| Repo! The Genetic Opera | |
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Theatrical release poster |
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| Directed by | Darren Lynn Bousman |
| Produced by | Darren Lynn Bousman Mark Burg Oren Koules Peter Block Yoshiki Hayashi |
| Screenplay by | Terrance Zdunich Darren Smith |
| Based on | The Necromerchant's Debt by Terrance Zdunich and Darren Smith |
| Starring | Alexa Vega Paul Sorvino Anthony Head Sarah Brightman Paris Hilton Bill Moseley Nivek Ogre Terrance Zdunich |
| Music by | Terrance Zdunich Darren Smith |
| Cinematography | Joseph White |
| Editing by | Harvey Rosenstock |
| Studio | Twisted Pictures |
| Distributed by | Lionsgate |
| Release date(s) | November 7, 2008 |
| Running time | 97 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $8.5 million[1] |
| Box office | $188,126 |
Repo! The Genetic Opera is a 2008 horror-rock opera musical film directed by Darren Lynn Bousman. The film is based on a play written and composed by Darren Smith and Terrance Zdunich.
The film opened in a very limited release on November 7, 2008, on seven screens in Pasadena, Chicago, Mobile, Charlotte, Kansas City, Toronto and Ottawa.
The film took in an average of $3,250 per screen on its opening day. A 22-track soundtrack was released online on September 30, 2008, with an extended version containing 38 tracks released almost exclusively for download on February 20, 2009. The DVD and Blu-ray were released January 20, 2009.
To coincide with the film's release, Bousman, Smith and Zdunich, as well as various cast members, did a tour version of the film. Principal cast and crew also did extensive Q&A sessions following each screening. Because of strong ticket sales, a second and third touring session were added, in addition to a British tour across four locations. A Repo! Road Show was announced on January 28 in 10 cities. This show was similar to the Repo! Road Tour, except it was almost completely fan-run.
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Comic style panels explain how an epidemic of organ failures devastates mankind in the future. The multi-billion dollar biotech company GeneCo emerged as a result. It provided for-profit organ transplantation, in addition to financing options. GeneCo was able to even repossess defaulted organs. Clients who were behind on payments feared the "organ repo men", contracted by GeneCo to recover GeneCo's property by any means necessary.
The president of GeneCo, Rottissimo "Rotti" Largo (Paul Sorvino), is dying. Meanwhile, Shilo Wallace (Alexa Vega), a 17 year-old, believes she inherited a rare blood disease from her deceased mother. She visits her mother's tomb and runs into GraveRobber (Terrance Zdunich), who is digging up bodies. They flee from GenCops and enter a massive graveyard. After passing out, Shilo wakes up to find her overprotective father, Nathan Wallace (Anthony Head), watching her. He has kept her locked away for 17 years, supposedly because of her disease. Shilo is bitter towards her mother, Marni (Sarah Power), for giving her the genetic disease. Nathan prepares for work as the head Repo Man for GeneCo. Previously a surgeon, Nathan was forced by Rotti into becoming a Repo Man. Marni had left Rotti for Nathan, so Rotti killed Marni and convinced Nathan that he was responsible for her death. Rotti promised to keep it secret if Nathan went to work for GeneCo.
Rotti's children, Luigi (Bill Moseley), Pavi (Nivek Ogre) and Carmela "Amber Sweet" Largo (Paris Hilton), meet at a GeneCo warehouse. Luigi and Pavi bicker over who will inherit GeneCo. Nathan, meanwhile, repossesses an intestine. The two siblings irritate Blind Mag (Sarah Brightman), a famous pop-opera singer who works for GeneCo. Amber joins in and taunts Mag about being her replacement. Rotti then introduces Mag to Shilo, who Mag thought had died at birth.
Nathan, while repossessing a spine, calls Shilo, who is under guard by Rotti's henchgirls. GraveRobber then helps Shilo escape. Rotti announces that Blind Mag will be performing her final song. GraveRobber explains Zydrate, which is harvested from the brains of corpses. Those who are addicted to surgery, including Amber, need Zydrate to ease the pain. Amber arrives and gets a shot of the drug, explaining that she will be replacing Blind Mag after Mag's eyes are repossessed after her final song. GenCops arrive and everyone scrambles to escape, except for Amber and her two valets, who hold her up as she passes out. Nathan delivers the repossessed spine to Rotti, who gives Nathan his next target: Blind Mag. However, Nathan refuses. Rotti, Pavi and Luigi follow Nathan as he kills another victim, trying to guilt Nathan into repossessing Blind Mag's eyes.
Later, Rotti sends his henchgirls with Blind Mag to Shilo's house. Mag reveals that she is Shilo's godmother and that she and Marni were good friends, prior to Marni's death. Blind Mag tries to convince Shilo to come to the Genetic Opera, while also warning Shilo to be careful with GeneCo. Nathan arrives and kicks Mag out after she scolds him for keeping Shilo from her. After Shilo says that Repo Men will take Mag's eyes, Nathan insists there are no such people. When she resists, he asks what a 17 year old could possibly do.
Back at GeneCo, Amber complains to Rotti that her latest surgery ruined her face. Rotti told her not to get so many surgeries, but he eventually says that he will take care of it. After she leaves, Rotti signs his will, which shows Shilo as his sole benefactor. Nathan finds the GenCops searching his basement. They are there to find the "rogue Repo Man". Nathan finds Shilo left and the GenCops stole Marni's body. The next scene shows Nathan, Shilo, Mag, Amber Sweet, GraveRobber, Rotti, Luigi and Pavi getting ready for the Genetic Opera.
Everyone arrives at the Opera, where the performance begins. Amber takes the stage for her premier, but her solo is cut short when she trips and her face falls off. Mag sings her final song, ending it with a final act of defiance by gouging out her eyes, stating that she'd rather be blind. Rotti cuts the cords suspending Mag, dropping and impaling her on a fence. Rotti insists that Mag's death is part of the performance and convinces the audience to stay by saying that he will cure Shilo's illness.
Shilo attacks Nathan in his Repo Man gear, hitting him in the head with a shovel. She then realizes that the Repo Man is her father. Rotti then reveals that Nathan has been making Shilo sick by giving her poison. Nathan explains that he was trying to protect her from the terrible world. Rotti tells Shilo that if she kills her father, she will inherit GeneCo. When she refuses, Rotti uses the last of his strength to shoot Nathan. Rotti then dies on-stage from his disease. Shilo and Nathan say goodbye before Nathan dies. Shilo leaves, free from her genetic destiny.
The following day, GraveRobber reads about the events at the Opera the previous night and reveals that Shilo has disappeared, leaving GeneCo with no legal heir. A scene during the credits reveals that Amber has taken over GeneCo as its new ruler.
Repo! The Genetic Opera holds the record for the most songs ever composed into one film, with a total of 64. This is the official list of all the songs in the film. Some were cut from the final edit of the film.
Joan Jett appears as a guitarist and Melora Creager of Rasputina plays cello on the soundtrack. A 7-track demo CD, dubbed the "Pre-Surgery Sampler", was released on July 24, 2008. A 22-track soundtrack was released on September 30. Songs do not appear in the same sequence on the CD as they do in the film. On February 20, 2009, an extended edition of the soundtrack was released online. The "Deluxe Edition" contains 38 tracks and the song "Zydrate Anatomy" was re-cut and used in its film version for this edition.
In the film, the following songs are performed: (* = instrumental)
Bits and pieces of some of these songs were used in the film. Most of the songs' scenes were entirely cut (*).
In 1996, Darren Smith had a friend who was going through bankruptcy and whose possessions were going into foreclosure. Inspired by this, Smith came up with the idea of a future where not only your property could be repossessed, but also your body parts. Smith and Terrance Zdunich collaborated ideas and plot lines to create "The Necromerchant's Debt".[2]
The first version of Repo! was The Necromerchant's Debt, which told the story of a graverobber in debt to a Repo Organ Man. It was first performed at the John Raitt theater. After being such a success, creators Smith and Zdunich expanded on the universe to create all of the storylines that became Repo! The Genetic Opera.
Many changes were made, gradually, to the characters and music. For example, Rotti, in the earliest performances, was not the father to Luigi, Pavi, and Amber. Instead, he was a younger brother to Luigi and Pavi,[3] while Amber was Luigi's daughter.[4]
Lyrics were adjusted to new arcs, and some songs were dropped altogether, for example, "But This Is Opera!", which was cut out in an effort to change the direction of Blind Mag's character. After years of being performed as a stage play, Repo! was adapted into a 10-minute short film directed and financed by Darren Lynn Bousman to pitch the idea to film companies. The film starred Shawnee Smith (Amanda Young in the Saw films) as Amber Sweet (then named "Heather Sweet"), Michael Rooker (Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer) as the Repo Man, Kristen Fairlie as Shilo Wallace, Terrance Zdunich as GraveRobber, and J. Larose as Pavi Largo.
Once Repo! was picked up by Lionsgate, shooting began on September 2007 in Canada.[5] The film was scheduled to be released on April 25, 2008, but was pushed back to November 7. X Japan member Yoshiki Hayashi produced the soundtrack, along with composing one extra track for the film. He also serves as one of the film's producers.[6] Paul Masse was the cast's vocal coach for the film's soundtrack.
Due to Lionsgate's lack of promotion, director Bousman and creator Zdunich did much of their own promotion.
A "Repo! Road Tour" was later set up for one-night screenings of the film in seven different cities across the United States[7] and was so successful that it was followed by a second and later third Repo Road Tour all of which were attended by a member of the cast. A UK road tour later went on in March.
The film received a limited release in the United States and Canada on November 7, 2008.[8] It had a further limited Canadian release, playing in Toronto from November 21 to November 27, 2008. It was released in the Czech Republic on November 20, 2008, this was followed by a theatrical release in Spain on January 2, 2009.[9] In December 2008, several more US theatrical screenings were announced running between 13–24 January 2009 in several cities[10] The Repo! Road Tour made its 4th and final leg (thus far) in Europe from March 7–12, 2009.
Even after the initial theatrical release and DVD sales, fan support has caused Repo! The Genetic Opera to be played in select theaters for the duration of 2009 and well into 2011, some with "shadowcasts" in which a group of actors and performers re-enact the film in front of the big screen while the film is playing on stage.[11] It was re-released in a special screening at the 2010 San Diego Comic-Con International.[12]
On March 4, 2008, there was a test screening, with many critics and crew in attendance. The reviews written from the screening were all extremely positive. However, the film they saw was not the fully completed version. Some noted that the sound mixing was not finished.[13][14][15] The director finished the final touches on the film as of March 31, 2008. The Fantasia Film Festival, held in Montreal, Quebec on July 18, 2008, had the first official fully edited screening of Repo! the Genetic Opera. The show was sold out and the film won the "Fantasia Ground-Breaker Award". The Fantasy Filmfest, held in different towns of Germany (August 2008), showed a very positive review to Repo!.
Reviews of Repo! appearing in major news outlets like The New York Times and The Los Angeles Times were all extremely negative.[16][17]
The film review aggregating website Rotten Tomatoes reports generally negative reviews, with only 33% of reviews being positive. The consensus of the film given is: "Bombastic and intentionally gross, Repo! The Genetic Opera has a unique style, but lacks the wit and substance to be involving."[18]
Horror.com called it "a spirited, absorbing, astounding, thought provoking futuristic fulsome fable". Bloody Disgusting website wrote that it was "fresh, unique and exciting…remarkable". This was followed by horror network FEARnet who branded it "an instant cult classic" and "absolutely mind-blowing on a visionary level" according to Canada's Horror-movies.ca.[19]
Even before its release, Repo! had gained a cult film following.[20][21]
Hilton's performance as Amber won her the Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Supporting Actress. This was despite her performance being praised as "subtle" by some critics, with director Darren Lynn Bousman himself describing Hilton as "pitch-perfect" and "awesome".[22] At the same time, Hilton won the Worst Actress for The Hottie and the Nottie.
The film was released January 20, 2009 on DVD and Blu-ray in the US.[23] In Canada, the DVD was released on January 20, 2009 and the Blu-ray was released February 10, 2009. It was released on DVD and Blu-ray in the UK on March 9, 2009. It was released in Ireland on March 6, 2009. The DVD was released in Germany on April 14.[9]
The US DVD release contains two audio commentaries (one by Bousman and actors Vega, Moseley, and Ogre; the other by Bousman, creators Darren Smith and Terrance Zdunich, and music producer Joseph Bishara), two featurettes (From Stage to Screen and Legal Assassin - A Repo Man), and the theatrical trailer.
The Blu-ray contains all the DVD features including a select scene audio commentary by the director and Paris Hilton, 2 more featurettes (Zydrate Anatomy - Amber Sweet: Addicted to the Knife and Chase the Morning - Blind Mag: The Voice of GeneCo), a video sing-along with bouncing heart, four deleted scenes (Needle Through a Bug, Buon Girono, Extended Version of Shilo and Graverobber Escape and Come Up and Try My New Parts), and the theatrical trailer.
The Original Motion Picture Soundtrack was released September 30, 2008 and only available through Amazon.com and iTunes.
In regards to the possibility of a sequel, Alexa Vega has been quoted as saying: "From the very, very beginning, we always talked about a prequel or a sequel to this film. And it's hard, because as of right now, we all want to do it, but, you know, it didn't really do as we hoped. We didn't really have a lot of support. But we're hoping that the fans will come back, and it will be an underground cult classic that will grow, and that will eventually spark us to do another."[24]
Bousman has also indicated interest, stating; "I would love to follow up Repo and finish the story, because it was conceived as a three-part movie. But this movie is all about support from the internet, and support from fans. This is not a movie where you'll see billboards or bus stop ads or trailers on TV."
It is also expected that Hilton would return in her role as Amber Sweet.[25]
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