REPO Madness begins as the film finally opens!

By SpookyDan

I am a big fan of Repo, and have been closely following the film since its beginnings. This week has been spent editing videos, shooting fanfilms , and going to Las Vegas to attend the Red Carpet premiere. Here is a breakdown of my week with Repo The Genetic Opera.

Friday Night at the Sunset 5 in Los Angeles:

The film finally opened last night in a few theaters and I am very proud to say that I was there to witness this amazing film with a true (paying) audience. As the sold out film started the audience was captivated by what they were seeing. Cheers for the cast and filmmakers were heard throughout the film. People cheered after a few of the songs, and everyone seemed to be having a great time. Afterwards loads of people were buzzing and singing the songs in the lobby and outside the theater. I spoke with a bunch of people who had not yet seen it, and out of about 20 people, 19 of them really liked or even loved it! But the coolest thing was walking out of the movie and seeing the biggest line I have ever seen, wrapped all the way around the building were people waiting to get into the midnight screening. Hundreds of people dying to get in, people dressed in character, I even met a few who had driven for over three hours just to see it! As soon as the door opened it was like a concert with people running to get seats! This was an amazing screening and I was ready to go right back in and see it again, but tickets to see the Midnight show were already sold out.

Thursday Night at Planet Hollywood in Las Vegas:

Three of my friends and I hopped into the car and drove to Las Vegas to see the red carpet premiere of Repo, and it was insane! As we arrived at Planet Hollywood, it was as if the entire place had transformed into THE REPO CASINO! Every slot machine and video screen was playing the trailer, giant banners were hung and the outside of Planet Hollywood building had 3 GIANT digital screens boasting about the red carpet premiere happening. Even my room key was a Repo card! Loads of TV crews were ready to get a moment with Paris Hilton on the red carpet, and then I saw…the fans! Not only did many of the fans on the Repo message board actually fly in for the premiere, they were singing and dancing in the lobby before the film started.

Inside the theater, a group of about 20 fans went up on the stage and started to sing the songs, but security kicked them off and brought them back to their seats. People had Zydrate (glowsticks) shoved into their cleavage and a bunch were even dressed in costume. The atmosphere in the theater was a party and again very much like a concert!

The cast and director Darren Bousman came to the stage to introduce the film and Bousman encouraged the fans to sing along. The film played and it was like seeing Rocky Horror for the very first time. People were singing, laughing and cheering. The screening went over in the best possible way. Everyone seemed to LOVE it! We hung out for a while then went to the exclusive VIP after party at Prive a fancy Vegas nightclub with dancing girls and booming music.

At the after party everyone was drinking and having a blast. Hip hop music was loud and blaring through the club. Now it had already been a celeb filled evening but, at one point I was standing with Ogre of Skinny Puppy and Daniel Ash of Bauhaus (two of my all time favorite bands) while listening to Disturbia by Rihianna and Justin Timberlake. Talk about bizarre! A couple hours later, a few of the cast and friends were going to sneak away to Bousman's hotel room to chill and celebrate. Paris was at the club, and it had become a bit of a madhouse of cameras and security, so much that we could not even get out of the VIP section. So Paris's security took all of us through the kitchen and out a secret exit to get to the hotel. It was like the scene in Goodfellas walking past the hotel employees while they prepared food and drinks. Most of the cast was walking right along with us, and I personally felt very much a part of the Repo Family.

At this point in the night, everything was perfect, and wonderfully fun. We arrived to Bousman's hotel room expecting to see a few people inside drinking and having fun, but when we walked in, I saw something I have never seen before… all of the fans that had come to the film were inside dancing and singing along to the soundtrack. Bousman invited the fans to his hotel room party! In one corner was Ogre meeting Skinny Puppy fans and having a blast, in another corner people were watching the Repo fan films on youtube. Bill Moseley was chatting with me and Alex Kavanaugh (the costume designer) about how much fun on set they all had. Almost the entire cast was there chilling with the fans. Hats off to Darren Bousman for really embracing the culture that is supporting the film. Most filmmakers would never invite complete strangers to their rooms, but not Bousman, he made them part of his family. I met a girl who flew from Minneapolis to see it, and another girl (names Jessie) who came all the way from Spain just to be at the premiere! We stayed and partied until almost 5am before I was too tired to go on.

I truly feel blessed to have been part of this night!

Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday before the film opened:

At BDTV we have been very busy bringing you new episodes about upcoming horror films, but for about two weeks straight it was all Repo! I interviewed Paris Hilton and Sarah Brightman on Halloween day. Went to Terrence Zdunich's art studio and spoke to him about the artwork he created, and then on Tuesday My friends and I started to make our own fan film.

Repo! The PUPPET Opera.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bzLQLeNohJg
We did it in eight hours over the course of two evenings and had a blast making it.

At this point on the Bloody Disgusting YouTube channel we have 5 different Repo features!

http://www.youtube.com/bdtv

We shot enough for about 5 more videos, but just ran out of time for the editing.

Now its time for you to try to find a theater that is actually playing the film (and isn't sold out) and see it for yourself! We at Bloody want to hear what you think about it. Did you love it? Do you hate it? Has it been overhyped? Is Paris terrible? What is your favorite scene and/or song? What are your thoughts? Post them here for everyone to see:

http://www.bloody-disgusting.com/film/1544/userreview

The horror culture seems to have embraced this, But I can only speak for myself when I say "Repo! The Genetic Opera is the best film of the year! It's the movie I have been wanting for years, and it has finally arrived!"

5 out of 5 Skulls!!!