"The first time I ever held a pancreas in my hands, I got an erection."
Thus begins REPO MEN, the Philip K. Dick Award-nominated SF thriller from bestselling author Eric Garcia, which comes out on the big screen tomorrow. The book is "gonzo, bloody fun" (i09); in essence a futuristic "serial-killer story, blended with medical drama, blended with a heavy dash of funny corporate evil."
Open the page, and you'll step into a world where corporate greed has taken healthcare to an extreme...in our world, you'd most likely be dead if your heart failed...but in the alternate future reality, you can lease an organ from a major conglomerate. But if you forget to make your payments...the titular REPO MEN will come and physically remove your leased organs...leaving you firmly in the grave, where you belong.
If you're reading this blog, and follow SF, we don't need to remind you that REPO MEN is coming out as a major motion picture on Friday, March 19, starring Jude Law, Forrest Whitaker and Liev Schrieber. In a recent LA Times interview, Whitaker comments on his role as a repo man, and how the film/book's larger message pertains to our own reality: "'The whole concept of 'What do you own?' -- we should at least be able to own ourselves,' he says. 'This whole concept of healthcare [taken to the extreme] -- how much will we do? In this case, we're giving people parts that save their lives, but ultimately we feel we own them.'"
Catch the the trailer for this new flick, which the Miami Herald hails for "its weird, outrageous vibe," and hails the film's "dark, gory vision of a dystopian future leavened with cracked humor, a warped sensibility and a daring spirit" at www.repomenarecoming.com.
Read the book, catch the movie. Then tell us if you feel like complaining about your health care coverage...
