Repo Recall Review

Year 2022
Sean James Producer
Sean James Director
Staring Tony McCarthy, Martin James Dowd, Sean James

Repo Recall Intro

I have been stuck at home with Man Flu. To cheer me up, my Brother suggested that I should watch a show on Prime called Repo Recall - ‘‘It’s a guy repossessing cars’’ he said ‘‘crazy stuff happens”. Something in his voice (and the fact this was my older Brother) told me that not all was as it seems. So apprehensively I loaded the show on Prime and pressed play.

Within the first few minutes, a repossession agent has been thrown over a garden wall, a man had stood on the roof of Mercedes SLK and proceeded to batter it flatter than a pancake with a sledgehammer, there was the worlds cheesiest fight, followed by a chase on dirt bikes, and a debtor is physically pinned down while he is sprayed head to toe with his own vehicle spray paint gun! All seemingly filmed on an iPhone, using some people with very questionable acting ability. Brother, what fresh hell have you got me watching…?

To answer this it’s time for a deeper look into what Repo Recall is all about…

Repo Recall Review

The show Repo Recall is created, written, directed and stars Wolverhampton lad Sean James.
Sean is a Royal Navy Gulf War veteran. After retiring from the forces, Sean tried his hand as a private investigator. This did not last long until Sean found his true passion - a career in car repossession. His Navy training and contacts providing Shean a special set of skills that enabled him to go after the most difficult of repossession cases, much to the joy of the finance companies. After 25 years working as a repossession agent, Sean has changed career once more. Now a self-styled writer, producer, and director with his own Production Company - Kraken Productions, Sean is creating shows based on his vehicle repossession experiences.

This brings us to Repo Recall.

In this show, Sean sits on a couch together with a member of his team, and discusses some of his favourite and memorable repo cases from the last 25 years. Think of the show as a form of repossession AUTObigraphy - get it!? It is about cars – and his history … anyway moving on

On paper, Repo Recall should be a fairly simple channel 5 type documentary. A veteran of the industry providing a retrospective view of what he got up to over 25 years. What makes this show different, and not your usual docudrama is the choice to re-enact cases that verge on the fantastical, cases that shine a light on the general public’s stupidity and ignorance.

As Sean and his crew discuss the cases, we the viewer get to see the repossession being conducted. It is a reconstruction of events masquerading as footage. There is definitely an air of tongue in cheek humour at play. As a raconteur, Sean has a cheeky ability to embellish facts, causing a cut back to the sofa for discussion, followed by a slightly different replay of the story being told.

Each episode contains several repossession stories and stars different personalities from Seans team. Look out for a man mountain by the name of H, and whatever you do, do not touch Pinky! What I find frustrating is we never really get to know if any of the stories are fact or fiction. Sean must have experienced some stupid people and dicey situations whilst carrying out his repossessions, but did he really experience all this crazy stuff that we see in this show? I guess there is no smoke without fire.

Sean comes across very natural on screen, bringing a sense of cheekiness. Charisma oozing into the camera lens. Unlike his counterparts that appear a little camera shy. What is evident is this is a show with a modest working budget. We are not talking about The Grand Tour levels of budget here, but we are talking enough budget to destroy plenty of cars, and in a sequence that would make Clarkson happy, put a caravan out of existence.

Readers of our reviews know that we love to support Indie Film making and that is exactly the vibe Repo Recall is providing. Sean’s writing is plausible and provides enough detail to get his stories and points across. Sean covers cases involving freeman of the land, the wealthy, thugs, and eccentric farmers, each with a very unique Repo approach to the personalities involved. What shines through is Sean’s sense of humour. His writing making light of what I expect, would be a very stressful experience.

The supporting cast are obviously either friends, acquaintances, or come from the amateur dramatics agencies. The directorial style comes across formulaic and deliberate. An example of this is when the aforementioned SLK is destroyed, magically the camera is in exactly the correct place for each hammer blow. Front light cluster blow, got it, rear light cluster blow, got it, bonnet hit, got it, you get the picture. The camera also happens to pan to other people connected to the scene such as an observer making a passing comment, or the Repo Man himself making a witty retort before running into the action. Sometimes this works out well and in other scenes, the word wooden and scripted spring to mind.

However the fantastical situations being depicted outweigh the acting and directorial shortfalls of the repossession scenes.

If you want to see a vehicle being filled with concrete, a vehicle being dropped from height by a tractor, a fight in a vape shop that had a ludicrous amounts of blue plastic containers and rooms full of cardboard boxes, for literally no reason, or a chase sequence in mud pit, then this is the show has you covered.

Sadly, Repo Recall falls for the trap that we see so often with independent productions, annoying stock music. This show appears to have one piece of stock music and they are not afraid to use it, it is in the background...a lot. The one positive is that the dialogue is clear.

Watching Repo Recall reminds me a lot of the outrageous antics that the Top Gear lads got up to and certainly the chemistry Sean has with his staff has a whiff of Top Gear inspiration to it. What I was not aware of before watching this show, is that there is a growing subculture of repossession shows. Operation Repo, Airplane Repo, Blackout, Baggage Battles and of course Lizard Lick Towing, to name just a few. I guess Sean wants his slice of this genre and why not!

So when I asked what the fresh hell my Brother had got me watching, the answer is clear, it is my new automotive based guilty pleasure.

Thanks Bro.

Repo Recall Overall Thoughts

Sean and his team look like they have had a blast independently creating this show. Whilst Repo Recall may not appeal to all (those looking for high budget, or documentary style content) it is clear that Sean has cultivated a specific audience with his work.

Despite the series shortcomings, Repo Recall is certainly entertaining. Couple that with the fact that it made me laugh whilst full of Man Flu, and he has an episode set in our hometown of Lichfield, means I give Repo Recall a Silver Hedgehog Rating of 3.4 ‘Average’.

(please do not visit us Sean!)

The Silver Hedgehog Rating: 3.4 'Average'

Script 🦔🦔
Casting 🦔🦔
Sound 🦔🦔🦔
Effects 🦔🦔🦔🦔🦔
Video Quality 🦔🦔


Despite the series shortcomings, Repo Recall is certainly entertaining

Words Garry Llewellyn
Editor JJ

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