Repo! The Genetic Opera

By the year 2056, an epidemic of organ failures has devastated the planet. The megacorporation GeneCo provides organ transplants on a payment plan. Clients who miss payments are hunted down by Repo Men, skilled assassins who "repossess" the organs (Genetic Repo Man). The CEO of GeneCo, Rottissimo "Rotti" Largo, discovers he is terminally ill. Rotti's three children, Luigi, Pavi, and Amber, bicker over who will inherit GeneCo (Mark It Up). Rotti believes none of his children are worthy heirs and instead plans to pass on his fortune to 17-year-old Shilo Wallace, the daughter of his ex-fiancé Marni (Things You See In A Graveyard).

Shilo has inherited a rare blood disease from Marni which requires her to stay indoors, and longs to see the outside world (Infected). Shilo's overprotective father Nathan believes he killed Marni with a treatment he created for her illness - in truth, Rotti poisoned Marni's medicine behind Nathan's back as revenge for leaving him, and then blackmailed Nathan, promising to keep him out of jail if he agreed to become GeneCo’s head Repo Man, though he has led Shilo to believe he is a doctor (Legal Assassin). One night, Shilo secretly visits her mother's tomb and runs into GraveRobber, who is digging up bodies to secrete Zydrate, a euphoric and addictive pain-killer that he sells on the street to keep up with his GeneCo payments (21st Century Cure).

Rotti lures Shilo to GeneCo's fair with the promise of a cure for her disease. There, the Largo brothers argue about their father's will while Amber harasses Blind Mag, an opera singer and GeneCo's celebrity spokesperson. Born blind, Mag has been given surgically enhanced eyes by GeneCo at the cost of working for them indefinitely. Rotti explains that Mag is soon resigning as GeneCo's spokeswoman. GraveRobber helps Shilo escape the fairgrounds, encountering several of his customers including the surgery-addicted Amber, who has skipped the fair she was supposed to speak at, once again publicly embarrassing her father (Zydrate Anatomy). Amber explains that Mag's eyes are set for repossession and that she will replace her. After GeneCops arrive, GraveRobber and Shilo part ways and she quickly returns to her room before Nathan notices her missing.

Rotti hires Nathan to repossess Mag's eyes but Nathan refuses, citing her close friendship with Marni, and quits his job mid-surgery (Night Surgeon). An infuriated Rotti vows to have Nathan taken out. Mag visits Shilo and reveals she is her godmother, and that Nathan had told her Shilo died with Marni. She cautions Shilo to not make the same mistakes she did (Chase The Morning). Nathan arrives home and forces Mag out after she scolds him for his lies and his incarceration of Shilo (Everyone’s A Composer). Meanwhile, back at GeneCo, Rotti writes his will, ready to make Shilo his sole beneficiary (Gold).

Rotti invites Shilo to the Opera (At The Opera Tonight). Nathan is pursued by GeneCops who try to arrest him, but he quickly dispatches them and heads to the opera looking for Shilo. Amber takes the stage for her debut, but her performance is ruined when her transplanted face falls off. Mag completes her final performance, but deviates from the song's grand finale, denouncing the Largo family and gouging out her eyes in an act of defiance (Chromaggia). Rotti cuts the cords suspending Mag, impaling her on a fence. Rotti assures the audience that Mag's death is part of the show.

Shilo sees a Repo Man arrive and attacks him with a shovel before realizing that he is her father, and angrily confronts Nathan for lying to her about his profession (Let The Monster Rise). Onstage, Rotti reveals that Shilo does not have a blood disease but that Nathan has been poisoning her "medicine" in an attempt to keep her safe from the outside world after being unable to cope with the loss of Marni. As his disease begins to take its toll, Rotti promises Shilo GeneCo if she kills her father. When she refuses, Rotti uses the last of his strength to fatally shoot Nathan, and dies after disowning his children. After a tearful farewell to her father (I Didn’t Know I’d Love You So Much), Shilo leaves, deciding that her father's actions do not dictate her future (Genetic Emancipation).

Shilo flees, leaving GeneCo with no legal heir. Amber inherits the company instead and auctions her fallen face to charity, which Pavi wins.

• Alexa Vega as Shilo Wallace, the primary protagonist of the film. Shilo is a 17-year-old girl, confined to her room due to the alleged blood disorder she inherited from her mother, and dreams of exploring the world outside of her bedroom, which she considers her prison. While she initially strives to obey her father's rules, later in the story, she becomes more and more assertive, attempting to earn her independence. Prior to the story she has often snuck out of her room at night to collect bugs, and shots of her room shows she has an impressive collection.
• Paul Sorvino as Rottissimo "Rotti" Largo, the film's main antagonist. Rotti is the ailing founder and president of GeneCo, looking for a worthy heir as his terminal disease progresses. He is a powerful and driven man, having built his GeneCo empire from the ground up, and believes that material wealth is the only real driving force in the world. He is ashamed of his own children, and is the one responsible for Marni's death, shielding the truth from Nathan as revenge for "stealing" Marni from him.
• Anthony Stewart Head as Nathan Wallace, Shilo's father and a widower, who wrongly believes he was inadvertently responsible for Marni's death. Nathan doubles as the head Repo Man to repay Rotti for "fixing" the circumstances of Marni's death with the police. Nathan is a highly skilled assassin who often laments his late night duties, though he appears to have some sadistic tendencies as well.
• Sarah Brightman as Magdalene "Blind Mag" Defoe, Shilo's godmother and Marni's best friend. She was born blind, but was given surgically enhanced eyes by GeneCo in exchange for having to work as a GeneCo spokesperson for the rest of her life. She is marked for repossession and is set to deliver her final performance for the company.
• Paris Hilton as Carmela "Amber Sweet" Largo, Rotti's only daughter and the youngest of the Largo children. She is addicted to both surgery and Zydrate, which she obtains illegally from GraveRobber, occasionally in exchange for sex.
• Bill Moseley as Luigi Largo, Rotti's aggressive, homicidal eldest son. He wields a knife at all times, and is willing to stab others at the slightest provocation.
• Nivek Ogre as Pavi Largo, Rotti's middle child. Womanizing, narcissistic, vacuous, and effeminate, he wears the skinned face of a woman as a mask over his own, which is heavily scarred. Due to the way his face is attached, he is able to change faces on a whim. He has an Italian accent (to conceal his speech impediment, according to Zdunich) and is almost always surrounded by women, usually Genterns (GeneCo's employees).
• Terrance Zdunich as GraveRobber, a peddler who obtains Zydrate from corpses and has connections to Amber, both sexually and as a dealer. He also seems to be Shilo's first and only friend. Mysterious and charismatic, he acts as the narrator of the post-apocalyptic world.
• Sarah Power as Marni Wallace, Nathan's late wife and Shilo's mother; she was engaged to Rotti until she left him for Nathan. A jealous Rotti poisoned her and framed Nathan for the crime.
  • Nancy Long provided Marni's singing voice for "Chase the Morning".

Joan Jett makes a cameo appearance during the song "Seventeen" playing the guitar. Dean Armstrong, later seen in Saw 3D, appears as the victim during "Thankless Job". Co-writer Darren Smith appears during "We Started This Op'ra Shit" as the GeneCo band leader. Frequent Bousman collaborator J. LaRose appears during "Zydrate Support Network" as a GeneCo spokesman.

A 7-track demo CD dubbed the "Pre-Surgery Sampler", was released on July 24, 2008. A 22-track soundtrack was released on September 30. Songs do not appear in the same sequence on the CD as they do in the film. On February 20, 2009, an extended edition of the soundtrack was released online. The "Deluxe Edition" contains 38 tracks; and the song, "Zydrate Anatomy", was re-cut and used in its film version for this edition. Melora Creager of Rasputina plays cello on the soundtrack.

In the film, the following songs are performed:

Cut songs

Bits and pieces of some of these songs were used in the film. Most of the songs' scenes were cut entirety (*).

1. "Crucifixus" - Mag, Ghostly chorus (used as the screen closes in to GeneCo; instrumental version used in film)
2. "Bravi!"* - Mag, Pavi, Luigi, Rotti, Amber (end credits, a commercial that would have been used before "Mark It Up"; heard briefly between "Infected" and Nathan's Story)
3. "Tao of Mag" - Mag (a commercial starring Mag that promotes the Genetic Opera; heard briefly between "Mark It Up" and Rotti's Story)
4. "Can't Get It Up if the Girl's Breathing?"* - Amber, GraveRobber (Amber telling GraveRobber that there are other ways to pay for Zydrate; would have succeeded "Housecall") (also a deleted scene on the Blu-ray release)
5. "Come Up and Try My New Parts"* - Amber (Amber seduces GraveRobber to get out of paying for Zydrate; succeeds "Can't Get It Up"; the scene is available on the Blu-ray)
6. "GraveRobber and Shilo Escape" - GraveRobber, Shilo, Amber (GraveRobber and Shilo escape from the Italian festival; alternate version used in film, Amber not included) (also a deleted scene on the Blu-ray release)
7. "Buon Giorno"* - Rotti, Pavi, Luigi, Genterns (Genetic Opera greeting; would have come after "We Started This Op'ra Shit!"; the scene is available on the Blu-ray)
8. "Rotti's Chapel Sermon"* - Rotti (the scene was reedited to make up "Interrogation Room Challenge"; succeeds "Buon Giorno")
9. "Needle Through a Bug"* - GraveRobber, Shilo (deleted scene where Shilo must pass another of Rotti's tests; succeeded "Rotti's Chapel Sermon"; the scene is available on the Blu-ray) and plays in its entirety during credits
10. "Aching Hour"* - Blind Mag (Mag sings about her imminent death during the Renaissance festival; plays in its entirety during credits)

Score tracks

Includes songs only heard as instrumentals and not parts of any deleted songs: (* = instrumental)

1. "Depraved Heart Murder at Sanitarium Square"* (First song heard in the film)
2. "The Prognosis"* (Heard right after "Crucifixus")
3. "Nathan's Story"* (Heard right after "Infected")
4. "Rotti's Story"* (Heard right after "Tao of Mag")
5. "A Ventriloquist's Mess"* (Heard right after "Thankless Job")
6. "Blind Mag's Story"* (Heard right after "Seeing Your Stirs Memories")
7. "Before the Escape"* (Heard right after "Inopportune Telephone Call")
8. "Worthy Heirs?"* (Heard right after "Zydrate Support Network")
9. "A Dump Truck Home"* (Heard right after "Disposal Crew")
10. "The Visitor"* (Heard right after "Night Surgeon")
11. "Pre-Happiness"* (Heard right after "Seventeen")
12. "Not Your Parents' Opera"* (Heard right after "Bloodbath!")
13. "Mag's Fall"* (Heard right after "Chromaggia")
14. "A Ten Second Opera"* (Heard right after "Let the Monster Rise")

The film was released January 20, 2009 on DVD and Blu-ray in the United States.[24] In Canada, the DVD was released on January 20, 2009 and the Blu-ray was released February 10, 2009. It was released on DVD and Blu-ray in the United Kingdom on March 9, 2009. It was released in Ireland on March 6, 2009. The DVD was released in Germany on April 14.[14] The US DVD release contains two audio commentaries (one by Bousman and actors Vega, Moseley, and Ogre; the other by Bousman, creators Darren Smith and Terrance Zdunich, and music producer Joseph Bishara), two featurettes (From Stage to Screen and Legal Assassin - A Repo Man), and the theatrical trailer. The Blu-ray contains all DVD features including a select-scene audio commentary by the director and Paris Hilton, an additional two featurettes (Zydrate Anatomy - Amber Sweet: Addicted to the Knife and Chase the Morning - Blind Mag: The Voice of GeneCo), a video sing-along with bouncing heart, four deleted scenes (Needle Through a Bug, Buon Giorno, Extended Version of Shilo and GraveRobber Escape, and Come Up and Try My New Parts), and the theatrical trailer.

The Original Motion Picture Soundtrack was released September 30, 2008 and only available through Amazon and iTunes. A deluxe version of the soundtrack was released on February 17, 2009. All the tracks from the previous release remain on the deluxe edition in the same order, with the new tracks placed in between some tracks, including score tracks. The only track that appears on both albums that differs is Zydrate Anatomy, where it is slightly longer on the deluxe edition.

In regards to the possibility of a sequel, Vega has been quoted as saying: "From the very, very beginning, we always talked about a prequel or a sequel to this film. And it's hard, because as of right now, we all want to do it, but, you know, it didn't really do as we hoped. We didn't really have a lot of support. But we're hoping that the fans will come back, and it will be an underground cult classic that will grow, and that will eventually spark us to do another."[25] Bousman also indicated interest, stating; "I would love to follow up Repo and finish the story, because it was conceived as a three-part movie. But this movie is all about support from the internet, and support from fans. This is not a movie where you'll see billboards or bus stop ads or trailers on TV." It was additionally expected that Hilton would return in her role as Amber Sweet.[26] However, in a video posted on YouTube, it was revealed that they "no longer control the answer to the question [of a future sequel]" since they no longer have ownership of the franchise, thus driving Bousman and Zdunich to make The Devil's Carnival.[27]

• Elysium (film)
• Repo Men - A film involving a similar plotline regarding the repossession of transplanted organs

• Repo! The Genetic Opera at IMDb
• Repo! The Genetic Opera at Box Office Mojo
• Repo! The Genetic Opera at Rotten Tomatoes
• Repo! The Genetic Opera at Metacritic