Last weekend, my boyfriend introduced me to the most amazing movie musical I’ve seen in a long time. More accurately, it’s an opera — almost entirely sung in rich and powerful goth rock and with powerful themes to match any Greek Tragedy.

Set in a futuristic world (2040 A.D.), where a genetics company has become the most powerful entity on the planet, Repo: the Genetic Opera presents the premise that any necessary organ transplant is possible, cures for many life-threatening diseases are easily available, and even cosmetic surgery is so common that for many it has become an addiction. One character, Blind Mag, has even been given the gift of sight courtesy of Geneco — in exchange for which she has been contracted to a life of virtual slavery, singing each night in the company-sponsored “genetic opera” and serving as their prime spokesperson.

But there is an even worse catch — people unable to make the payments for Geneco’s transplant services are hunted down by “The Repo Man” — played brilliantly by Anthony Head (best known as Giles from the Buffy the Vampire Slayer TV series).

In this world, the owner of Geneco, Rotti Largo (Paul Sorvino) is the most powerful man in the world, and he has managed to get a law enacted that makes it legal for Geneco to repossess the organs of anyone who defaults on their transplant surgery payments.

This is invariably a cruel, bloody, grisly mess. Victims die in terror as the Repo Man glories in their torture and his own self-loathing for being a licensed serial killer. Scenes of his murders are reminiscent of Sweeney Todd, Phantom of the Opera, and Les Miserables all rolled into one.

This dystopia is brilliantly depicted in a truly beautiful Gothic style. The budget was not high ($8.5 million), but the production values most definitely are, and the artistic direction is superb. From the cemetery where the heroine passes her time in the crypt of her mother, to the tower room where her father keeps her locked away as an invalid, to the sordid back alleys where “The Graverobber” peddles a drug stolen from corpses, the sets are breathtaking in their dark beauty and surreal quality. The costumes are gorgeous, and several Goths of my acquaintance are already planning their own reproductions.

The music is brilliantly written, and surprisingly well sung — I say surprising only because I had no idea that Anthony Head had such a wonderful singing voice, or that Paul Sorvino had such a deep, rich operatic tenor himself.

Other surprises come from the casting. Blind Mag is played hauntingly by Sarah Brightman, her ethereal voice adding an achingly poignant quality to her role. Paris Hilton, of all people, plays the drug and surgery addicted spoiled brat daughter to Paul Sorvino. Not only does she sing well, she acts the part, which is more of a stretch than you might imagine because of the science fiction twists to a character that would otherwise be fairly close to her reality. I can only imagine that she wanted this part to show a certain depth of self-awareness, as well as a self-mocking commentary on the shallowness of her media image. At one point her newly transplanted face falls off — right in the middle of a stage performance being broadcast to millions — revealing the raw and bloody naked muscle beneath. The irony could not be more perfect.

This film, like any good opera, does NOT have a happy ending. The tragic flaws of its many players lead to death for some, and undeserved rewards for others. The heroine is left with grief and loneliness, but also a new life with the mixed blessing of knowing the truths that were hidden from her all her life by her lying, murderous father. Nevertheless, it is clear they love each other to the bitter end.

While this film will not appeal to everyone, it most certainly will appeal to most Goths. Deliberately released only to seven theaters, its makers fully expect its popularity to spread by word of mouth, and it is rapidly becoming a cult classic. People are already engaged in “shadowcasting” (a practice known from reenactments of The Rocky Horror Picture Show.) I highly recommend Repo: the Genetic Opera.

It’s home page is found at http://www.repo-opera.com/

BB,

Vivienne

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I just posted about these books to my ile mailing list (an ile is a household in Lucumi (Santeria). The one I belong to meets at my padrino’s (godfather’s) house). They are new additions to the bookstore at Persephone’s Haven.

I just finished the first one, Working for the Devil. The main character, Dante Valentine, is a necromancer who works with Anubis and the Egyptian pantheon. During the course of the novel she travels to Nuevo Rio, where there are many shamans practicing Santeria and Voudon. In one scene, she sees a woman has a drawn a veve (a voudon symbol) in the street. She describes how the chicken that the woman sacrifices keeps twitching after its dead, and as the blood pours onto the veve, Dante feels the rush of power flowing in. A few moments later, she sees someone resembling Baron Samedi (one of the voudon loa (spirits)) coming through the crowd, but she leaves the area after that.

I haven’t yet read the other books in the series, so I don’t know how much these traditions come into her story lines, but I was quite interested with her treatment of them in this book. If anyone else here has read any of them, please let me know what you think.

BB,

Vivienne

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Through my other company, Persephone’s Haven, I have recently been able to set up my On the Care and Feeding of Spirits book as an ebook through Click Bank, and the account was just approved yesterday! Check out the home page at www.careandfeedingofspirits.com - it’s got a brief excerpt and some personal accounts that might interest everyone.

I especially wanted to make sure everyone was aware of certain offers I’m making that click bank would not allow me to include because of their policy regarding event tickets. Everyone who buys the book is eligible to participate in a FREE 2 hour teleconference on the subject; I’m limiting the conference to 20 people, but if I fill one up fast I will set up another one for the overflow. I can record these through Talk Shoe, so I will also be able to make the podcast available for free for anyone who couldn’t attend by phone, but the podcast archive will only be available to people who have purchased the book.

The second offer they wouldn’t let me post was that at the end of the teleconference I will be holding a drawing from the names of the attendees. First prize will be a FREE 10 minute tarot reading over the phone, and second prize will be a FREE On the Care and Feeding of Spirits magnet.

Buying the book will take you a download page where the book and the free bonus material (a limited time offer only available through 10/31 and 11/4) can be downloaded instantly, and there is a form there to fill out to sign up for the free enewsletter that will be used to send out the schedule for the teleconference (or to mail out the bound copies of the book for the people who want one). I also hope to use the enewsletter to post some of the stories and questions that come up during the teleconference to create an additional resource.

So, lots of new free topical stuff for Halloween/Samhain, everyone. Have a Happy Halloween, and a Blessed Samhain!

BB,

Vivienne

I was invited to write an article about vampirism for the Instant Magic newsletter. It’s published in their October issue, right hand column, “The Truth About Vampires.” The publisher mentioned that several members of the local Pagan and Wiccan meet up groups have been asking a lot of questions about vampires lately, and making a lot of comments, some positive and some negative, so he asked me to write an article that would answer some of those questions and hopefully dispel some of the negativity. Please tell me what you think of the article. Also, the original version of the article that I created to post at the meet up groups themselves, is posted at the Sanford Vampire and Shadowlore meet up in the files section. I plan on turning this into an Article Base article soon, as well.

Please take a look at the articles and comment here to let me know what you think, how I can improve further articles on the subject, or if there is anything about the subject that you would like to know more about in another article.

Enjoy!

BB,

Vivienne

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You have been invited by viviennedavalon to join a live Community Call. Sanford Vampire and Shadowlore Meet Up (Join in) Host: viviennedavalon - vivienne_davalon@yahoo.com Episode: EPISODE8 - Sanford Vampire and Shadowlore Meet Up - history and folklore Well, we didn’t have access to the community room at Panera Bread last time until mid-way through the meeting, but hopefully that doesn’t happen too often. Otherwise, it has been working out quite well for us. It is quieter for our recordings, and Kirra continues to come through for us by bringing her great mike. Of course, it helps if I remember to hit the “record” button on Talk Shoe, so there is actually a podcast for people to access later! eep! Last meeting’s topic was suggested by Vampiress, and she took the lead on this one. We addressed the relationship between vampire and donor, how to appropriately begin such a relationship, how to delineate the parameters of the relationship, spell out the responsibilities each has to the other, and avoid problems. It was a very informative meet up, and I am just kicking myself to here and back that I forgot to hit “record!” We will have to repeat the topic sometime down the line so we can have a podcast on the subject up for handy reference. Our next meet up on October 3, 2008 is our last meeting before Halloween, so Mordred suggested we talk about history, folklore, and other topics that are usually addressed by Hollywood and TV documentaries during this month — facts and fallacies, near-misses, myth and legend, etc. If you have any books along the lines of the “Vampire Encyclopedia” and its ilk, please bring them with you for handy reference and to share around. *** As our meet up matures, we want to continue to reach out to more like minded people in our area who need some networking and social acceptance, and who want the opportunity to learn and to teach. Our members have mentioned being rather insulated because of family issues, or the underwhelming enthusiasm of at least one local Wiccan group for vampires, or social drama online. We’ve been teaching specific topics and gotten some good discussions going, and want that to continue. We’re here to be an educational resource and support network, and the more talented people we get who are willing to share their experiences, the better that resource will be for all our members and for the larger community. There is a lot of creative cross-pollination going on, and I want us to continue to create a space and network that encourages productive, creative interaction, personal growth, and community cooperation to make great things happen! Looking forward to meeting more of you at October’s meet up. BB, Vivienne Call ID: 17560 Personal Message from the Host: This host did not include a personal message. Scheduled Time: Date: Fri, October 3, 2008 Time: 07:15 PM EDT How to participate: Call in: Dial: (724) 444-7444 Enter: 17560 # (Call ID) Enter: 1 # or your PIN Join from your computer: Click here to join the call or just listen along (Optional) Become a TalkShoe member Facebook user? You can join this Call directly through the TalkShoe Community Calling Facebook application. Listen to the Recording: If you missed this event or want to hear previous recorded episodes click here. P.S.: If you enjoyed this post, please share it by clicking on the “share” button below. Thank you!

We now have our web page up and running, so please take a look around the site to learn more about us. More information will be uploaded as we go, including a volunteer information page and a sponsors information page. Subscribe to the rss feed of our blog (the News and Updates page) to stay informed about changes, updates, and other news. Soon I’ll have a feedblitz icon up so that you can have posts emailed directly to your inbox, if you prefer that subscription method.

Right now, we are working on the first in our educational video series. We hope to have out in plenty of time for Halloween, since it teaches you how to create realistic looking headstones from Styrofoam! We will post here once that product is up and ready for purchase, so stay tuned.

Again, welcome to Nephilim United — we look forward to getting to know you!

BB,

Vivienne D’Avalon