There are two kinds of people in this world: People who love and recognize Repo! The Genetic Opera as an audacious work of genius, and people who never illegally downloaded the music video for “Bring Me To Life” by Evanescence off of Limewire. As Michael Gingold wrote in his FANGORIA review of the film from 2008, “This is one movie whose visual vibe cries out to be witnessed on a big screen, and like a traditional opera, it’s an experience that can only be significantly enhanced by the presence of a packed house of fellow appreciative spectators.”
I was an 18-year-old goth studying musical theatre when Repo! went on tour, and I drove nearly four hours from my underfunded Midwest state school to the Music Box Theatre in Chicago, IL, to experience the film on the big screen. It’s been a love affair ever since, and I consider it one of the great honors of my life to have moderated an exclusive Q&A with director Darren Lynn Bousman, actor Bill Moseley, and co-writers and creators Terrence Zdunich and Darren Smith for a panel celebrating the Repo! The Genetic Opera 4K Steelbook® and the film’s 17th birthday (if you know, you know) at the most recent Midsummer Scream Halloween & Horror Convention.
Repo! was and continues to be a source of great joy for the outsiders of outsiders — aka horror obsessives who don’t fit in because of their love of musicals and musical theatre kids who are viewed as “weird” for loving horror. The film’s dissection of beauty, identity, and the ability to change your appearance at will has been embraced by those who exist beyond the gender binary, and the film has playfully earned the reputation of being “Succession for people who shop at Hot Topic” thanks to the Largo family conflict at the center.
The music is as addictive as Zydrate, the nu-metal styling beautifully encapsulates mid-to-late 2000s aesthetics, and with America’s continued failure to implement universal healthcare, Repo! has only become more relevant over time. But if there’s one constant in the film that has never wavered and is, quite simply, not up for debate, it’s that Paris Hilton was perfectly cast as Amber Sweet.
Joining Zdunich as the GraveRobber is a star-studded cast from every corner of the entertainment industry, including the legendary Paul Sorvino, Broadway goddess Sarah Brightman, at-the-time teen sensation Alexa PenaVega, horror icon Bill Moseley, Skinny Puppy's Nivek Ogre, and Buffy the Vampire Slayer star Anthony Stewart Head. And then there’s Paris Hilton, known at the time as a reality TV socialite who was “famous for being famous” (even though she had already starred in House of Wax and released the pop banger “Stars Are Blind”).
“Amber Sweet was such an iconic character to play because she was everything at once — glamorous, chaotic, dark, rebellious, and completely unhinged,” Paris Hilton tells FANGORIA. “I loved every second of becoming her. The insane costumes, the makeup, the music, the whole twisted world of Repo! — it was unlike anything I’d ever done before. I got to completely transform myself and show a side of me that people weren’t expecting.”
Despite what revisionist historians would have you believe, people were incredibly cruel to Paris Hilton in the 2000s, and the “See Paris Die” marketing campaign that surrounded House of Wax gave a runway for people to revel in openly hating a woman who, at the time, wasn’t old enough to legally rent a car on her own. Her interview in the documentary The American Meme discussing it is heartbreaking, sobering stuff.
This meant that by the time Repo! The Genetic Opera came around a few years later, the general public was already primed to hate her casting, simply because she’s Paris Hilton, regardless of how undeniably perfect she was in the role. Even today, naysayers refuse to accept that Hilton was truly inspired casting, because doing so would mean admitting that a woman they’ve been culturally groomed to despise delivered a phenomenal performance. But fortunately, just as many understand that Hilton’s breathy, bratty turn as Amber Sweet is part of what makes the film work.
“The fact that Repo! still has this incredible cult following all these years later means so much to me,” Hilton tells Fango. “I love seeing fans recreate Amber’s looks, perform the songs, and keep the midnight screenings alive. That’s what makes this movie so special.” And Hilton is part of that special sauce. Carmela “Amber Sweet” Largo, the only daughter and youngest child of Rotti Largo; the ironic face of the Zydrate Support Network; needed to be played by Paris Hilton.
In the 10-minute promotional short film and pitch trailer for the rock opera directed by Darren Lynn Bousman from 2006, the character was named “Heather Sweet” and played by Saw franchise star Shawnee Smith. Obviously, Smith does a fantastic job, but the metatextual layers that immediately come into play when Hilton stepped into the role enrich the already exquisite text of the film. It’s doubtful that anyone could have imagined in 2008 that they’d relate to a character played by Paris “That’s Hot” Hilton, but that’s precisely what happened.
“It was never about fitting in or being like anything else. It was about creating something totally original and fearless,” Hilton says. “And I think that’s why people still connect with it. There’s something really beautiful about a film that celebrates being different, finding an audience that embraces exactly that. I’m so proud to be part of the Repo! family. Amber Sweet will always have a special place in my heart.”
Fans can also learn more about how Hilton came into the fold with Repo! The Genetic Opera thanks to Repo! This Movie: The Anatomy of a Cult, a brand-new feature-length documentary from SpookyDan Walker, included with the film’s 4K SteelBook® release, available now from Lionsgate Limited.
