It’s better for everyone if science fiction doesn’t take itself too seriously. George Lucas understood that. So did Philip K. Dick. Without a doubt, Alex Cox, director of Repo Man (1984), was aware of the formula. But he went far beyond our known galaxy.
The plot concerns a young man, Otto Maddox (Emilio Estevez) who gets a job repossessing cars. He’s pretty good at it… more or less. One of the cars he sets out to repossess, gives strange, glowing vibes. There’s something in its trunk that is emitting radiation at a dangerously high rate.
Everyone, it seems, is after this car. UFO scientists, government agents, and even a televangelist.
The film has been called a satire of America under the Reagan administration. Sure, that would make sense, but it’s not necessary to know. Repo man is one of those very rare films, like Pulp Fiction, that somehow adds hairline cracks to well established molds. These quirky, low budget masterpieces, developed far from the confines of major studios, often punch far above their weight. And when they do, the results can be surprising knockouts.
Satire. Black humor. Aliens. A love story. Space travel. A down-and-out 1980s Los Angeles. How do you get all these elements in one movie and make it coherent? Films like this raise the bar; and if they have any purpose, that’s what cult movies are supposed to do (but thankfully don’t even know it).
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