Repo! The Genetic Opera
Metascore
32 out of 100

Generally unfavorable reviews - based on 15 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 1 out of 15
  2. Mixed: 7 out of 15
  3. Negative: 7 out of 15
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  1. The A.V. Club
    Reviewed by: Sean O'Neal
    75
    Piles on the glam-rock spectacle and coal-black comedy at such a brusque pace that it often seems in danger of rattling off the rails entirely.
  2. The Hollywood Reporter
    Reviewed by: Frank Scheck
    50
    This would-be cult film is unlikely to inspire "Rocky Horror"-style devotion.
  3. Premiere
    Reviewed by: Jenni Miller
    50
    While Repo! is obviously no "Zauberflöte," it does offer up spectacle on an operatic scale.
  4. Film Threat
    Reviewed by: Mariko McDonald
    50
    Only time will tell whether REPO! can live up to its cult potential, but the potential is most definitely there.
  5. Austin Chronicle
    Reviewed by: Marc Savlov
    50
    It's not often you come across a film as unique as this, and while my taste for liver, lights, and sweetbreads isn't what it once was, this is still a fine post-Halloween aperitif, with guts to spare.
  6. Christian Science Monitor
    Reviewed by: Peter Rainer
    50
    Paris Hilton also turns up, still trying to be famous for more than being famous. She has a ways to go.
  7. New York Daily News
    Reviewed by: Elizabeth Weitzman
    40
    Check out the trailer before you commit to this one; if it's for you, you'll know instantly. And if it's not, you'll know that, too.
  8. The New York Times
    Reviewed by: Nathan Lee
    40
    Feels destined to please a campy coterie of fans and no one else.
  9. New York Post
    Reviewed by: Kyle Smith
    38
    There probably aren't enough futuristic Goth rock musicals, but Repo! The Genetic Opera is weak on a couple of things a musical needs: music and lyrics.
  10. Entertainment Weekly
    Reviewed by: Sean Howe
    33
    If steampunk bloodbaths aren't for you, it's a long wait for the fat lady to sing.
  11. USA Today
    Reviewed by: Claudia Puig
    25
    The biggest mystery about Repo! The Genetic Opera is why the grisly Goth-horror musical is opening the week after Halloween. The second-biggest mystery is why this unfunny, unscary, preposterous bloodbath about organ transplants is opening at all.
  12. Variety
    Reviewed by: John Anderson
    20
    So over-the-top it's purple. At the same time, it's not too many lengths of intestine beyond some mainstream movies, "Sweeney Todd" being the most obvious comparison.
  13. Rolling Stone
    Reviewed by: Peter Travers
    12
    Misery is enduring this Rocky Horror Paris Show.
  14. Village Voice
    Reviewed by: J. Hoberman
    10
    The grim finality of the ensuing pietà suggests the last act of Hamlet or, rather, Hamlet 2--so embarrassing that, for the first time, I wanted to avert my eyes from the screen, although that might have also been because Repo! appears to have been shot with a cell phone.
  15. Los Angeles Times
    Reviewed by: Mark Olsen
    10
    The film is bad -- not good-bad, tacky-bad or fun-bad, just plain awful and nearly unwatchable.

User Reviews

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User Score
8.1 out of 10

Universal acclaim- based on 96 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 49 out of 60
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 60
  3. Negative: 8 out of 60
  1. Official
    6
    Has good music and is very gory and brutal. But there isn't really a plot here - it's just all random. The Saw filmmakers must have worked on this film really hard by making it as bloody as it can be, and it succeeds in that part. My score: 63/100… Full Review »
  2. MarkK
    2
    Don't believe your friends. This is not the next Rocky Horror. It's not even the next Shock Treatment. It's a glossy, fast-edited version of a completely forgettable musical. Ultimately, the music -- combined with inane lyrics -- does discredit to people like Sarah Brightman and Ogre, who have stamped their names onto this mess. It's an brave attempt, perhaps, but ultimately the music sucks. Visually, the film is striking at points but clearly derivative, riffing off of the videogame BioShock and Blade Runner... but the visuals are weakened by jerky "Saw"-like jumpcuts, and the general lack of ambiance, both with the music, and with the somewhat substandard background atmospherics, drowned out by the craptacular soundtrack. There will be those who watch this a half-dozen times with their friends who start to appreciate the musical suckitude and learning some of the lyrics... but these are probably the same people who enjoy watching two girls, one cup. There is actual talent involved in this project... but unfortunately, the project just wasn't a good one. And no, it's not that I don't appreciate other things in this genre. Instead, we see goo musicians defer to some L.A. hipster's music... someone with no real experience for writing notable music... and it shows! What a complete misuse of Ogre and Sarah Brightman! (What is it about L.A. that it tends to take musical influences from everywhere else in the world and turns it into boring, generic lame metally dreck?!) At this point, the majority of 54 people rating this on Metacritic have said good things about this movie... but that's a sign of little more than a L.A. cult of personality. Not a Rocky... not a Hedwig... not a Dr. Horrible. Not even a Shock Treatment. Some of the Hot Topic crowd will get excited about this commercially prepackaged angst, but really, let's hope they off themselves soon and put the rest of us out of their misery.… Full Review »
  3. chrismars8
    10
    this is by far my favorite movie ever the songs are great the acting is good and the story is awesome if you've never seen this movie GO BUY IT NOW! also paris hilton is unrecognizable in this.… Full Review »
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