I caught the road show presentation of this last night in Greenbelt, MD. and it was an absolute blast! Writer/composer, Terrance Zdunich was in attendance with director, Darren Lynn Bousman and a remarkably peppy and enthusiastic Alexa Vega.
First off, I want to take the opportunity to retract my b.s., gossipy remark from my previous review of the film (which I have yet to publish on this page) that Paul Sorvino looked as though he may have genuinely been disgusted by Paris Hilton. I have no way of knowing how he felt or what was going on, BUT pretty much every story I hear from actual participants on this project suggests that the vibe on the set was chummy and almost familial with Hilton being just as professional and personable as anyone else. And one of these positive testimonials comes from Nivek Ogre who can certainly be a tough and outspoken critic when he has a negative opinion of someone. As for Mr. Sorvino’s attitude towards her onscreen, I believe that’s known as acting and he’s someone who has a reputation for being very good at it.
Here is the Ogre interview I am referencing:
http://austin.decider.com/articles/nivek-ogre-of-skinny-puppy,842
Back to the story at hand:
The road show does a wonderful job of elevating this ambitiously goofy labor of love above its flaws. Enthusiastic fans in amazingly elaborate costumes dance in front of the screen and in the aisles, occasionally engaging in ROCKY HORROR-style “shadow casting” recreations of the action on screen. It’s such a contagiously high energy buzz that one would have to be a real curmudgeon to observe that the film’s execution doesn’t always gel with this approach or that the fan mania occasionally threatens to drown out genuinely effective moments. Of course, if a lull briefly sets in during the third act making the film seem to drag, it’s worth remembering that ROCKY HORROR drags far worse in its last half hour. If anything, it’s nice to note that REPO! is a superior movie to THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW although it’s far more self-consciously sly about aiming for cult worship.
The creators seem like down to earth guys with Zdunich seeming particularly comfortable on the ground level, making casual chit chat with fans in the (horribly tiny and insufficient) restroom. During the Q-&-A, Zdunich proved to be a man of few words, allowing the chatty Bousman and the chirpy Vega do most of the talking. When Zdunich did address a question about his deleted sex scene with Paris Hilton (the question coming from little Miss Vega no less) and his musical influences, he seemed almost sheepish. I almost felt bad when his comment about being thrilled to have Melora Creager (the one-woman force behind the cello rock band, Rasputina) and POE working on the music seemed to bounce off of the audience’s head (do goth kids really not know who Melora Creager and POE are anymore?). Were it not going on 3 a.m. (Hey, it’s only midnight on the west coast!), I’d have almost wanted to take the guy out for a beer.
And the film still is what it is. It’s a musical imagined by young guys who grew up on music videos and video games. That may make it sound wretched to folks over 40 (or even some over 30), but Bousman has managed to create a weird kind of art here. Look, young filmmakers are now people who came of age in a media saturated era. For guys in their 20s (as Bousman is) or 30s (as Zdunich seems to be), it would almost be dishonest to not try something like REPO.
And against all odds, there’s a heart here. And I don’t just mean the gory prop that beats in Anthony Stewart Head’s hand. I remained silent during the Q-&-A (except to trade comments with one of my friends), but I sort of wanted to ask Zdunich what this movie was really about? Oh, I know that it was about singing and dancing and cool sci-fi horror visuals, but he seems to have a kind of Wachowski-esque subtext with blind seers and a theme of escaping from the bondage of one’s heritage or past.
If it’s not addressed on the dvd, perhaps I can e-mail the question to him.