Review of Repo! The Genetic Opera (2008) by Gareth J — 30 Dec 2011

Horror musicals make for an awkward union. No matter how well it is done the fact remains that juxtaposing camp flamboyant song/dance routines with heavy gore rarely succeeds in igniting the senses in much the way they do on their own. That union is made worse when placed in the hands of a director like Darren Lynn Bousman: the man responsible for installments 2-4 of the SAW franchise.

With an overblown budget which I am told became exhausted before the film could finish post-production, Bousman has truly undone himself with this messy confused shambles of a film. The heavily stylized production design is indeed impressive but when viewed in relation to the performances can not prevent Repo! from degenerating into a back to back sequence of music videos; played out with the all the irreverence of only the trashiest grind house films. This is especially true when Hollywood whore-for-hire Paris Hilton makes an appearance on screen, her passionless performance causing so much distress that one wishes that she would just do the world a favor and climb back up Mr. Slave's arse where she belongs! Her one saving grace is that she is not nearly as annoying as Nivek Ogre or Bill Moseley, whose needless bickering seems only to act as filler for a narrative loosely strung together by comic book segments.

It's not all bad, granted. Whilst the comic graphics feel like a cop out and not nearly enough effort is made to flesh out the juicier elements of the story, they are at least nice to look at. AND, as clumsily choreographed as they are, the leads can all at least carry a tune, even if Alexa Vega does sing her lines as though auditioning for a role in Glee. Paul Sorvino deserves particular kudos for not only being able to hold a tune better than co-star Anthony Head (though he still fares well) but doing so with the sort of Pavarotti-style gravitas...then again...maybe that is overcooking things...

Regardless, given the difficulties suffered by the horror-musical fusion sub genre, it would really have benefited all involved if Bousman had aloud the respite of proper scripted drama to bridge the gap between songs. Certainly, it would have made the film more substantial. Vega is no Christina Ricci admittedly but Head would definitely have found it useful since there were large segments of his dialogue which would have been better spoken rather than sung.

To sum it all up, Repo! is like an example of the very cosmetic surgeries it tries to critique: pretty to look at but ultimately hollow and meaningless. 'Gothic Opera' has and always will be niche. For some, this feel is a wet dream of fantastical proportions and burlesque excess. For me, it is androgynous, OTT theme park drivel more aligned to Lesbian Vampire Killers than to the classic horror films it tries so desperately to emulate.