Repo! The Genetic Opera

“And thus endeth the summer of 2015. Okay maybe not according to the calendar, but as far as I’m concerned it is. The schedule is starting to normalize with regular movies and yoga. No more vacations (well not until mid Oct), the concerts and shows have dwindled, pictures are posted (at least on FB, as of writing, I still need to post on Marty Martian’s Tumblr, and the pub crawl is recovered from. The final event was a midnight movie at the Somerville theater: Repo! The Genetic Opera. Thanks to the magic of Uber, the late night event was do-able. Time to get my wonderfully bad movie on!

Now, I had already written up this movie, which would have excused me from writing up this viewing per my arbitrary rules that I set up myself. But! There was a surprise in store! Yes! Because this particular screening featured a shadowcast! And exclamation points apparently! Going to Rocky Horror Picture Show midnight screenings with a shadowcast was a right of passage at my dorm, not to mention the musical theatre crowd. I’ve been to that a good half dozen times or so, so I’m very much familiar with the concept. Different group doing it, this time being RKO Army, but similar experience.

A flurry of emotions abounded. From intrigued, “”Oooh that’s cool””, to slight annoyance “”but I really wanted to just see the movie””, to excitement “”Oh that’s Shiloh and that’s the Grave Robber (and oooh he’s kinda hot) and That’s Anthony Stewart Head…”” as I identified the costumed troupe as the audience was settling in to the theater. Anyways, when I wrote up the movie last time, I said I couldn’t decide whether or not I liked this film. Now, we’re firmly in the like club.

I worried at first that the shadow cast would distract from the movie, but I found myself paying much closer attention than I had previously. Details and minor plot points I had completely missed when I was less immersed in the experience. And I appreciated the badness of the movie so much more, laughing instead of judging, all the more funny with the shadow cast and their callbacks. (Favorite callback: “”Would you rather see Fantastic Four or be blind?”” Blind Mags sings “”I’d rather be blind””). And now I think I need to actually download the soundtrack instead of just YouTube-ing it once to get it out of my system. It’s not permanently etched in my system, because my genetics are such a bitch!

Is this still a bad movie? Absolutely! Is it still worth watching? Absolutely! Do I wanna see it again like this? Absolutely! Was it a kickass way to end the summer? You betcha”

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