gave us all those god damn snakes on that god damn plane. There's no doubt what you're in for, but even walking into the film eyes wide open, it's impossible to be prepared for the amount of B-movie insanity that's in store. Director Jason Eisener has taken every demented thought in his brain and splattered it(along with various body parts) against the wall for our sick enjoyment, and if you're into that sorta thing you won't be disappointed.If you're able to stomach the opening scene then the rest of the story will only make you queasy by comparison. The titular hobo(Rutger Hauer, more grizzled than ever) arrives at Hope Town(defiled to say something much more vulgar) only to find that the the place is a literal Hell hole. You think Batman has it rough in Gotham City? Let him try cleaning up this hellish corner of the world. The hobo's introduction to the town is a scarring one, as he witnesses a disgusting decapitation(via manhole cover!) of a man in broad daylight. The perpetrators are the town's de facto rulers: The Drake, and his two bullying sons: Ivan and Slick(Gregory Smith!!?). As the cranium-relieved victim's body is barely cold, a fountain of blood shoots into the air, prompting some evil go-go dancer to bathe in the stuff. Like I said, if you can survive this scene then the rest is cake.
The rest of the film is deliriously over-the-top. The hobo quickly runs afoul of The Drake, taking a pretty mean whuppin' in the process. His only real hope in life is to beg enough money to buy a $50 lawn mower and...start a business somewhere? Not in this town. After sinking so low as to chew glass for a measley $10, the hobo decides he's had enough. He's going to clean this place up once and for all. Getting his hands on a trusty shotgun, he begins handing out his own brand of vigilante justice. Befriending a local hooker(Molly Dunsworth), the "bum and the trick" start cutting a bloody swath through The Drake's operation, forcing the twisted crimelord to sick a pair of armored, robotic mercenaries named The Plague on them.
Hobo with a Shotgun started as a gag trailer, created by Eisener and entered into a contest run by Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino. The trailer won, and became part of the many hilarious trailers in their 2007 twin bill, Grindhouse. Machete
, the first of those spoofs to be brought to the big screen, was released last year and while it was an effective exploitation experience, there was still too much gloss to it. Too many big names, too well shot, and overall just a bit too pretty. I loved it, but not necessarily for being a true grindhouse effort. Hobo with a Shotgun is the real deal, and it's clear Eisener's love of the genre runs deep. Everything from the sometimes crappy camerawork, to the desperate overacting by the vast majority of the cast. One of the traits of those old 70s flicks that was prevalent was in hiding the production flaws in geysers of fake blood and mounds of severed prosthetic body parts. If you thought there was too much of the red stuff in Tarantino's Kill Bill
, then Hobo with a Shotgun makes that look like a slow trickle. There's so much you'll need to take a shower afterwards. Eisener no doubt amped up the violence just a tad to cover for similar budgetary shortages, but it adds an authentic touch. He even shoots the film in a grainy, Technicolor style that'll have you digging through closets for your old VHS. If there's any actor more perfectly suited for this film than Rutger Hauer then I don't know who it could be. Hauer has been around a long time, most notably in flicks like Blade Runner
and most recently in Batman Begins
, but it's been awhile since he had a role this meaty. The veteran actor sinks his teeth fully into it, providing a number of gruff, quotable monologues that make absolutely no sense. The one about bears is so batcrap insane but a perfect little glimpse into the zany storm rumbling in that brain of his. If there's one reason for non-grindhouse fans to check this out, it's for Hauer. It's because of him that the film remains interesting long after the shock of the blinding violence has passed, but not even he can cover up some of the lulls. Certainly the rest of the cast can't. Even by grindhouse standards the acting is atrocious. Nobody's going to claim Hobo with a Shotgun is high class cinema, but in it's own way it elevates the recent trend of emulating the old B-movie standards. Without spoiling the ending, here's hoping we get to see more of the lawnmower loving, glass chewing hobo's misadventures sometime in the near future.
