So, try this on for size: a futuristic horror movie gorefest that stars Paul Sorvino, Paris Hilton, and Giles from Buffy: The Vampire Slayer. Oh, and it's a rock opera! Sound like a good idea? The answer is no, but that should not and will not stop you from enjoying Repo! The Genetic Opera. Director Darren Lynn Bousman (of the Saw series) delivers a bloody good time in this screen adaptation of the 2001 stage play, written by Darren Smith and Terrance Zdunich.

Repo! is set in the year 2056 where, following an epidemic of organ failures, a company called GeneCo. finances organ translants. If a client can't keep up the the payments---you guessed it---the organ is repossessed by one of the company's assassins, known as Repo Men. Rotti Largo (played by Paul Sorvino), the terminally ill C.E.O. of GeneCo. is feeling the pressure to find an heir to the company before his death. His task is complicated by his extreme disappointment in his three children: Luigi (Bill Moseley), whose rage issues often lead to blood and bodies; Pavi (Ogre), whose so in touch with his feminine side, he wheres women's faces over his own; and Amber (Paris Hilton), a spoiled rich girl with an addiction to plastic surgery and the pain killer, Zydrate. Refusing to even consider his children, Rotti sets his sights on a seventeen year-old girl named Shilo Wallace (Alexa Vega), who is kept indoors, due to a mysterious blood disease, by her father Nathan (Anthony Stewart Head). Unbeknownst to Shilo, Nathan is a Repo Man. And that's not his only dark secret.

The amazing thing about Bousman's direction pops with colorful craziness that The Who's Tommy to mind. It surpasses Tommy, however, in that nothing in the film seems out of place. All the elements, audio and visual, come together striking a strange harmony. The execution is such that the world in which Repo! takes place is easily understandable, and yet, remarkably, it seems to keep the viewer at a distance. The result is that the film feels more relaxed, like a fun party. It's as if Bousman is saying, "Don't think too hard about this, please!" It's great advice which, if taken, will allow for maximum enjoyment. Even though the pacing feels uncomfortably fast at times, it's forgivable if you just chill out. A bit of a warning, though: this is quite possibly the goriest movie you will ever see. I'm a long time fan of slasher flicks, and I was cringing most of the way through. If you're into that, great. If you're not, stick to the soundtrack.

On that note, those who may be anti-musical need not worry. The music is hardly the focus and will not impare your viewing pleasure. There are very few hummable tunes and absolutely none of the songs are beautiful. For any other musical, this would be a problem, but for Repo!, it's just right. Anything more beautiful would be ridiculous. Still there are some tender moments, such as the father/daughter duet "I Didn't Know I Loved You So Much." Other noteworthy numbers include "Mark It Up," in which Luigi and Pavi compete to see who can collect the most severed body parts; "Infected," Shilo's seething lament over her blood condition; and "Chromaggia," sung by the beautiful opera singer, Blind Mag (Sarah Brightman), at her last performance for the GeneCo. opera.

The talent in the film increases watchability tenfold. Head sinks deep into his portrayal of the morally torn Repo Man. Five minutes in, you'll be saying "Buffy, who?" Vega is a believably angsty seventeen year-old, with wide eyes and perfectly off-key vocals. Brightman shines, albeit too breifly, in the role of Blind Mag, the naturally sightless opera singer who signed herself into operatic slavery for a pair of GeneCo.'s electronic eyes. The real surprises, however, are Sorvino and Hilton. Sorvino's performance is truly a thing of brilliance. He is hard and unyielding, yet sensitive and afraid to die. He is Rotti Largo! And Hilton immediately calms any misgivings a viewer may have about her. It's hard to believe she won a Razzie for this, because she is shockingly good, playing up the insincerity of a rich brat as if she were one in real life. (Oh... wait... yeah.) So what if she's playing an extreme version of herself. It works!

At first glance, Repo! may seem inaccessible and unenjoyable. Indeed, before it's release, no one would ever have put "Paris Hilton," "Sarah Brightman," "rock opera," and "slasher movie" in the same paragraph. This is perhaps the reason for it's major failure at the box office. Still, I urge you to give Repo! a chance. If you love horror, rock music, opera music, blood, guts, movies! Go check out Repo! It will definitely steal your heart.