Spring Break
Film blends music and excessive gore
CAMERON HUBBARD
Issue date: 1/9/09 Section: Variety
If the films in the Saw series were scattered with song-and-dance numbers, it might feel a little like Repo! The Genetic Opera, which opens tonight at Ciné.
In fact, Darren Lynn Bousman, the director behind Saw II, III and IV, did take the helm in Repo!. His penchant for gore is well-placed - trailers for Repo! appear even bloodier than last winter's other slasher-musical hybrid Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street.
Repo! takes place in a dark, futuristic world plagued by organ failures. Biotech company GENECO comes to the rescue, offering organ transplants that can be paid off.
If, however, a recipient misses a payment, the repo man comes for a visit just as he might with any other sort of unpaid debt.
Unfortunately for the late debtor, though, GENECO's repo man isn't claiming '97 Toyota Corollas in the middle of the night.
Instead, he's there to take back those precious organs.
The Repo! cast features some not-so-surprising appointments. Anthony Stewart Head (Buffy the Vampire Slayer's Giles) plays Nathan Wallace, the titular Repo Man. Nivek Ogre, vocalist for industrial band Skinny Puppy, also makes the cast list.
In a more shocking turn, Paris Hilton plays drug-addicted Amber Sweet. Yes, the aural criminal who brought us "Stars are Blind" sings in a gothic rock opera, though she puts on a deeper voice for the role.
Of course, Hilton's vocals pale in comparison to those of Sarah Brightman, a legitimate soprano who plays singer Blind Mag. The music itself is over-the-top industrial rock.
In fact, from all outward appearances, Repo! The Genetic Opera seems to match its soundtrack: dark, industrial and, for better or worse, perhaps a bit overblown.
Still, other films of this genre continue to succeed as cult classics. One need only look to the enduring popularity of midnight showings of The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Perhaps Repo!, which seems to market itself as a Rocky Horror-style flick, will find the same lasting success.
In fact, Darren Lynn Bousman, the director behind Saw II, III and IV, did take the helm in Repo!. His penchant for gore is well-placed - trailers for Repo! appear even bloodier than last winter's other slasher-musical hybrid Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street.
Repo! takes place in a dark, futuristic world plagued by organ failures. Biotech company GENECO comes to the rescue, offering organ transplants that can be paid off.
If, however, a recipient misses a payment, the repo man comes for a visit just as he might with any other sort of unpaid debt.
Unfortunately for the late debtor, though, GENECO's repo man isn't claiming '97 Toyota Corollas in the middle of the night.
Instead, he's there to take back those precious organs.
The Repo! cast features some not-so-surprising appointments. Anthony Stewart Head (Buffy the Vampire Slayer's Giles) plays Nathan Wallace, the titular Repo Man. Nivek Ogre, vocalist for industrial band Skinny Puppy, also makes the cast list.
In a more shocking turn, Paris Hilton plays drug-addicted Amber Sweet. Yes, the aural criminal who brought us "Stars are Blind" sings in a gothic rock opera, though she puts on a deeper voice for the role.
Of course, Hilton's vocals pale in comparison to those of Sarah Brightman, a legitimate soprano who plays singer Blind Mag. The music itself is over-the-top industrial rock.
In fact, from all outward appearances, Repo! The Genetic Opera seems to match its soundtrack: dark, industrial and, for better or worse, perhaps a bit overblown.
Still, other films of this genre continue to succeed as cult classics. One need only look to the enduring popularity of midnight showings of The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Perhaps Repo!, which seems to market itself as a Rocky Horror-style flick, will find the same lasting success.
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