The goal that the producers of Repo the Genetic Opera claim to have is to create a new rock opera cult hit on the order of Rocky Horror Picture Show.
As far as creating a rock opera masterpiece, they were absolutely successful. The music blew me away, and considering the number of wonderful musical artists involved, I really shouldn’t be surprised.
The story and setting itself is an interesting mix of dystopian post-apocalyptic horror and science fiction that, in light of the current controversy over health-care and the business end of it, actually provides a great deal of food for thought. I’m not sure the writers realized, upon setting on the idea, just how much it would fit the feel of the current times.
As horrific as the basic premise of the movie is, it doesn’t seem all that far-fetched, these days.
Anthony Head is phenomenal in his dual, almost bipolar, role as both the unassuming doctor Nathan and the sinister, murderous “Legal Assassin” Repo Man. His voice, expressions, and entire demeanor and way of moving change, sometimes from line to line, according to which character he’s channelling. Even Paris Hilton surprised me at how well she portrayed the rather fitting role of an heiress addicted to plastic surgery (and the pain medication to facilitate it).
This is a wonderful rock opera (and operatic it is, complete with its three acts), but I’m not sure how well or how successfully it will compete with RHPS. I don’t see the same potential for audience participation or even shadow cast adaptation (as there has been for Dr. Horrible and even “Once More with Feeling” – the BtVS musical episode). I just do not see people getting up in the aisles and dancing at showings, or shouting call-backs to the screen (and shadow-cast). There doesn’t seem to be anything like the same potential for that sort of involvement from the audience with this movie, and audience participation is one of the things that makes RHPS so wonderfully fun, and a classic cult hit that endures more than thirty years after its making.
Geekery, Movies Anthony Head, Art, Cult Films, Horror, Midnight Movie, Movies, Paris Hilton, Repo the Genetic Opera, Reviews, Rocky Horror Picture Show, Science Fiction
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