The Film
Fact: any film which stars Paris Hilton should immediately be melted down and used for alternative sources of energy. However, it is also true that films with an exclamation point in their title tend to be fantastic. Consider the evidence: The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the Eighth Dimension!, Airplane!, GOAL! The Dream Begins, Mars Attacks! , Moulin Rouge!, Noises Off!, Oh God!, Saved!, That Thing You Do!, Them!, Top Secret! and finally Tora! Tora! Tora! - the greatest film of all time, for obvious reasons. (We won't talk about Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot - and neither should you). These two universal laws of cinema come to a crossroads in REPO! The Genetic Opera, a rock opera unlike anything you've seen before and starring, among others, Paris Hilton. (Thankfully, it's a small but fitting role).
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In the not-too-distant future, organ failure has become a worldwide epidemic. To the rescue comes evil corporation GeneCo. GeneCo offers replacement parts for the dying populace - at a price, of course. Organ recipients who miss a payment are subject to sudden, on-the-spot repossession from GeneCo's repo man, played by the great Anthony Stewart Head (Giles from TV's "Buffy the Vampire Slayer"). Head and Paul Sorvino (GeneCo's insidious CEO) are surprisingly adept singers but the real surprise is Alexa Vega, who you may recognize from Robert Rodriguez's
Spy Kids trilogy. Vega is easily the most compelling character on screen and she's the only one you'll want to see escape this hellish, gore-filled carnival ride.
The Picture
For a film with apparently very little budget, director Darren Lynn Bousman has crafted a movie that looks a lot better than it probably has the right to. Lionsgate presents the film on Blu-ray in a screen-filling 1.78:1 aspect ratio and it's a solid but hardly demo-worthy affair. The video appears to suffer from a vague softness (which may be intentional) but shadow detail holds up well and the film's opening comic book-style panels exhibit a bold and vibrant use of color. The film itself has a muted color palette but the resulting look is quite befitting the material.
The Sound
In case you thought the title was a joke, be sure to understand: this is an opera. Virtually every word in the film is sung and the soundtrack is laced with heavy, industrial-style rock music. In other words, La Bohème it's not. Lionsgate gives Blu-ray fans a treat with a lossless 7.1 DTS-HD Master Audio mix and it's rather good, provided you can handle the music. Vocals are crisp and clear and several songs get solid representation in the surround channels.
The Extras
For a film that seems destined for cult stature, it's odd that Lionsgate hasn't provided more bonus material on this release. For example, there is no digital copy of the film and there is no music-only option, something one might have expected on a film such as this. On the plus side, you do get several audio commentaries, some video sing-alongs, a poster gallery and a featurette entitled "From Stage to Screen" which chronicles the film's journey from stage… (wait for it) to screen.
Final Thoughts
Despite evoking memories of Rocky Horror, Moulin Rouge! and Sweeney Todd, Repo manages to create a unique, bizarre and twisted universe all its own. The film appears to have been created with the unabashed goal of becoming this generation's Rocky Horror Picture Show - and I wouldn't be surprised to see it become precisely that. Although it's unlikely I'll ever choose to watch it again, I'm glad I saw it for the film deserves to be seen at least once.
Lionsgate's Blu-ray gives Repo a solid stage on which to perform and fans of this cult classic in-waiting shouldn't hesitate to pick it up. For the curious and the uninitiated, a rent-before-you-buy strategy is definitely in order. Just remember that if you buy it on credit, be sure to keep up with your payments.
Where to Buy
Product Details
- Actors: Anthony Stewart Head, Alexa Vega, Sarah Brightman, Bill Moseley, Paul Sorvino
- Audio/Languages: English DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1
- Subtitles: English, Spanish
- Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
- Number of discs: 1
- Rating: R
- Studio: Lionsgate
- Blu-ray Disc Release Date: January 20, 2009
- Run Time: 97 minutes
- List Price: $39.99
- Extras:
- Multiple audio commentaries
- Video sing-alongs
- Featurette: "From Stage to Screen"
- Webisode featurettes
- Deleted scenes with optional commentary
- Theatrical trailer
- Poster gallery
