Dorkgasm Gonzo Is God

A Second Opinion
by
Kenneth Holm
Senior Staff Writer

            Now, I am fully aware that our erstwhile cub reporter J has already posted his review of Repo!: The Genetic Opera, but I will also chime in on this subject. See, I like J's review, and am happy that he had fun with it, even though I do think that the movie is much better than he gave it credit for. Let's look at this from the beginning...

            The film originally started out as a stage play called The Necromerchant's Debt and quickly expanded when Hollywood came a-calling in the form of Saw director Darren Lynn Bousman. So, because he directed the film, I am sure we all know what to expect. Grimy color schemes, grue of all types, and an appropriately gothic looking cast is par for the course. However, that is just the icing on the cake. The story of a doomed father and naive daughter is one that has been played out before, but this time it is pretty damn fun. Nathan Wallace, played masterfully by Anthony Stewart Head (Buffy The Vampire Slayer series), is a Repo Man. Repo Men (for the film does show that there are more than one... Sequel anyone?) work for GeneCo, a sprawling biotech business that has gotten into the reprehensible practice of renting organs to own. First it started from necessity, but soon vanity took hold and now the burgeoning empire is supplying cosmetic surgery to all... who can afford it. If you cannot pay, hey, no biggie! Make payments, but don't be slack with the due dates. If you miss one, the Repo Man will come and rip the still-functioning organ out of your living body. Fun, right?

            Anyhoo, predictably the Repo Man has a secret. His teenage daughter Shiloh (Alexa Vega of Spy Kids... fame?) does not know that he does these terrible things. Turns out, he only does them because his daughter is terribly ill and he is trying to keep her alive because she is all that he has left after his wife's terrible death. Now, Wallace works directly for the head of GeneCo, Rotti Largo (Paul Sorvino from damn near every movie who needs an Italian hardass). Rotti rules his empire with a golden fist, and his three children are always there to embarrass him. Luigi Largo (Bill Mosely of the upcoming Dead Air and every single Rob Zombie movie. Ever.) is the "brains" of the trio. He believes himself to be the smartest and toughest of the Largo spawn, but his fiery temper threatens to erupt at any time. That usually leads to someone dying. Paviche "Pavi" Largo (Nivek Orge of Skinny Puppy infamy) is the youngest and oddest of the siblings. He is truly a ladies man, whose face is pretty scarred up. He makes up for this by wearing the faces of dead women. Then, there's Amber Sweet. Amber is played by Paris Hilton, who plays completely against type as a ditzy multi-millionaire spoiled little bitch who thinks she can sing... Jeez, it is too easy sometimes. Anyhoo, Amber is addicted to surgery and has a bit of a drug problem. All of these four are constantly fighting over who is the next to take over the company.

            The plot goes in kind of a predictable direction, throwing co-creator Terrance Zdunich (playing The Graverobber, a kind of Greek Chorus /drug dealer/umm...graverobber) and opera singer Sarah Brightman (playing Blind Mag, a kind of creepy but hot opera singer. Also playing against type) into the mix. Truly, I love this movie. I got into it pretty early, getting the "Pre-Surgery Sampler" soundtrack that was released all the way back in July of 2008. When the soundtrack came out, I got it immediately and have been singing along to it until it finally hit DVD. When I watched it, I was slightly... Well, I didn't originally know how I thought about it. After about five more viewings (within a week), I decided that this was truly the Hot TopiGoth generation's Rocky Horror Picture Show. While RHPS is slightly more subtle and done with a wink and a nod to the sexuality, Repo! takes it that three crucial steps further, throwing blood, gore, nudity, fierce killings, dead people, and a surprise vocal performance from the long-missing Poe into the slop bucket.

            Then, there is the performances. All around, I have to disagree with J's assessment of the musical numbers. Anthony Stewart Head has proven himself a quite capable singer in the past (the Buffy musical episode "Once More With Feeling" and some work on James Marsters's CDs) and he continues to be exceptional in this movie. Also, who would have guessed that Paul Sorvino could not only sing, but sing awesomely? Sarah Brightman predictably does superbly, as does Zdunich in his narrative role. However, the best surprise performance-wise was the Largo siblings. Bill Mosely is so hilairously over-the-top as Luigi that it is impossible not to laugh during his and Pavi's performance of "Mark It Up". Paris Hilton also dies what she can to liven up the proceedings, and I think that industrial-punk should be the next CD that she puts out. Sure is a hell of a lot better than that "Stars Are Blind" crap.

            Overall, I cannot recommend this enough for everyone. If you like horror movies, watch it. If you like musicals, watch it. If you like boobies, watch it. Hell, if you like looking at movie corpses, watch it. Just give it a shot. I promise you that you might not be sorry. If you are, blame J. Yeah, that's the ticket.

Out of five: