Review of Repo! The Genetic Opera (2008) by Benjamin S — 09 Nov 2010

Strange, twisted, amusing, grotesque-even these words can't describe how this movie made me feel, and how it seems. I could not decide whether this movie was good, or bad. Good as in I can see how CERTAIN(like a select minority) could like this movie.

Bad as in the rest hating it. But I didn't hate it. I found some of the techniques they used to make it look creepy actually work very well. Like how they mystify every portion of the set(that's right, set), with fog and darken the tint of the screen.

I also liked how everyone sort of had this morbid attitude about them. It really complements the mood of the movie when every character is on the same negative flow. And the flashbacks that are illustrated in comic-book were a good way of revealing the sinister story.

However, aside from the fact that it fits certain audiences, this movie is NOT for everyone. I like musicals, movie musicals at least. Ones the have those nice dance numbers with catchy songs and leave you feeling like you just watched one great movie.

I am not howver a fan of teen-punk gothic musicals, using a destroyed town and an angry Kingpin as their alibi to scream their lungs out and put as much gore in it as humanly possible. This is where "Repo" fails in my opinion.

To start with, we see the CGI city from far away, but never close up. It's like if they took a picture of NYC, and then filmed up-close locations in L.A.(which is what they did in Phone Booth, but it worked!) Instead we see the characters walking around in a goofy way, through a dark and gothic looking SET, rather then a city.

I guess you can blame the set designer for not transferring the stage version too well, but maybe the whole idea of transferring this "play" was bad. Now I understand what an opera is, it says it clearly on the cover and title.

But to me rather then have some 'talented' actors reach some high-notes, belt it out, and leave us shaken, I felt annoyed. There are no songs. No clever word play where they twist the words around to match the tune of a.

..song? Just a bunch of preachy Alex Delarge fanatics who talk in rhythm and don't know how to shut the hell up. Which is why they got cast. Hollywood couldn't get these crazed thespians to shut the hell up, so they gather them in one cluster-F of a movie, to "sing"(quote!) all they want.

Well is sure annoys the hell out of the audience, when you pawn trash like that off as an opera. You know, people claim this is a cult movie like Rocky Horror, I saw it falls far below. It's an ATTEMPT to be a cult movie, much like Rocky Horror or A Clockwork Orange.

It just tries to damn hard. I think they must have been inspired by Sweeny Todd to go out with as much blood as they can, because they figured that A) blood would attract stupid guys who like to see violence), and B) blood would give it this cool gothic effect! Well they were wrong on both accounts because Sweeny Todd used their blood stylistically.

This movie, again, just threw it in there to look cool. Sort of to tell the audience, "Hey! Look how seriously we take it! Cool right?" No. I'm sorry to say that Repo is a movie I didn't enjoy very much, though I think that actors or thespians are probably a little biased towards this one.

Plus this is a movie that probably stereotyped those all those damn Goth/vampire people, and enhanced their "love" of being annoying and singing poorly. It's a movie where a David Bowe wannabe looks at the camera in a stupid way, acting as if he's stealing the show with his thick-caked on makeup and ridiculous songs that don't rhyme.

Repo...is one where I'd feel obliged to just go on and on, but can't due to the fact that I'll probably be bombarded by numerous fanatics of teenage suicide shows like this, and wouldn't be allowed my opinion because they're too brainwashed to listen.

There's just no arguing with that. Like I said, I'm no big fan of musicals but I do enjoy SOME. I saw Repo just to see what everyone as talking about. Now I too talk about it as much, but simply not in the same way.

Repo, just didn't work for me.