2 Distant Strangers (alt.theory)

The most plausible explanation I can come up goes back to the idea of him being trapped in the hell of his own memory. I think his first encounter with the police officer is real. In this case, he's choked out (not shot) by Merk and you are led to believe he dies based on him waking up to start the day over. But what if he didn't die? He could very well have ended up in a coma. The loops are essentially his mind trying to reboot itself and wake him up....unsuccessfully in the film we see.