'Repo! The Genetic Opera'

Spoiler Alert: Do not read if you have not seen the movie!

First of all, I cannot believe I am just now hearing about this movie. It came out in 2008 and I only just watched it last week. (Yes, 2008 was actually a decade ago. Yes, it is weird for everybody.) If you have spent any time on musical.ly recently, you might have seen people do one called "Zydrate Anatomy". (“Zydrate come in a little glass vial…..”) This is the movie it is from. Apparently, this movie is a cult classic right up there with The Rocky Horror Picture Show. I believe it. It features a thrilling soundtrack, gory visuals, and plot twists along the way. I have seriously never heard of it. I may just be completely clueless, it wouldn’t be the first time, but I can’t be the only one right? (Cue crickets in the background.) I did, however, recognize some of the actors/actresses.

Anthony Head, who I know as Giles from Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Alexa Vega, who I grew up watching as Carmen Cortez in Spy Kids, and Paris Hilton. I pretty much only know Paris Hilton by name, but she played a very good Amber Sweet. Anthony Head plays Nathan Wallace, who plays a loving father on one hand and the cold-hearted Repo-Man on the other. (I think he has a pretty good voice too.) Alexa Vega plays Shilo Wallace, Nathan’s Daughter, who has never left her house due to a blood disease (which is later revealed to be false). Paris Hilton plays Amber, the daughter of Rotti Largo, CEO of Geneco. She is addicted to surgery and the anesthetic drug zydrate, which is extracted from the dead illegally by Graverobber. Graverobber is sort of the narrator to the story and is the first person Shilo meets on her expedition outside. Rotti’s other children, Pavi and Luigi, are no saints themselves. Luigi has a tendency to stab anyone who irks him, which is about every five minutes. Pavi has a scarred face, which he covers with other’s faces, usually a woman’s. He also seems to have a mirror permanently attached to his hand.

Rotti himself was engaged to Shilo’s mother, Marni, until she left him for Nathan Wallace. When she was pregnant with Shilo she became very ill, prompting Nathan, a doctor at the time, to make her a cure. Unbeknownst to him, Rotti had replaced it with poison, making him think he had accidentally killed his wife. Nathan was able to save Shilo by emergency C-section. This gave Rotti the leverage he needed to blackmail Nathan into becoming the Repo-Man.

Like any company, Geneco has a face and also a voice. Blind Mag was Marni’s best friend and later revealed to be Shilo’s Godmother. Before Marni left Rotti for Nathan, she convinced Rotti to give Mag surgery so that she could see. Geneco gave Mag electronic eyes that not only enabled her to see, but to project images. They were not for free and came at a high price indeed. Blind Mag was forever bound to serve Geneco, until Amber Sweet decided she wanted to be a star instead. After her last Genetic Opera, Mag was due to have her eyes repossessed. Instead, Mag gouged out her own eyes on stage, prompting Rotti to cut her wires, impaling her on a spiked fence.

Repo! The Genetic Opera is a dark, thrilling tale with catchy music to boot. (I still can’t get "Legal Assassin" out of my head.) Its dystopian setting and Gothic style costumes make for quite the show, as well as the storyline itself. It is dark, twisted, and artfully crafted. I can definitely see myself watching this movie again, and my favorite songs from the soundtrack have already become a permanent part of my playlist.