When people think of exploitation films, there’s a tendency to set blinders on to the 1970’s and imagine exclusively of horror/slasher films. Despite the revivalist nostalgia for drive-ins and grindhouse theaters, I'd wager that for many of us who fall into the target demographic of today's cult films, our primary exposure to cinematic discards was worn-out VHS tapes of 80's action schlock, the ones that the Stallones and Seagals were too good for.
For Hobo with a Shotgun director Jason Eisener, those films exude a certain energy that he thinks are worth replicating. Put it this way: when they were about to start production, Eisener showed his crew clips of Death Wish 3 (1985) to get them up to speed on what they’re going to be doing. If you’ve never seen Death Wish 3, it’s the sequel that takes the Charles Bronson series from a simple and crass revenge tale to a highly-stylized, over-the-top nonsense—and it’s the perfect template for a movie like Hobo with a Shotgun.
One hitch with Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez’s Grindhouse was that, as a double feature, they took completely opposite approaches to the concept. Rodriguez made the antithesis of a grindhouse movie with famous actors, CGI and a generally big budget look, while Tarantino committed to something that truly looks independent and dangerous, but is more reflective of the ambitious, disquieting European schlock than what people typically associate with trashy exploitation. Hobo with a Shotgun doesn't really fit into their mold, because there’s no Planet Terror missing reel gimmickry or Black Dynamite self-aware winkery here. Not even the scratchy look of the original fake trailer that kicked off the project 4 years ago. Eisener didn’t make a spoof of a grindhouse movie. He didn’t make an homage to a grindhouse movie. He made one. He made a film that, from style to music to content, all feel like it’s a genuine direct-to-VHS movie. A good one, mind you, because there’s nothing worse than a movie trying to be purposely bad just to get a cheap laugh. I’ve seen enough of that shit from cowardly film school burnouts who'd rather fancy themselves the next Ed Wood than put any real effort in their projects. There's no trace of irony in what Eisener revels in, which is key in this being an enjoyable film on its own.
Hobo with a Shotgun has a lot more in common with Rob Zombie's The Devil’s Rejects in that it emulates a throwback to tell its story; but unlike Zombie’s film, its role model isn’t as highly placed as Sam Peckinpah. It’s deducible from just one look that Eisener’s biggest influence is the Aussie exploitation director Brian Trenchard-Smith, who was at his peak in the 80’s with dystopian movies like Dead-End Drive-In and Blood Camp Thatcher. Hobo with a Shotgun shares Trenchard-Smith’s vibe (or maybe I just automatically associate that vibe with Trenchard-Smith), except it’s left more vague as to why Hobo’s world is the urban hell that it is.
Everything about the plot, you know from the title. As the film opens, Rutger Hauer’s Hobo jumps a freight train like Kenny Rogers to get a fresh start on his panhandling in a new city, but finds that the city called Happy Town is ruled by a maniac named Drake, who’s like a cross between Jerry Falwell and Vlad the Impaler, played with frothing-mouth goodness by Brian Downey. Under Drake and his two sons Slick and Ivan, Happy Town is a punk rock alley gone citywide. Murder and mayhem are set dressing and if you think being an innocent little kid on a school bus keeps you safe from flamethrowers, you’re wrong. After seeing one too many depraved act of cruelty, the Hobo is mad as hell and is not going to take it anymore, using the money he’s earned from a “bum fights” producer to buy a shotgun from a pawn shop, and pump-handles his way through robbers, bullies, crooked cops, full-armored medieval bounty hunters and eventually Drake’s family.
Movies like this have an embedded tightrope situation. It has to be outlandish enough that the desired tone comes across, but it can’t just be guts flying all the time. That works for a two-minute trailer, but can never sustain audience attention for a whole feature. That’s where the casting of Rutger Hauer is so brilliant. Hauer’s connection to films of its ilk (The Hitcher and Blind Fury, anyone?) isn’t just movie geek fan service; it also translates to a certain sincerity in his performance that doesn’t come across as an actor hamming it up because he’s in a schlockfest. Hauer refuses to play the Hobo in a camp manner, so despite lacking even a name, he’s not just some hobo with a shotgun. Watch the scene where he delivers a truly awesome monologue about the state of the world to a ward full of newborn babies, and you realize that Hauer really becomes this sad, angry character who just happens to be surrounded by utter insanity.
Hobo with a Shotgun is dense with unhinged action, feverish villains and non-stop gore, which make for a delirious 86 minutes. And it warns you right off the bat. After the Hobo wanders into town, the first scene we see is a guy’s head being ripped off by a car, a giant geyser shooting out of his neck, and a random hot chick in a bikini jumping in to do a sexual dance in the shower of blood. In broad daylight, on a suburban street, with families watching. If this film was a lady in a bar, it slipped me the tongue while kneeing me in the balls within three minutes of meeting me, just to get my attention.
"Hobo with a Shotgun" opens May 6, 2011 and is not rated. Action. Directed by Jason Eisener. Written by John Davies. Starring Gregory Smith, Rutger Hauer, Molly Dunsworth, Brian Downey, Nick Bateman.
