Straight to Hell (1987)

The Quick and the Dead did this so much better.

As a massive fan of Repo Man - probably watched it twenty times in my life - I’m surprised I haven’t dug into Alex Cox’s other work until now. I didn’t even realize this was a Cox production until I noticed pretty much the entire cast of Repo Man reuniting. That was fun. The movie around them was not.

I found Straight to Hell pointless and meandering in a bad way. It felt like an excuse for a bunch of punks to party in the desert, which it probably was. Stuff actually happens in Repo Man. It has a point - something to say about society, youth, capitalism - all rolled into this Gonzo surrealist fantasy. This has none of that. It just vibes aimlessly.

I actually just watched The Quick and the Dead by Sam Raimi recently, and watching this made me realize how fucking incredible that film is. Similar concept - a small town run by absolute degenerates killing each other - but Raimi has so much more style and more to say with such a simple plot. The acting prowess is incomparable.

The insane fascination with black coffee, Jim Jarmusch showing up - it all felt like parody. It feels like it’s prefiguring so much 90s indie cinema, all the Tarantino worship to come, but without the substance.

I went down an Alex Cox rabbit hole after this. What a strange, weird man. I wouldn’t recommend this movie to many people unless you’re a die-hard fan.

Also on Letterboxd