Hard-core musicians and heavy metal fans have, for years, taken a guilty pleasure in this musicals relatively heavy soundtrack and intensely dark visuals and themes. Due to this as well as its poor critical reviews it has managed to gather a respectful cult following. The musical is set in a dystopian vision of the future where society is ruled by GeneCo, a multimillion dollar corporation that leases vital organs to people who need them through the use of strict and expensive payment plans. Anybody who defaults on this plan is tracked down by company assassins known as Repo Men, who forcefully remove the organs from the clients. Those who are wealthy enough for their health to be a non-issue find themselves spending all their extra cash on extensive and often disturbing plastic surgery, or a vast amount of addictive pain killers that are made from chemicals stolen from corpses. While it isnt quite a horror film, it is written and directed by the man behind three of the Saw films II, III and IV specifically so it doesnt hold back on the gore. One of the films greatest moments is when the character Blind Mag played by Broadway legend Sarah Brightman tears her own eyes out in an act of defiance before being impaled on a steel fence, resulting in a dark little treat for both horror and musical fans. The reason Repo! takes the bottom spot is because of its disastrously low critical reception, but that hasnt stopped thousands of people from taking delight in this dystopian rock operas heavy hitting music and vaguely philosophical themes. While it may not be of as high a quality as the rest of the entries in this article, it is perfect for converting that stubborn goth rocker into a musical fan.
A writer, actor, teacher and musician from New South Wales, Australia. His first play/musical "Hipster Apocalypse: A Zombie Cabaret" will be hitting the stage in Wollongong, Australia later this year. If you have any questions or just want to chat, you can contact Bradley on Facebook, Twitter and Google+
