Repo Man (1984)

(On VHS, August 2000) If I had to pick and choose films ready for a remake, I wouldn’t go for bad films that inexplicably became popular (Planet Of The Apes) nor classic films that really don’t need to be redone (Psycho). I’d select films that had a lot of potential, but for some reason failed to completely exploit this potential. Repo Man is pretty much the prototypical example of this: A good script that already contains classic lines (“The life of a Repo Man is Always intense!”) but could be polished, roles that are good showcases for actors (in this case, a very young Emilio Estevez), special effects used carefully but that don’t really survive today’s practiced eyes and an overall sense of fun that would really be appropriate to try to re-create. Until then, however, you can always go back and rent this version, which is definitely bizarre but always a blast.