REPO! THE GENETIC OPERA! (2008)

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"Beautiful and disturbing, Repo has an amazing aesthetic that is worth checking out."

First off, let's talk about the tone of the film. The central conceit/plot of the movie is ridiculous in the extreme. And you find that out in the first five minutes of the film, so you know what you're in for. But the film is nicely internally consistent - once it tells you the rules of this world, it sticks to them, which I appreciate.

Visually the movie is stunning. My wife used the term "beautiful" which I don't think is quite right, because the imagery is very disturbing and upsetting, but it's done excellently. This is a steampunk world where life is cheap and death comes easily, often accompanied by buckets of blood. But the whole spectacle is shot perfectly, transitions in and out of comic-style illustrations work masterfully, and other than a few aerial shots that gave me motion sickness, I couldn't look away from the screen.

Oddly, the movie had a surprising depth of emotion. First, it's just plain funny in many places, although the humor can only be described as gallows humor. Secondly, there are moments between parents (or surrogate parents) and their children that are amazingly touching and sweet.

The movie is a musical, and oddly it is in the score that I was the most surprised by the film. In movies like the Rocky Horror Picture Show, Sweeney Todd or Phantom of the Paradise, the music can exist outside of the world of the film. I own the soundtracks to all three movies, and I listen to them with some frequency. The musical score of Repo: The Genetic Opera fit the film perfectly, and I wouldn't argue to have it changed, but I can't imagine ever listening to the songs independent of the film. They fit in great with the aesthetic and world of the movie, but they just aren't that engaging musically on their own.

As for acting, all of the performances are quite good. In several cases it's arguable that the characters aren't that different from the actors who played them (I'm looking at you, Paris Hilton/Amber Sweet and Sarah Brightman/Blind Mag), but they still fit their roles well. Special kudos go out to Alexa Vega, who seems determined to put her Spy Kids days as far behind her as possible, and Anthony Stewart Head. While his role as Nathan/the Repo Man isn't all that different from Giles on Buffy, Head nails the role, and is also one of the three strongest singers in the cast.

Now, do I recommend this movie? That's hard to say. I think that - for the right person - this movie has a lot going for it. But I think that really the proper way to see it is the way I did - at a midnight movie showing, in a crowd full of other people who appreciate the weird aesthetic this movie brings. And sadly, that environment is going to be hard to capture. DVDs and home entertainment systems have made the midnight movie showing that made Rocky Horror famous a thing of the past, and while I thoroughly enjoyed Repo: The Genetic Opera, I don't see people gathering in theatres every Saturday at midnight for the next twenty years just to enjoy the movie.

I'll be adding it to my DVD collection (and conveniently, it's already available), but I don't know when I'll watch it again.