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Repo! The Genetic Review
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Anthony Stewart Head as the Repo Man.
If you've ever thought to yourself, 'I wish I could see Anthony Stewart Head murder people while singing a rock opera' or if that sounds intriguing at all to you, this is exactly the movie you're looking for.
Repo! The Genetic Opera is an underground cult hit much like the Rocky Horror Picture show, though not quite to that extent. However, ask a fan about it and you almost couldn't tell.
Repo! is an intricately woven opera with an absolute menagerie of stars. Anthony Stewart Head (Giles from Buffy the Vampire Slayer), Alexa Vega (Spy Kids), Paris Hilton, Ogre (Lead singer from 'Skinny Puppy') Sarah Brightman (famous opera singer), Bill Moseley (Devil's Rejects) and Paul Sorvino, just to name a few. Even Joan Jett makes an appearance.
This darkly hilarious opera is full of ideas you haven't seen before. The story goes that, in the future, plastic surgery will have taken on a whole new look; replacing a liver, spleen, heart... anything you can think of, be it in the name of fashion or health. The catch is the expense. The entire world, in this future, is in a terrible economy. So how can they afford to purchase such extravagant things? The way we do now: credit. And when someone can't pay on time? GeneCo sends the Repo Man to 'rip the still-beating heart from your chest.' Sounds appetizing, no?
Among the gore and jokes and insanity is a multitude of plots, almost a group of short stories that is connected.
Shiloh (Alexa Vega) has a rare blood condition inherited from her late mother, who died of said condition even though Shiloh's father Nathan (Anthony Stewart Head) tries to save her. As a result, he is left to raise Shiloh alone, and can be a bit overbearing.
Rotti Largo (Paul Sorvino), head of GeneCo and, as a result, the world, was in love with Shiloh's mother when she left him for Nathan. His children Amber Sweet (Paris Hilton) who is vapid, wastes money and is addicted to surgery, Luigi (Bill Moseley), whose temper always gets the best of him, and Pavi (Ogre) who is a vain ladies' man, do not add up to what he wants for the future of GeneCo. Since he has a fatal illness, he has to find another heir to his fortune; his ex's child, Shiloh.
To lure her in, he uses a cure for her disease and her favorite celebrity, Blind Mag (Sarah Brightman) as bait. Blind Mag has a contract with GeneCo to be its spokesperson so she can earn the use of her enhanced eyes. However, since she wants to leave, Rotti calls his employee, Nathan, to repossess her eyes and, as a result, kill her. The whole thing is brought together in a sad climax when Shiloh realizes, among other things, that her Dad is the feared Repo Man.
Brought together with artistic darkness, bloodshed, humor, and music, it's easy to see why it is such an instant cult classic. The songs are catchy, the visuals are amazing in a futuristic, industrialized way.
This film is definitely on of my current obsessions, though it's probably not as popular as it should be.
Have any of you seen it? What did you think?
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