Repo! The Genetic Opera

Repo! The Genetic Opera
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Darren Lynn Bousman
Written by	Darren Smith Terrance Zdunich
Produced by	Darren Lynn Bousman Mark Burg Oren Koules Peter Block Yoshiki Hayashi
Starring	Alexa Vega Paul Sorvino Anthony Stewart Head Sarah Brightman Paris Hilton Bill Moseley Ogre Terrance Zdunich
Cinematography	Joseph White
Edited by	Harvey Rosenstock
Music by	Darren Smith Terrance Zdunich
Production company	Twisted Pictures
Distributed by	Lionsgate
Release date	November 7, 2008 (2008-11-07)
Running time	97 minutes
Country	Template:Film US
Language	English
Budget	$8.5 million
Box office	$188,127

Repo! The Genetic Opera is a 2008 horror-rock opera musical 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 (November 21–27) and Ottawa.

The film took in $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 touring 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.

Plot

The film opens with a series of comic-book panels that explain how an epidemic of organ failures devastated the planet in the future ("Depraved Heart Murder at Sanitarium Square"). Out of the tragedy, GeneCo, a multi-billion dollar biotech company, emerged. GeneCo provides organ transplantation for profits. In addition to financing options, GeneCo reserves the right to implement default remedies, including repossession. Clients who cannot keep up with their payments live in fear of "organ repo men", skilled assassins contracted by GeneCo to recover GeneCo's property by any means necessary. One such Repo Man stalks and kills a client whose heart is then repossessed ("Genetic Repo Man").

The president of GeneCo, Rotti Largo (Paul Sorvino), learns that he is dying. Meanwhile, Shilo Wallace (Alexa Vega), a 17 year-old girl who believes she inherited a rare blood disease from her deceased mother, sneaks through underground tunnels to visit her mother's mausoleum ("Things You See in a Graveyard (Part One)"). Shilo follows a bug out of the mausoleum and runs into GraveRobber (Terrance Zdunich), who is digging underground. They flee from GenCops and enter a massive underground graveyard ("21st Century Cure").

After passing out from blood-pressure problems, Shilo wakes up ("Shilo Wakes") to her overprotective father, Nathan Wallace (Anthony Head). He has kept her locked in their house for 17 years, supposedly because of her disease. Shilo is bitter towards her deceased mother, Marni (Sarah Power), for giving her this disease ("Infected"). Nathan, upset, prepares for work as the head Repo Man for GeneCo ("Legal Assassin"). He takes great pride in his work, but knows that he can never reveal it to Shilo for fear of breaking her trust. Previously a surgeon who saved lives, Nathan was forced to become a Repo Man by Rotti. When Marni left Rotti for Nathan, Rotti secretly killed Marni and convinced Nathan that he was responsible for Marni's death. Rotti promised not to tell the police or harm Shilo if Nathan went to work for GeneCo.

Rotti's children, Luigi (Bill Moseley), Pavi (Ogre), and Carmelo "Amber Sweet" Largo (Paris Hilton), meet at a GeneCo warehouse for inventory. Luigi and Pavi bicker over who will inherit GeneCo after Rotti dies ("Mark It Up"). Rotti, however, takes an interest in Shilo ("Things You See in a Graveyard (Part Two)"), whom he invites to GeneCo's Genetic Opera ("Limo Ride"). Nathan, meanwhile, repossesses an intestine and uses the victim as a puppet ("Thankless Job").

Luigi kills two of his subordinates ("Largo's Little Helpers"), while Genterns successfully attach a new face to Pavi ("Genterns"). The two siblings irritate Blind Mag (Sarah Brightman), a famous pop-opera singer who sings for GeneCo. When she tells them to behave, they argue back. Amber joins in and harasses Mag about being her replacement ("Luigi, Pavi, Amber Harass Mag"). Rotti then introduces Mag to Shilo ("Seeing You Stirs Memories"), who Mag thought had died at birth.

Nathan, while repossessing a spine, calls Shilo, who is at Sanitarium Square being guarded by Rotti's henchgirls while Rotti is busy ("Inopportune Telephone Call"). GraveRobber arrives and helps Shilo escape from the henchgirls ("GraveRobber and Shilo Escape"). Rotti, meanwhile, announces that Blind Mag will be performing her final song. He also announces that his daughter, Amber, will be the spokesperson for the newly revealed Zydrate Support Network, a rehabilitation center for those addicted to the powerful painkiller Zydrate ("Zydrate Support Network").

Shilo watches as 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, which she got from GeneCo, are repossessed after her final song ("Zydrate Anatomy"). GenCops arrive and everyone scrambles to escape, except for Amber and her two valets, who hold her up as she passes out in a drug-induced haze.

Nathan delivers the repossessed spine to Rotti, who gives Nathan his next target: Blind Mag. Nathan refuses ("Who Ordered Pizza?"). Rotti, Pavi, and Luigi follow Nathan as he kills another victim, trying to guilt Nathan into repossessing Blind Mag's eyes ("Night Surgeon"). He still refuses.

Later, Rotti sends his henchgirls to accompany Blind Mag to Shilo's house. Blind Mag reveals to Shilo that she is Shilo's godmother, having been good friends with Marni before she died. Blind Mag was sent by Rotti to convince Shilo to come to tonight's Genetic Opera. However, Mag also warns Shilo about GeneCo ("Chase the Morning"). Nathan arrives and argues with Blind Mag before kicking her out ("Come Back!"). After Shilo tells her dad that a Repo Man will take Blind Mag's eyes, Nathan insists there are no such things as Repo Men. When she argues, he asks what she, a 17 year old, could possibly do ("What Chance Has a 17 Year Old Girl?"). Shilo retorts that being seventeen is better than being forty ("Seventeen").

Amber, meanwhile, complains to Rotti that her latest surgery was botched, ruining her face. Rotti says he told her not to get so many surgeries, but he eventually tells her that he will take care of it ("Happiness is Not a Warm Scalpel"). After she leaves, Rotti signs his will, which shows Shilo as his sole benefactor.

Nathan discovers GenCops in his basement. Their mission is to find the "rogue Repo Man" ("Nathan Discovers Rotti's Plan"). Nathan realizes that Shilo is gone and that the GenCops have stolen Marni's body from the basement ("Tonight We Are Betrayed").

Everyone prepares for the Genetic Opera ("At the Opera Tonight"). GraveRobber suggests there will be a bloodbath at the show and that whoever survives it will inherit GeneCo ("Bloodbath!").

The stories intertwine as everyone arrives at the GeneCo Genetic Opera, where the performance begins ("We Started This Op'ra Shit!"). Amber takes the stage for her premier as a singer, but her solo song is cut short when she trips and her face falls off ("Blame Not My Cheeks"). Mag sings her final song, ending it by gouging out her eyes, stating that she'd rather be blind ("Chromaggia"). Rotti draws a sword and cuts the cords suspending Mag in the air, dropping and impaling her on a fence ("Mag's Fall"). 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 ("Pièce De Résistance").

Shilo attacks Nathan in his Repo Man gear, hitting him in the head with a shovel, as Rotti instructed her to do. She realizes that the Repo Man is her father ("Let the Monster Rise"). Rotti then reveals that Nathan has been making Shilo sick by giving her poisonous "medication" ("The Man Who Made You Sick"). Nathan explains that he was only doing so to keep her from the world, which he knew to be a terrible place. Rotti tells Shilo that if she kills her father, she will inherit GeneCo ("Cut the Ties"). When she refuses, Rotti uses the last of his strength to shoot Nathan ("Shilo Turns Against Rotti"). Rotti then dies on-stage from his disease. Shilo and Nathan say goodbye to each other before Nathan dies from his wound ("I Didn't Know I'd Love You So Much"). Shilo leaves, free from her genetic destiny ("Genetic Emancipation").

The following day, GraveRobber reads about Shilo turning down the GeneCo inheritance ("Epitaph"). Amber takes control of GeneCo and auctions off the face that fell off to her brother Pavi.

Cast

Main characters

• Alexa Vega as Shilo Wallace: A 17-year-old girl confined to her room her entire life due to what she believes is blood disorder she inherited from her mother. In reality, she is being imprisoned by her father, who cannot bear the thought of her leaving him and sees himself as protecting her. Her father gives her "medication" every day to throw off her blood pressure and cause hair loss, making it appear that she has the symptoms of the blood disorder he told her she has. She is the film's primary protagonist who dreams of existing in the world outside of her bedroom, which she considers her prison.
• Paul Sorvino as Rottissimo "Rotti" Largo: The ailing GeneCo president, looking for a worthy heir. He sees his own children as "vultures" and "ingrates", and is bitter towards Nathan for stealing Marni, an ex-love, from him. He is the one who poisoned and killed Marni, in a jealous rage. Rotti Largo is unaware of Shilo's existence at the start of the film, even though there is implication that he is her biological father, and then comes to love her as she reminds him of his lost love Marni, her mother.
• Anthony Stewart Head as Nathan Wallace: Shilo's father and a widower, having lost his wife Marni, a death for which he blames himself. Nathan , a doctor, believes he accidentally poisoned Marni, causing her death. Rotti Largo, the real murderer, blackmails Nathan and has him sign a contract to become the head Repo Man. Nathan often laments his late night duties, but a seeming multiple personality tends to take him over, leaving him a vicious killing machine as opposed to the kind-hearted, torn father.
• Sarah Brightman as Magdalene "Blind Mag" Defoe: Born blind, Mag is given the ability to see by signing her life away in a contract to sing for GeneCo Genetic Opera. After 17 years as Geno-Co's property, she is marked for repossession and is set to deliver her final performance for the company. She is Shilo's godmother and was best friends with Marni, when hearing of Rotti's decision to provide Shilo with a cure for her "blood disease" she risks enraging Nathan and Rotti by coming to Shilo's house and warning her not to make the same mistakes she did by taking Rotti's cure. And only to be tricked in the end.
• Paris Hilton as Carmela Largo/Amber Sweet: Rotti's surgery and Zydrate-addicted daughter and Mag's rival. She obtains Zydrate illegally from GraveRobber, with whom it is suspected she has a relationship. Ironically she is also the face of the Zydrate support network. Her name change is addressed in the song Happiness Is Not a Warm Scalpel, where Rotti states, "I did not complain when you changed your name from Largo to Sweet." and Amber replies, "I need a stage name!" In an interview. Amber Sweet is extremely jealous of Blind Mag's singing abilities and popularity, she shows joy in learning that Mag's eyes are going to be repossessed. Director Darren Lynn Bousman revealed that he had originally refused to audition Paris for the role of Amber Sweet. "I broke down," says Bousman, "and I met with her, and immediately she charmed everyone in the room." In the same interview, Bousman also revealed that Hilton had the script smuggled to her during her much publicized stint in a Los Angeles jail, and used her time inside to work on her role. Her audition left the crew speechless and they later said after hearing her sing the lines there was no one else they could cast.
• Bill Moseley as Luigi Largo: Rotti's eldest son, an abusive homicidal sociopath. He wields a knife at all times and is usually wearing an ascot. He will stab someone for something as little as getting his shirt messy or getting him the wrong coffee. So far the only things that are known to cheer him up are popcorn, and killing. He has a habit of often ripping open his shirt to change into a new one after repeatedly getting his shirt bloodied up, a trait costume designer Alex Kavanaugh attributed to Obsessive Compulsive Disorder.
• Nivek Ogre as Pavichi "Pavi" Largo: Rotti's youngest son, vacuous, effeminate and narcissistic. He wears a deceased woman's skinned face as a mask to cover his own face, which is horrendously scarred. he attaches it with a metal bic lighter safety which enables him to change faces on a whim. He is shown to be quite charismatic and somewhat of a lady-killer (both metaphorically and literally).
• Terrance Zdunich as GraveRobber: A Zydrate peddler, getting a street-grade unprocessed drug from dead bodies, with connections to Amber Sweet, sexually and as a dealer. Mysterious and darkly charismatic, he acts as the narrator of the post-apocalyptic world, and becomes Shilo's guide as she ventures outside of her room for the first time.

Minor characters

• Sarah Power (Nancy Long, singing) as Marni Wallace: Marni is Shilo's dead mother and Nathan's late wife. Her best friend was Mag, and she was fatally poisoned by an enraged Rotti, to whom she was engaged before breaking off the engagement and eloping with Nathan. She is referenced often throughout the film and her pictures appear in every room of the Wallace house, causing Mag to remark "You've turned this house into a tomb" to Nathan during the song Everyone's a Composer.
• Jake Reardon (Poe, singing) as Single mother: Single mother, actual name unknown, is a GeneCo model who had originally came in for a kidney transplant, but ended up getting full-body surgery. She acts as a poser girl for GenoCo's advertisements alongside Blind Mag.
• J. Larose as Vanity & Vein news reporter Larose had previously worked with director Bousman in Saw III, as Troy.
• Darren Smith as GeneCo's Band Leader: The band leader is easily excitable and very hyper, to the point where he is rendered short of breath. He begins the Genetic Opera.
• Hazel Gorin as DJ Granny: The elderly DJ of the Genetic Opera.
• Alisa Burket and Andreja Punkris as Henchgirls: Rotti's personal bodyguards. Silent and deadly assassins. Alisa provided backup female vocals for most of the soundtrack.
• Al Maini as Doctor: Rotti's nervous, trembling doctor who gives Rotti the news of his health and is then killed by the henchgirls.

Cameos

• Joan Jett as Herself/Guitarist: The guitarist during the song "Seventeen".
• Athena Karkanis as Jessica Adams: A repo victim who got a heart transplant, but she couldn't pay her debt, so the repo man came for her. Karkanis had previously worked with Bousman in Saw IV as Agent Lyndsey Perez.

Musical numbers

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 have been cut from the film (e.g. "Come Up and Try My New Parts", "Can't Get It Up if the Girl's Breathing", and "Needle Through a Bug.").

Joan Jett appears in "Seventeen", 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.

Song listing

In the film, the following songs are performed: (* = instrumental)

1. "Depraved Heart Murder at Sanitarium Square"*
2. "Genetic Repo Man" - GraveRobber and chorus
3. "Crucifixus"*
4. "The Prognosis"*
5. "Things You See in a Graveyard (Part 1)" - Rotti and Mourners
6. "21st Century Cure" - GraveRobber, Gentern on air-raid siren, and Shilo (Shilo's part is only in the film)
7. "Shilo Wakes" - Nathan and Shilo
8. "Infected" - Shilo
9. "Nathan's Story"*
10. "Legal Assassin" - Nathan, Marni, and Ghostly whispers
11. "Lungs and Livers" - GeneCo Chorus
12. "Mark It Up" - Genterns, Amber, Luigi, and Pavi
13. "Tao of Mag (Part 1)" - Mag and Chinese chorus
14. "Rotti's Story"*
15. "Things You See in a Graveyard (Part 2)" -Rotti
16. "Limo Ride" - Rotti and Shilo
17. "Thankless Job" - Nathan and Repo victim
18. "A Ventriloquist's Mess"*
19. "Tao of Mag (Part 2)" - Mag and Chinese chorus
20. "No Organs? No Problemo!" - GeneCo chorus
21. "Largo's Little Helpers" - Child chorus
22. "Genterns" - Genterns and Pavi
23. "Luigi, Pavi, Amber Harass Mag" - Luigi, Fair patron, Gofers, Mag, Amber, Pavi, and Rotti
24. "Seeing You Stirs Memories (Part 1)" - Rotti
25. "Blind Mag's Story"*
26. "Seeing You Stirs Memories (Part 2)" - Rotti and Mag
27. "My, What Big Scissors You Have" - Announcers and Shilo
28. "Housecall" - Rotti (spoken)
29. "Inopportune Telephone Call" - Nathan and Shilo
30. "Before the Escape"*
31. "GraveRobber and Shilo Escape" - GraveRobber and Shilo
32. "Zydrate Support Network" - News reporter and Rotti
33. "Worthy Heirs?"*
34. "Zydrate Anatomy" - Zydrate addicts, GraveRobber, Shilo, Amber, and Genterns
35. "Disposal Crew" - Disposal crew
36. "A Dump Truck Home"*
37. "Who Ordered Pizza?" - Luigi, Pavi, Nathan, Rotti, and Amber
38. "Night Surgeon" - Nathan, Rotti, Henchgirls, Luigi, Pavi, and Genterns
39. "The Visitor"*
40. "Chase the Morning" - Mag, Shilo, and Marni
41. "Everyone's a Composer" - Mag, Nathan, and Shilo
42. "Come Back!" - Nathan and Shilo
43. "What Chance Has a 17 Year Old Girl" - Nathan and Shilo
44. "Seventeen" - Shilo and Chorus
45. "Pre-Happiness"*
46. "Happiness is Not a Warm Scalpel" - Amber and Rotti
47. "Gold" - Rotti
48. "Nathan Discovers Rotti's Plan" - Nathan and Shilo
49. "Tonight We Are Betrayed" - Nathan
50. "At the Opera Tonight" - Shilo, Mag, Nathan, Amber, GraveRobber, Rotti, Luigi, Pavi, and chorus
51. "Bloodbath!" - GraveRobber
52. "Not Your Parents' Opera"*
53. "We Started This Op'ra Shit!" - Band leader, Genterns, Luigi, Pavi, Single mother, Rotti, Opera audience, and GeneCo chorus
54. "Interrogation Room Challenge" - Rotti
55. "Blame Not My Cheeks" - Announcer, Amber, Eunuch valets, and GeneCo chorus
56. "Chromaggia" - Mag
57. "Mag's Fall"*
58. "Pièce De Résistance" - Rotti
59. "Let the Monster Rise" - Nathan and Shilo
60. "A Ten Second Opera"*
61. "Sawman's Lament" - Rotti, Luigi, Pavi, Shilo, Nathan, and Opera audience
62. "The Man Who Made You Sick" - Rotti, Shilo, and Nathan (connected with "Sawman's Lament")
63. "Cut the Ties" - Rotti, Luigi, Shilo, and Pavi
64. "Shilo Turns Against Rotti" - Shilo, Rotti, and Nathan (connected to "Cut the Ties")
65. "The King is Dead" - Rotti (spoken)
66. "I Didn't Know I'd Love You So Much" - Shilo and Nathan
67. "Genetic Emancipation" - Shilo and chorus
68. "Epitaph" - GraveRobber and Zydrate addicts
69. "VUK-R" - Katie Fitzgerald (end credits)
70. "Repo Man" - Pavi (end credits)
71. "Needle Through a Bug" - GraveRobber, Shilo, and Chorus (deleted scene, end credits)
72. "Bravi!" - Mag, Luigi, Pavi, Rotti, Amber, and Genterns (deleted scene, end credits)
73. "Aching Hour" - Mag (end credits)

Cut songs

Bits and pieces of some of these songs were used in the film. Most of the songs' scenes were entirely cut (*).

1. "Crucifixus" - Mag and Ghostly Whispers (used as the screen closes in to GeneCo; instrumental version used in film)
2. "Bravi!"* - Mag, Pavi, Luigi, Rotti, and Amber (end credits, a commercial that would have been used before "Mark It Up"; heard briefly between "Infected" and Nathan's Story)
3. "Tao of Mag" - Mag (a commercial starring Mag that promotes the Genetic Opera; heard briefly between "Mark It Up" and Rotti's Story)
4. "Can't Get It Up if the Girl's Breathing?"* - Amber, Eunuch valets, and GraveRobber (Amber telling GraveRobber that there are other ways to pay for Zydrate; would have succeeded "Housecall")
5. "Come Up and Try My New Parts"* - Amber (Amber's attempt to seduce GraveRobber to get out of paying for Zydrate; comes after "Can't Get It Up")
6. "GraveRobber and Shilo Escape" - GraveRobber, Shilo, and Amber (GraveRobber and Shilo escape from the Italian festival; alternate version used in film, Amber not included)
7. "Buon Giorno"* - Rotti, Pavi, Luigi, and Genterns (Genetic Opera greeting; would have come after "We Started This Op'ra Shit!")
8. "Rotti's Chapel Sermon"* - Rotti (the scene was reedited to make up "Interrogation Room Challenge"; succeeds "Buon Giorno")
9. "Needle Through a Bug"* - GraveRobber, Shilo, and Chorus (deleted scene where Shilo must pass another of Rotti's tests; succeeded "Rotti's Chapel Sermon") and plays entirely during credits
10. "Aching Hour"* - Blind Mag (Mag sings about her imminent death during the Renaissance festival; plays entirely during credits)

Soundtracks

Original motion picture soundtrack

Main article: Repo! The Genetic Opera (soundtrack)

The Original Motion Picture Soundtrack was released September 30, 2008 and only available through Amazon.com and ITunes.

1. "Genetic Repo Man" - GraveRobber and Chorus
2. "Crucifixus" - Mag and Ghostly Chorus
3. "Things You See in a Graveyard" - Rotti and Mourners
4. "Infected" - Shilo
5. "Legal Assassin" - Nathan, Marni, and Ghostly Whispers
6. "Bravi!" - Mag, Luigi, Pavi, Rotti, and Amber
7. "21st Century Cure" - GraveRobber
8. "Mark It Up" - Amber, Luigi, Pavi, and Genterns
9. "Can't Get It Up If the Girl's Breathing?" - Amber, Eunuch valets, and GraveRobber
10. "Zydrate Anatomy" - GraveRobber, Shilo, Amber, Zydrate Support Group, and Genterns
11. "Thankless Job" - Nathan
12. "Chase the Morning" - Mag, Shilo, and Marni
13. "Seventeen" - Shilo and Chorus
14. "Gold" - Rotti
15. "Night Surgeon" - Nathan, Rotti, Henchgirls, Luigi, Pavi, and Genterns
16. "At the Opera Tonight" - Shilo, Mag, Nathan, Amber, GraveRobber, Rotti, Luigi, Pavi, and Chorus
17. "We Started This Op'ra Shit!" - Band Leader, Genterns, Luigi, Pavi, Single Mother, Rotti, Opera Audience, and GeneCo Chorus
18. "Needle Through a Bug" - GraveRobber, Shilo, and Chorus
19. "Chromaggia" - Mag
20. "Let the Monster Rise" - Nathan and Shilo
21. "I Didn't Know I'd Love You So Much" - Shilo and Nathan
22. "Genetic Emancipation" - Shilo and Chorus

Deluxe edition

The Deluxe Edition was released February 17, 2009 and was only available at Hot Topic stores and it was supposed to be available at the film's official site, but it is not possible to order the CD for unspecified reasons. As of July 14, 2009, it is available on iTunes as well. The Deluxe Edition adds 16 extra tracks to the original soundtrack, including several underscores (i.e. "A Repo Man's Daughter" and "A Ten Second Opera").

1. "A New World Organ" - GeneCo Chorus
2. "At the Opera Tonight" - Shilo, Mag, Nathan, Amber, GraveRobber, Rotti, Luigi, Pavi, and Chorus
3. "Crucifixus" - Mag and Ghostly Chorus
4. "Things You See in a Graveyard" - Rotti and Mourners
5. "A Repo Man's Daughter"
6. "Infected" - Shilo
7. "Legal Assassin" - Nathan, Marni, and Ghostly Whispers
8. "Bravi!" - Mag, Luigi, Pavi, Rotti, Amber, and Genterns
9. "21st Century Cure" - GraveRobber
10. "Lungs and Livers" - GeneCo Chorus
11. "Mark It Up" - Amber, Luigi, Pavi, and Genterns
12. "Worthy Heirs?"
13. "Can't Get It Up If the Girl's Breathing?" - Amber, Eunuch valets, and GraveRobber
14. "Zydrate Anatomy [Extended]" - GraveRobber, Shilo, Amber, Zydrate Support Group, and Chorus
15. "Thankless Job" - Nathan
16. "Before the Escape"
17. "Night Surgeon" - Nathan, Rotti, Henchgirls, Luigi, Pavi, and Genterns
18. "Chase the Morning" - Mag, Shilo, and Marni
19. "Everyone's a Composer" - Shilo, Mag, and Nathan
20. "Come Back" - Shilo and Nathan
21. "What Chance Has a 17-Year-Old Girl?" - Shilo and Nathan
22. "Seventeen" - Shilo and Chorus
23. "Happiness is Not a Warm Scalpel" - Amber and Rotti
24. "Gold" - Rotti
25. "Depraved Heart Murder at Sanitarium Square"
26. "Tonight We Are Betrayed" - Nathan
27. "We Started This Op'ra Shit!" - Band Leader, Genterns, Luigi, Pavi, Single Mother, Rotti, Opera Audience, and GeneCo Chorus
28. "Rotti's Chapel Sermon" - Rotti
29. "Needle Through a Bug" - GraveRobber, Shilo, and Chorus
30. "Chromaggia" - Mag
31. "Mag's Fall"
32. "Piece De Resistance" - Rotti
33. "Interrogation Room Challenge"
34. "Let the Monster Rise" - Nathan, Shilo, and Chorus
35. "A Ten Second Opera"
36. "I Didn't Know I'd Love You So Much" - Shilo and Nathan
37. "Genetic Emancipation" - Shilo and Chorus
38. "Genetic Repo Man"- GraveRobber and Chorus

Selections from the Premiere Cast

A 7-track album entitled Repo! The Genetic Opera: Selections from the Premiere Cast was released on September 27, 2002, over 6 years before the film's release. The soundtrack consists of early versions of the songs used in the film, recorded by Repo! creators Darren Smith, Terrance Zdunich, and the premiere cast of the stage play.

• Curt Wilson as Nathan/Repo Man
• Lateefah Devoe as Blind Mag
• Terrance Zdunich as GraveRobber
• Stephanie Kane as Shilo
• Penny Wei as Heather (Amber Sweet's original name)

1. "Night Surgeon" - Nathan/Repo Man
2. "...But This is Opera!" - Blind Mag and Cyborg chorus
3. "21st Century Cure" - GraveRobber and Shilo
4. "Come Up and Try My New Parts" - Heather
5. "Legal Assassin" - Nathan
6. "Chase the Morning" - Blind Mag and Cyborg chorus
7. "Choice" - Blind Mag, Nathan, and Company

Pre-Surgery Sampler

The Pre-Surgery Sampler was released July 24, 2008 at a secret location on the film's official site. Hardcopies were also released at a convention on the same date.

1. "A New World Organ"
2. "At the Opera Tonight" - Shilo, Mag, Nathan, Amber, GraveRobber, Rotti, Luigi, and Pavi
3. "Zydrate Anatomy" - GraveRobber, Shilo, Amber, and Chorus
4. "Night Surgeon" - Nathan, Rotti, Gen-Terns, Luigi, and Pavi
5. "Chase the Morning" - Mag, Shilo, and Marni
6. "Seventeen" - Shilo and Chorus
7. "Genetic Emancipation" - Shilo and Chorus

Production and history

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".

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, while Amber was Luigi's daughter.

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! The Genetic Opera was picked up by Lionsgate, shooting began on September 2007 in Canada. The film was scheduled to be released on April 25, 2008, but was pushed back to November 7, 2008. 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.

Release

The film received a limited release in the United States and Canada on November 7, 2008. 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. In December 2008, several more US theatrical screenings were announced running between 13–24 January 2009 in several cities 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 2010, 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. It was re-released in a special screening at the 2010 San Diego Comic-Con International.

Home media

The film was released January 20, 2009 on DVD and Blu-ray in the US. 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.

The US DVD release contains two Audio commentaries (one by the director, Alexa Vega, Bill Moseley, and Ogre; the other by the director, 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, two deleted scenes (Needle Through a Bug and Come Up and Try My New Parts), and the theatrical trailer.

Promotion

Due to Lionsgate's lack of promotion for the film, 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 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.

Reception

Reviews of Repo! appearing in major news outlets like The New York Times and The Los Angeles Times were all extremely negative.

On March 4, 2008, there was a test screening of Repo! The Genetic Opera, 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. 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!.

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."

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.

Even before its release, Repo! had gained a cult film following.

Paris 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".

Possible sequel

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."

Darren Lynn 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 Paris Hilton would return in her role as Amber Sweet.

External links

• Official website
• Repo! The Genetic Opera at IMDb
• Repo! The Genetic Opera at AllMovie
• Repo! The Genetic Opera at Box Office Mojo
• Repo! The Genetic Opera at Metacritic
• Official stage play site
• List of Shadowcasts currently performing Repo!
• Repo! The Genetic Opera Wiki
• Repopedia