Humpday Horror with the Jolly Goblin: "Hobo with a Shotgun"

Hobo With a Shotgun (2011)

Starring: Rutger Hauer, Molly Dunsworth, Gregory Smith, Brian Downey, Nick Bateman 

Directed by Jason Eisener

Back in 2007, Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino gave us Grindhouse, a tribute to the old cheap exploitation flicks that showed in the types of theaters after which the project took its' name.  I call it a project because it was much more than movie, it was an experience.  Grindhouse had two full feature-length films and a whole slew of fake trailers, including Jason Eisner's Hobo With a Shotgun.  Fortunately for us, much like Rodriguez's Machete, this has been turned into a full-length movie.

The film opens on our hero, the Hobo (Rutget Hauer), arriving at Hope Town (or as the graffiti on the sign tells us, Scum Town) via a freight train.  All he seems to want is to buy a lawnmower, but Scum Town is a nasty place, and that plan gets put on the back burner as he gets fed up and spends his saved up money on a shotgun instead, beginning a one-man war on crime.  However, the Drake (Brian Downey) runs all of the crime in Scum Town, so he doesn't take too kindly to some homeless man messing up his business, and he sends his two sons to track this hobo down, pry the shotgun from his hands, and end him.

Along with the Hobo, there is the hooker with a heart of gold, Abby (Molly Dunsworth) who rounds out the cast as the only other likable character in the movie, and one of the very few who have any development at all.  Every single other person is either a rapist, murderer, child molester, junkie, or sadist.  Plenty of canon fodder for the oncoming slaughter.  Good riddance.

This movie is depraved.  When there isn't a head being ripped off by razor wire, there's a pair of tits being sprayed with blood.  Not to say this is disturbing, however, because this movie quite obviously doesn't take itself all that seriously.  If you are a fan of the Troma catalogue (The Toxic Avenger, Terror Firmer, Poultrygeist) then you'll know exactly what to expect, but for those of you unfamiliar, I'd liken it to something similar to The Evil Dead 2.  It's so completely over-the-top in its' gore that it becomes comedic.  This isn't Hostel, and it's all the better for it.

To add to the Troma feel of the movie, the acting is incredibly awkward and just as over-the-top as the gore.  Some may be a bit off-put by this, but in this kind of movie, it didn't really bother me all that much.  Based on his previous efforts, we already know that Hauer is a great actor (Blade Runner, The Hitcher), so I can't help but believe that it was entirely intentional.  Then again, seeing anyone deliver the laughable dialogue in this movie with a straight face will only make it all the funnier anyway.

The splatstick gore and corny dialogue can get a little bit tiring, but fortunately, as soon as it starts to wear out its' welcome, we are introduced to The Plague, a couple of bulletproof, leather-clad robot knights who ride motorcycles and chop people up with ease.  They are absolutely ridiculous, and make everything else seem tame in comparison, yet when they arrive you know it's for one reason… to kick ass.  There are little hints here and there of a long elaborate backstory, but they never give one to us, which is a smart move.  Sometimes things are just cooler when they're left mysterious, and this is certainly one of those times.

While Hobo With a Shotgun isn't a movie for everyone, those of you out there who like this type of thing are going to love it.  The sheer amount of fun that this movie offers is more than enough to make up for any shortcomings it has.  Not to mention, Eisner managed to do something that Rodriguez and Tarantino both failed to do, and that's make an authentic feeling exploitation film.

Check it out.  It's playing in very few theaters, but it's available On Demand.

3.5/5

The Jolly Goblin (aka Zak Greene) is a Connecticut-based
artist/film enthusiast/ friendly bridge troll. He's awesome.