Nov 6, 2008 12:59 pm US/Eastern
'Repo! The Genetic Opera'
NEW YORK (AP) ―
-
-
If you've heard of "Repo!" at all, it's probably because of the involvement of Paris Hilton, and for no other reason. (File)
AP
One of the worst movies of the year, if not all time. This goth garbage isn't clever enough to be "Sweeney Todd" and it isn't campy enough to be "The Rocky Horror Picture Show" (and along those lines, it's not even worthwhile in a culty, midnight-movie way).
In fact, it's hard to tell whether "Repo!" is trying to be serious or funny, the tone from director Darren Lynn Bousman ("Saw II" through "Saw IV") is so erratic. One thing's for certain: This is one of those movies you have to watch through splayed fingers -- not because it's so pervasively violent and gory, which it is, but because it is simply too cringeworthy to look at head-on.
If you've heard of "Repo!" at all, it's probably because of the involvement of Paris Hilton, and for no other reason. Hilton actually has a supporting role here as a sort of naughty-vampira version of herself: a black-tressed heiress who's hooked on plastic surgery.
And yes, she does sing, but no better or worse than anyone else. The intentionally dissonant tunes with their painfully clunky lyrics, which writers Darren Smith and Terrance Zdunich first created for their "Repo!" stage musical, are set in a futuristic society where people's organs mysteriously fail and transplants become not just necessary but fashionable.
That's where the biotech company GeneCo steps in, headed by CEO Rotti Largo (Paul Sorvino, inexplicably slumming). But if you can't afford to pay for your new heart or spleen, GeneCo sends the Repo Man (Anthony Stewart Head) to collect.
And he sings while he's doing it!
R for strong bloody violence and gore, language, some drug and sexual content. 97 min.
Zero stars out of four.
(© 2009 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
Celebrities Separated At Birth?
Click to enlarge
Stumble It!
