the above is not the plot of the film. That is just the backdrop. There is no real plot to Repo! because the entire film is made up of all these different back stories that just happen to connect in one way or another. As a director, I will say that this film will probably be Darren Lynn Bousman's masterpiece, and that is being generous because he is not that good of a director. There are some very questionable parts in this film that should have been tweaked a bit, reedited, and synced better with the music. But for what he has given us, it's not bad. Better than any of his SAW films.

But what really makes me love this film is one person: Terrance Zdunich. Z (as I will call him) is what is needed in this world in terms of musicals: originality. By the time I am writing this review, he has made two musicals and both of them are better than they should have been. The secret is that he takes music that is underground and brings it to the realm of show tunes. Each of the 64 pieces that were composed for this film are absolutely wonderful and actually could have worked as a concept album. His music styles brings a freshness to the idea of stage plays and musicals, the end result being him probably leading a revolution - a renascence - of rock operas that we have not really seen. In short, the music in this film is unique, different, and actually pretty good.

The cast of this film is something also of a shock. First off, you have people like Anthony Head from Buffy The Vampire Slayer and Alexa Vega from Spy Kids in on this. First off, what?! Second off, wow. Hearing them preform is really what makes this film work. They have this chemistry on screen that appears believable and their voices are not that bad to listen to. In fact, most of the cast (including Paris Hilton) are not that bad. But only two people steal the show with their voices: Paul Sorvinno and making her gorgeous debut: Sarah Brightman. Both performers I have complete respect for and this film just enhances my love for both. Even more hearing Brightman's beautiful soprano voice. If nothing else, their voices make this film work and worth while.

So, is this a good film? No. It's okay from a critical perspective. But it is entertaining to watch, at times wonderful to look at (take this part lightly), and in this critic's book, a great film. As I have said, there are some films that just change our lives and become a part of us. Repo! The Genetic Opera is one of those films that is a staple of my years of being a teenager, has had a huge impact, and is still thought of fondly four years after it was made.