Repo! The Genetic Opera (an epic goth 2000s movie)

YOOO has anyone seen literally the best movie ever made? You haven't??? Lemme tell you about it!

Repo! The Genetic Opera (2008) is a rock/goth opera set in the future of 2056. An epidemic of organ failures led to massive population deaths - until GeneCo emerged. The company, ran by Rotti Largo, makes organ transplants easy to access via organ financing. This gets so popular and easy, that surgery as a fashion statement becomes popular. People are getting new surgeries nearly every day.

The only problem? If you miss one of your payments, GeneCo sends a Repo Man to come and snatch your organs back. Fun, right?

A 17 year-old girl, Shilo Wallace, has struggled with a blood disease her entire life. Because of her disease, she has been isolated from the outside world. Will GeneCo have her cure? She finds out at The Genetic Opera. 

!!!EVERYTHING BELOW WILL HAVE MAJOR SPOILERS! BE WARNED!!!

IF YOU WANT TO WATCH THE MOVIE FIRST, IT IS AVAILABLE FOR FREE WITH ADS ON TUBI

I'm gonna do some silly lil character descriptions below, because I can. 

Rotti Largo (Paul Sorvino)

Rotti Largo, as I mentioned, is the CEO/creator of GeneCo. He is an evil, jealous, vindictive old bastard. At the beginning of the movie, Rotti learns he is dying from a condition that is not revealed to the audience (I assume cancer.) This sets off the plot. Rotti needs to leave GeneCo to one of his children: Luigi, Pavi, or Amber. Really, the movie never puts Amber in for the running, it seems that Rotti only considers her brothers, Luigi or Pavi, for the throne.

However, Rotti doesn't like any of his children and sees them as unworthy heirs to GeneCo. Therefore, he goes after Shilo. 

Luigi Largo (Bill Moseley)

Luigi is the eldest of the Largo siblings. He is violent and homicidal, and is seen killing various people over small things many times during the movie. I find his character hilarious, but I think he needs some serious anger management classes. He frequently fights with his siblings, especially Pavi. He believes he has the right to the throne.

Paviche "Pavi" Largo (Nivek Ogre)

Pavi is the middle Largo child. He is confirmed to be bisexual, although this isn't showcased in the movie. He speaks with a thick Italian accent, which is confirmed to be because he is covering up a stutter. He wears many different faces during the movie, covering up his true scarred face underneath. AFAIK, the reason his face is scarred is not confirmed. Pavi is very flirtatious, but in a way that reads to me as comedic rather than uncomfortable. He also frequently fights with his siblings, although is much more subdued than Luigi. Pavi is my favorite character in the movie.

Amber Sweet (Paris Hilton)

Amber (born Carmela Largo) is the youngest of the Largo siblings. The movie doesn't showcase any consideration for her being an heir of GeneCo. The movie states that Amber Sweet is her stage name, although it implies she legally changed her name. Amber has ambitions to be a singer, and hates Blind Mag because she sees her as a threat to her singing career. Amber is addicted to Zydrate, a powerful painkiller developed by GeneCo. She buys street Zydrate from Graverobber.


Shilo Wallace (Alexa Vega)

Shilo is a 17 year-old girl with an unspecified blood disease, passed down to her from her deceased mother. Her father, Nathan Wallace, has kept her isolated in her house for her entire life. Her biggest hobby is collecting and pinning bugs. She longs to go outside and experience the world, and seems to hate her dead mother for giving her the disease. Rotti Largo wants to leave GeneCo to her on one condition - she must kill her father. By the end of the movie, we learn that Shilo was never really sick, her father was poisoning her medicine to keep her locked up and "safe."

Nathan Wallace (Anthony Head)

Nathan Wallace is Shilo's father, and the Repo Man. Shilo does not know about her father's occupation, and believes he is a doctor. Nathan's late wife, Marni, was once the lover of Rotti. She fell sick with a blood disease not long after she got pregnant with Shilo. Nathan believed he found the cure for her blood disease, but she died after taking the cure. Only able to save one, Nathan performed a c-section to save Shilo's life. Nathan would have been arrested for killing his wife, but Rotti swept in and made a deal with him - he would be the Repo Man for his freedom. 

Marni Wallace 

Marni has a very small role in the movie, but a very big impact on the story. Marni was once Rotti Largo's lover. However, she left him at the altar for Nathan. This caused Rotti to hate the both of them. He swapped Nathan's cure out for poison, killing Marni and framing Nathan. This put Nathan in his debt. Marni was also the best friend of Blind Mag.

Magdalene "Blind Mag" DeFoe (Sarah Brightman)

Blind Mag is an opera singer in debt to GeneCo. After meeting her, Rotti promised to fix her blindness and give her new eyes that could see. However, after signing her contract, Mag realized she was now forever a slave to GeneCo. She is forced to perform in GeneCo's genetic operas. Mag wants to leave GeneCo, but knows that her eyes will be taken (and she will be killed) if she does. Still, she takes the risk. Mag is also Shilo's godmother, but Nathan told her that Shilo was dead. Mag meets Shilo during the events of the movie and confronts Nathan. At the end of the movie, Mag pulls out her own eyes in an attempt to survive the Repo Man. Rotti, however, kills her anyway.

Graverobber (Terrance Zdunich)

If you know anything about Repo!, you know the song Zydrate Anatomy.

Graverobber (never given a real name, that I know of) is the narrator of the story. He is a drug dealer who robs graves to get street Zydrate, which is extracted from dead bodies. During the events of the movie, he meets Shilo and attempts to get her addicted to Zydrate. He sells Zydrate to Amber Sweet. The fandom tends to ship him with Shilo, which is very disgusting, as Graverobber is 28 and Shilo is 17. This ship is the reason I don't interact with the fandom. I see their relationship as more sibling-like, with Graverobber being a sort of mentor for Shilo, showing her the outside world.

ENDING

The movie's end takes place during The Genetic Opera, a performance put on by GeneCo. Shilo travels to the opera, because Rotti has promised her that her cure would be waiting for her there. Nathan finds out about this and heads to the opera, intent on killing Rotti to make him pay for "taking" Shilo. Backstage, Shilo finds her father and learns that he is the Repo Man. Shocked and upset, she runs off to find Rotti. Upon getting to the stage, Rotti tells Shilo he will leave GeneCo to her on one condition: she must kill her father. Shilo refuses, and Rotti takes the gun and shoots Nathan anyway. Suddenly, Rotti begins to die from his condition. He slumps over onstage and dies, shocking the audience. Shilo holds Nathan in her arms as he dies, making their final peace. Shilo walks out of the opera house, Graverobber gives a small ending narration, and credits begin to roll.

In a post-credits scene, we learn that Amber has gained ownership of GeneCo. Along with her brothers, they promise to change GeneCo for the better. 

MY CONCLUSION

Even with all that I've just typed, I can't possibly convey all of the nuances, plot points, and charm that Repo! has. This is my favorite movie of all time for a very good reason. The music is all fantastic, the visuals are amazing, the world and characters are developed beautifully, and the way everything manages to intertwine at the end is phenomenal. This is the PERFECT movie for every silly emo kid who loves rock operas and gore. It's just a good time, and it's so underrated. Please, I beg, watch this movie.