Download Free Repo! The Genetic Opera

I got a chance to see Repo! at the Austin showing last night. I'd been
keeping up with the forum, like most of ya'll have, and listening to
the soundtrack on a loop. I thought I pretty much knew the whole plot
before I'd seen the movie, and had a good idea of how it would end.

I was wrong.

For those of you who haven't been following the Repo! phenomenon, Repo!
is an audacious rock opera (completely sung, with some occasional
atonal, rhythmic dialogue) that takes place in a Gothic not-too-distant
future. An epidemic of organ failures has broken out, but luckily,
GeneCo, a massive genetics company, has a solution- They start
harvesting organs and offering them to consumers with easy financing
options. However, these organs are subject to default, and if you start
missing your payments, GeneCo sends out the Repo Man to take back
GeneCo's property.

Guiding us through this macabre world is Graverobber (Zdunich), a
drug-runner who sells a cheap, black market version of Zydrate (a
futuristic anesthetic that's like a glow-in-the-dark mix between
codeine and ecstasy) to drug-and-surgery addicts on the street.

The movie largely takes place from the point of view of one of these
Repo Men, Nathan Wallace (Head), and his daughter, Shiloh (Vega), who
is suffering from an unnamed blood illness that makes traveling outside
of her home dangerous, and possibly deadly, and who is unaware of her
father's profession. In order to keep her safe, Nathan keeps Shiloh
locked in her bedroom. Longing to explore the world outside, and bitter
towards her mother for passing the blood disease on to her, Shiloh
embodies one of the underlying themes of Repo!- Are our destinies
sealed by fate (by our genetics), or do we have a choice in the matter?

Early on in the movie, Rotti Largo (Sorvino), the owner and founder of
GeneCo, learns that his time is running out. Without skipping a beat,
his two sons, the hellishly-tempered Luigi (Moseley) and the freakish
playboy, Pavi (Ogre), begin to fight over who will take over when their
father is gone. Meanwhile, the third Largo sibling, and poster child
for the Zydrate Support Network, Amber Sweet (Hilton), dreams of being
in the spotlight after the popular opera singer, and GeneCo
spokeswoman, Blind Mag (Brightman), gives her upcoming farewell
performance.

The film explores the connections between each of these individuals,
and gives their backstories in comic book style vignettes that show how
their lives were all once intertwined. Even if you've been following
the Repo! site, these short stories provide shocking twists (I heard
more than a few gasps when one such twist is revealed). They're an
ingenious way of providing these back stories in a stylized manner
without having to stretch Repo!'s already thin budget.

One of the things that really struck me about Repo! is how surreal the
whole atmosphere is. The colours are very garish (lots of reds, blues,
and yellows), and a very hyper-polished finish to the picture. Your
computer screen really can't capture just how amazing it looks on the
big screen.

And, of course, the other thing that stands out is the music. It's an
eclectic mix of rock, punk, pop, electronica, and, of course, opera. I
was a bit worried that since I'd been listening to the Pre-Surgery
Sampler on a loop, and listening to the theatrical CD as well, that I'd
pretty much heard the outstanding numbers in the movie, and that there
wouldn't be many surprises. Again, I was surprised. One of the
stand-outs for me was "Things You See In A Graveyard", with Rotti
Largo's voice echoing throughout the atmosphere over a ghostly chorus
of funeral-goers and thrashing guitar riffs. My other favorite is
"Chromaggia's Lament", Mag's haunting, operatic farewell song.

While Repo! is VERY unique, and has some very colorful characters, it
isn't the camp fest that I was expecting it to be. It's actually a very
GOOD movie, and definitely has a heart behind all of it's badassness.

It's also VERY graphic. It was actually a bit more violent than I was
expecting. While the violence typically occurs during songs that lessen
their impact, and make them more humorous than scary, it's still very
over-the-top, and several scenes in particular caused people in my
screening to gasp and scream.

My only complaint about the film is that it occasionally appears a bit
conflicted about what emotion it wants to elicit from you. I'll give
you an example (and forgive me if it comes off as vague, I'm avoiding
spoilers)- In one scene in particular, the gorgeously eery song being
sung leads up to an act that is both powerfully moving and deeply
repulsing. If it were a bit more tastefully executed, it would have
come off as a beautiful, empowering scene, and a highly memorable one
at that. However, rather than going for that particular emotional
impact, the camera lingers on the extremely violent act being
committed, without cutting away, to the point of being completely
over-the-top, snuffing out its emotional aspect and causing it to be
remembered as one of the most disgusting scenes in the movie, rather
than one of the most beautiful.

Overall, I would definitely say that I enjoyed Repo!, and I'm looking
forward to buying the soundtrack on September 30th. This movie is
something that needs to be experienced on the big screen.

For anyone concerned about contented-related issues (if you're
wondering if you should take your child, or if you have problems
watching certain film content), here's how I'd rate it:

Violence: 9/10 (not pervasive, but when it happens, it's very graphic)
Sex: 4/10 (some dialogue, situations, and mild nudity.. nothing to
write home about) Scares: 5/10 (some disturbing situations... but it's
mostly darkly humorous, rather than scary).

AMAZING.

I LOVE IT.

This movie is probably one of my favorite movies of all time. Thank God Alexa Vega came back out of her hiding to grace us with this movie..

amo a sarah brightman .

I love this movie. I won't pretend that my opinion matters but if you should give any movie a chance let it be this one. At the very least you'll get a few laughs. The music is catchy and the story is interesting not to mention the cast which (save for Paris Hilton) is quite good. For a Halloween alternative check this one out.

Movie is very good with very good music...sarah brightman is the best.

Awesomeness also!.

I love this movie!.

thank you very much.

I loved this film. The bleak atmosphere created a perfect setting to tell repo's story within the story. I would like to imagine what happens next, and yet, it doesn't really matter, the movie leaves you wanting more, not because something is missing, it is because you would like to watch more movies of the genre. Soundtrack: Perfection. Costumes: Creative !! Experience: Of a lifetime....

Best musical since Mullion Rouge! Every one who liked Rocky Horror will
love this movie. The ideas are all original and I haven't had so much
fun in a long time. The music is great, but this movie for some reason
did not make it to general theaters. I think this is a crime
considering all the crap Hollywood puts in there these days. I haven't
seen a movie I've enjoyed watching for a long time and would appreciate
this piece of art be available for everyone to enjoy. Sure it's not for
everyone, but neither is more than half the garbage that makes it's way
into the general theaters. Everyone should get their chance to see this
Opera!!!.