Scream For Socialized Medicine

You think health care's bad now? Just wait till 2056 - that's the year when widespread organ failures will wreak havoc across the planet. There will be so many bum tickers and faulty livers, that the only way to get another one is going to be putting yourself at the...

By John Linn

July 23, 2009

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You think health care's bad now? Just wait till 2056 - that's the year when widespread organ failures will wreak havoc across the planet. There will be so many bum tickers and faulty livers, that the only way to get another one is going to be putting yourself at the mercy of GeneCo, makers of biotech-powered organ transplants. Those transplants will cost a fortune, no doubt, but there's no price on life anyway, right? Just don't miss a payment, or GeneCo will repossess your shiny new insides faster than you can say "pass the scalpel." Still feel like complaining about your HMO?

That dystopian future isn't too far off, at least according to the instant cult hit, Repo: The Genetic Opera. The depraved horror flick-cum-musical from Darren Lynn Bousman, the creator of Saw, is one part My Fair Lady, two parts Metropolis, and a heaping of Ichi the Killer thrown in for good measure. Repo received fairly tepid reviews from major outlets when it made a limited debut late last year, but horror film aficionados have praised it as the next big cult flick. With over the top gore, narration delivered via comic book panels, and songs like "Can't Get it Up if the Girl's Breathing?", Repo has definitely found its target audience. And how could you not love the cast: it stars Ohgr of Skinny Puppy fame, Paris Hilton, and Anthony Stewart Head (Giles from Buffy the Vampire Slayer) as the Repo Man himself.

Make an appointment to see Repo: The Genetic Opera when it screens tonight at 10 at Cinema Paradiso (503 SE Sixth St., Fort Lauderdale). Tickets cost $5; stick around afterwards for The Rocky Horror Picture Show just before midnight. Visit fliff.com.
Fri., July 24, 10 p.m., 2009

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