No you are not having a case of deja vu. There happens to be two movies with the same premise. This murder musical from 2008 and then the 2010 Repo Men movie which is exactly the same fucking premise only without the catchy musical tunes and comical murder scenes. So with that cleared up, time for a little musical accompaniment to go along with my 17th horror movie post.
The denizens of planet Earth have been devastated by inexplicable and widespread organ failures, and as a result scientists begin planning a substantial organ harvest. Though an innovative biotech conglomerate subsequently offers the fearful public a means of maintaining their health by enacting a series of hassle-free organ payment plans, things begin to get messy when it’s revealed that the financed body parts are subjected to legal default, and that failure to maintain proper payment will result in forceful repossession of the organs. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
I must admit that I really, really enjoy the musical aspects of this movie and I am not that big of a musical fan. I felt that before I watched this movie that the music/songs in this movie will be very gimmicky, which they are, but rather catchy and make this movie a very fun and lively one to watch. The whole movie is a torture porn romp with gothic styling music and while a mess of a movie, again I return back to the fun nature of it all. I can’t fault this movie at all for existing and playing with the horror and musical genre. The rock anthems are indeed catchy and bombastic, while the horror parts of it fills that blood bag with all the gory bits in the murderous kills.
Repo! The Genetic Opera has a little bit of everything for everyone. If you want your horror to contain lots of kills, then this is perfectly suitable since the crux of the movie is about organ harvesting. The gore factors are amped up to a degree, but it never shy’s away from the violence. The musical aspect of the movie are catchy and will fill that need for those that enjoy Rock Horror or Little Shop of Horror’s, but it never reaches the zeitgeist that those two movie have. I will say that the anthemic rock songs are fantastic and strike the mood and chord with what the movie is all about.
Whether you are a fan of musicals or not, you should at least give this movie a shot. The overall story doesn’t hold muster as it kind of falls apart in some areas, but the fun and interesting setting and premise is enough to win me over. It’s the midnight movie anthem you want to see, blood, gore, kills, thrills and musical accompaniments. It has a constant, vibrant sense of fun and you can easily overlook its shortfalls to tell a complete story. I know I certainly go back some times and watch the movie for enjoyment, but it’s not the best movie out there. It’s good at what it wants to showcase, rocking songs and graphic horror scenes, so you got to at least appreciate it on that level.