Repo! The Genetic Opera – 2008 – United States
It’s cool that we live in a world where something like Repo! The Genetic Opera occasionally gets made. I don’t say that because Repo! is especially great or original. But it’s such a strange combination of concepts that there were probably a lot of barriers that had to be overcome to make it. It’s a dystopian sci-fi story set in a future where rich people are addicted to plastic surgery, and poor people have their organs repossessed by kinky-looking, gas mask-wearing repo men. It’s also an actual opera where almost all the dialogue is sung in an operatic style. That’s a weird contrast, and there are lots of other idiosyncrasies too. The costumes and sets have a gothic aesthetic. There are animated comic book interludes. And it’s pretty gory too.
The plot of Repo! is probably more complex than it needs to be. It involves an organ-manufacturing corporation that is sort of like a crime syndicate. There is a teenage girl who is being poisoned by her dad so she can never leave the house. All of this is related to a murder that happened 17 years ago. The coolest character is Blind Mag, an opera singer with cybernetic eyes that project holograms. Mixed in are some bloody scenes of repo men stabbing people and cutting their organs out.
I don’t have a lot of praise to offer Repo!. The hard rock-style music isn’t particularly memorable, and the lyrics often feel forced. The plot doesn’t make much sense, and the characters are more like archetypes than real people. That being said, Repo! is such an unusual spectacle, that it’s still pretty fascinating. The baroque costumes and sets make the whole thing resemble a gothic cartoon. And with their transformative makeup and enormous fake eyelashes, some of the characters resemble grotesque dolls. It’s all very campy and over-the-top, and the operatic music really accentuates this.
In other words, Repo! is cool because it’s pretty weird, and the power of that shouldn’t be underestimated.
Rating: 6/10 Shrunken Heads
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