Humor and Horror, Hand-in-hand: retro review

Totally random movie review. Random because I don’t watch many movies (no television either), so out of default I feel ill-equipped to tackle the all the nuances such as roles of directors, producers, animators, writers, actors. . . . Essentially, novels are from Venus, movies from Mars.

When I first saw Repo! around 2009, I was studying surgical technology. I’d grown disenchanted under the realization that most techs are employed in cosmetic surgical settings rather than the reason most of us had enlisted, which was to help the sick and injured. We did not know we’d be “helping” the self-centered and the wealthy instead.

Hence, Repo! appealed to me in a rebellious way. It lent humor to an otherwise repellent occupation--made it easier to accept that something so sadistic and horrific as mutilation in the name of “perfection” had become the norm. The nature of the movie is a middle finger to the surgically-enhanced population, namely the subzero Hollywood climate of automata with botox, breast augmentations, liposuction, nose-jobs, gastric bypasses, etc.

If you’ve ever shaken your head at an actor/actress/news anchor/model’s resemblance to a mannequin with perfectly frightening symmetry, then you will get this movie and certain parts will make you laugh.

If you're too squeamish to find any of it funny or you are in fact a surgery addict (or cosmetics addict) you will not be entertained as we were, and the moral of Paris Hilton’s face falling off will go over your head.

My article was originally posted in 2011 on Sci-Fi Saturday Night’s blog. Found the text file recently and wondered why I never bothered to put it on my own blog?

(Links in the article have been removed as they may not work; it’s been a year, after all!)
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Repo! The Genetic Opera is the answer to High School Musical for sci-fi and horror geeks. For Darren Lynn Bousman, who directed many of the over-the-top Saw movies, Repo!'s morbidity is fairly tolerable: For every instance of gore there's another of comedy, wrapped up in sing-along punk/cabaret lyric and dance. The opening theme song's only lyrics are "Things you see in a graveyard" sung in an operatic soprano, which sets a murky backdrop.

Minus the hilarity it'd be a fattening slice of gratuity and post-apocalyptic cliche. Horror needs balance to suit my sensibilities; there is no artistic merit in meaningless gore, especially set as a frame around scantily clad women brandishing surgical scalpels and a character who kills them to wear their faces. Then you have Paris Hilton's character, Amber Sweet, a spoiled brat who binges on surgery and painkillers. . . and loses her face.

Bousman handles it with gothic finesse, perhaps taking cues from George A. Romero (the zombie king) to include subtle comedy while taking care not to overshadow the flaws and struggles of his characters. The collapse of humanity, the subsequent obsession with biological perfection, and the emergence of a super villain with a vendetta effectively draw you in. If you like the music, and if you get the humor, the plot won't let you go.

Sarah Brightman's voice could shatter stained glass. Paul Sorvino lends the sedentary gloom and elegance of classical opera. I immediately re-watched it because I had to hear the songs again -- "Zydrate Anatomy", featuring lusty, lackadaisical vocals by Paris Hilton and the monster mash voice of Terrence Zdunich; "Chase the Morning" by the inimitable Sarah Brightman; and "Mark It Up" a tongue-in-cheek duet by Nivek Ogre -- then I finally broke down and got the soundtrack.  

Many compare Repo! to The Rocky Horror Picture Show. In terms of concept and definition, it is. Musically it feels more like Pink Floyd's The Wall, although not quite as manic: Challenging characters and subject matter; high moments of frenzy, tense moments of cynicism and melancholy. The songs are orchestrated excellently, all in the same major key, and each blends seamlessly into the next. Repo! succeeds on underground levels -- an unapologetic, original satire of Hollywood's divas, starlets, and harlots (including the men).