In episode 28 of the Cult Film Club, hosts Paxton, Shawn and Jaime finally tackle one of the most quintessential cult films of the past 30 years, 1984’s Repo Man!
Directed by outsider auteur Alex Cox, Repo Man centers on semi-nihilistic punk Otto (Emilio Estevez) who is reluctantly recruited into the seedy world of car repossession by repo lifer Bud (Harry Dean Stanton) and his cohorts at the Helping Hands agency. If learning the ropes, “stealing” back cars from deadbeat owners, and dodging violent Mod rock bands weren’t crazy enough, Otto is also on the trail of a hot (literally, sweating balls hot) Chevy Malibu that is very possibly carrying a leaking neutron bomb, though it might also be the mobile sarcophagus for the decomposing bodies of four squid-like aliens. Figuring out how this car ties into his new girlfriend Leila, a couple of rival Latin repo men, and quite possibly time travel might be too much for Otto to handle without a frontal lobotomy.
In this episode we talk about the film, its place in cult history, the cast, and most importantly the punk rock soundtrack that elevates and even saved the film.
Listen now!
(Or right-click and save this file to download -> Cult Film Club, Episode #28: Repo Man)
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Great episode, as always! Early on Pax refers to a Simpsons quote, when Lisa is asked what is she rebelling against and she replies “Watcha got?” Didn’t know if you realized that the Simpsons lifted the quote from The Wild One, a 1953 film about rebellious motorcycle gang-types.
Anyway, can’t wait til the next episode!
I knew it was lifted from an older movie I had never seen, but I always thought it was Rebel Without a Cause. Thanks for setting me straight! Yeah, my reference for that quote will always be that Simpsons episode. Not the movie. LOL
I think half the quotes I spit out fall into that category 😉
Thanks! And good call on the quote, I’ve even seen that film and I forgot its origins :p
The Walmart “Great Value” generic products are all white packaging with bland blue lettering. Always makes me think of Repo Man when I’m in a Walmart.
http://mypbrand.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/variety-great-value-1024×541.jpg
The designer in me wants to make all the package color accents light blue like that coffee can lid 😉
There’s just something so soulless about the bland uniformity of it all. It’s like a corporate formula for anti-imagination.
Ha, good call! I totally didn’t think about those. I wonder if Ralph’s still uses that design. There’s one about 1.5 hours away from me, but I’m not sure a 3 hour roadtrip is worth it 😉
I’m don’t know. I’m in New York, we don’t have that chain here.