"Repo Man" (1984), Directed by Alex Cox

Meet Otto (Emilio Esteves), an aimless young rebel stuck in the dredges of an insignificant and unfulfilling lower-middle-class suburban lifestyle. Repo Man chronicles Otto’s journey from “white suburban punk” to the man in the passenger’s seat of a flying neon Chevy Malibu en route to rendezvous with extraterrestrials. Generally ignored upon its release, Repo Man’s freakishly fresh and indisputedly original content has solidified it as a cult classic years later. Its soundtrack, a nostalgic collection of 80’s punk rock, is equally iconic and has garnered a decent deal of recognition in underground pop culture.

The thrashing guitars and resounding aggression of Iggy Pop’s title theme in tandem with the eye-popping opening credits is reminiscent of the chemistry created by Bernard Hermann’s disjointed composition for the frenzied opening sequence in Psycho, and Ennio Morricone’s bombastic score for The Good, The Bad and The Ugly‘s high-octane intro. Much like the aforementioned films, Repo Man maintains its freshness decades later as a classic work of counter-culture cinema.

We are first introduced to our protagonist Otto when gets himself fired from his job at a generic supermarket for flagrant insubordination. His boss, Mr. Humphries,  muses on about how a young man his age in these uncertain economic times should be more appreciative of his “opportunities.” In a historical context, Humphries is a stereotype of some of the historically unlikeable ranks of authority figures from Otto’s oppressing generation: consistently preaching morality while both a byproduct and member of an equally morally bankrupt society. Otto’s expresses his “rebel without a cause” attitude with a two-finger salute and a bravado “**** you.” He is clearly not cut from the same societal cloth as his prior generation, nor does he abide with the conservative ideologies they represent.

“There’s f***ing room to move as a fry cook, man.”

Oddly enough, aside from his initially congenial chemistry with Bud (Harry Dean Stanton), Otto does not have any true friends in the film; his “girl doll” Leila included. Perched on a stair step during a heavy downpour donning a ridiculous umbrella-like hat, Otto relates a dream to one of these arbitrary acquaintances Kevin. In the dream they are both old and working in a “sleazy shit hole motel,” a subconscious expression of Otto’s reservations about his future. Kevin retorts with comical conviction that there is room to move as a fry cook (“You know I can be manager in two years… king… God”).

"I blame society."

Kevin is one of the many characters that set the stage for a society of low standards too tiny for Otto’s ambition–or paradoxically, the lack thereof. In order to escape the banality, Otto reluctantly seizes an opportunity to join what comes to be a hyper-realistic breed of repo men/woman, soon to become entangled in screwy semantics surpassing the barrier of humankind. Bud preaches to him, “the common man spends his time avoiding tense situations. A repo man spends his time getting into tense situations.” He even states a code that he abides by, the “Repo code,” with enthusiastic conviction… after snorting a line of speed. Bud is clearly dedicated to his job and wants to take Otto under his wing.

Initially opposed to the societal role repo men represented, Otto soon finds himself a convert when he is handed a wad of cash. He is metaphorically taking back what his predecessors have ascertained (with or without integrity), granting him a sense of self-entitlement over his oppressors. Despite this unseemly path of self-indulgence, Otto’s whimsical aura makes him a likable hero.

"ZAP!"

Otto’s occupation as a repo man introduces him to an exciting and equally seedy subculture of car thieves, government officials and extra-terrestrials; a stark contrast to his lackluster start in suburbia. “Real life car chases?! Cops and robbers?! I never knew being a repo man was this intense!” Otto exclaims after an unpleasant encounter with repo rivals “The Rodriguez Brothers.” Bud triumphantly shouts “the life of a repo man is always intense!”

Repo Man is a rare film. It is both funny and captivating, simultaneously satirizing and embracing 80’s punk culture; always original with a memorable rockin’ soundtrack. I would never hesitate to recommend this offbeat/oddball film to anyone. Alex Cox’s directorial debut is without a doubt his strongest achievement.

Overall: 9.1/10