Repo Man: Alex Cox

One of the biggest sources of charm in Alex Cox's Repo Man is the fact that it throws so many different genres, characters, and plots together in a blender and purées them to the sound of early 80s L.A. punk. It is cacophonous, loud, unpredictable, and deliriously absurd. Quite simply, there has never been a film before or since quite like it. It (alternatively) focuses on a young punk named Otto Maddox who becomes a repossession agent, his adventures in the line of duty, a mad scientist with radioactive aliens in the trunk of his car, a government cover-up, and turf wars between different repo agencies. Unfortunately, the bizarre irreverence with which these narratives are intertwined is also its greatest flaw. By the end, it is almost impossible to follow exactly what is going on in the film. Instead, we are barraged with a volley of violence, drama, and delightfully low-fi special effects. But I suspect that this was a creative choice instead of merely poor cinematic craftsmanship. It almost seems like the ending of Repo Man was trying more to invoke an alternative state of mind rather than effectively tie up the plot. But Cox doesn't strike the right balance between chaos and order which made his masterpiece Walker (1987) cohere successfully. So Repo Man collapses in on itself. But, again, that is the film's charm. So watch Repo Man. It's a glorious, ugly, beautiful, nightmarish mess of a movie.

6/10