Repo Man(1984)
dir. Alex Cox
Punk, aliens and the repo code in 1980s LA.
Where to watch: Rent $3.99 on Amazon, Apple TV and Fandango At Home; buy from $4.99; no subscription or free option found (JustWatch US, updated 2026-10-26). Verify.Letterboxd ↗
Otto, a Los Angeles punk with no job and no plans, gets taken on as a car repossessor by an older man who tells him 'the repo code'. They chase a Chevy Malibu with something glowing in the trunk. It is a sci-fi, punk, anti-Reagan comedy with a soundtrack by Iggy Pop, Black Flag and Circle Jerks, and its cult status is earned.
Why it’s here
The film is a punk movie that is also about work: Otto's choices are between a supermarket job and a life of taking things from people who can't pay. What's punk is the whole picture: the soundtrack, the generic-labeled cans and the contempt for consumer life. What's pedagogical is its satire of Reaganism and the Cold War. Pairs with Please Kill Me, England's Dreaming and Our Band Could Be Your Life. Note: it is crude, has plenty of 1980s-style violence and casual slurs by characters; older teens and up.
Where This Film Lives
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