Hobo with a Shotgun (2011)

Hobo with a Shotgun was one of the fake trailers in the theatrical release of the 2007 film Grindhouse, which featured two films, one by Robert Rodriguez and one by Quentin Tarantino, as well as a bunch of 70's exploitation/grind house inspired trailers. The grind house films of the 70's were usually made for very little money and they looked grainy and were often over the top with sex, violence and all other sorts of depravity and you would most likely see them at the drive in film circuits, or late at night as a midnight showings at some cinemas. Several attempts over the past few years have tried to re-create the whole look and feel of the grind house films such as the two films in the Grindhouse feature from 2007 as well as Robert Rodriguez's Machete and now comes Hobo with a Shotgun. Much like Machete, Hobo with a Shotgun was one of the fake trailers in the Grindhouse theatre experience and later was turned into a feature film. When, I first saw the trailer along with Grindhouse, I thought that it looked like it could be turned into an interesting film and then just recently I found out it was actually going to be a film and coming out soon. My anticipation peaked and I could not wait to see it having been a fan of cult/exploitation and grind house films since by teen years having grown up on them and still having fond memories of them and even watching them now, many years later I still enjoy them. Out of all the cult film experiences of the 70's and 80's that some of these newer films have tried to capture, Hobo with a Shotgun is by far the best out of all of them. The plot, if you want to call it that, is very simple. A hobo comes to a town where it is controlled by a ruthless crime lord and his sons and everywhere you go people are being murdered and the town looks like something out of a post apocalyptic film and the police are not doing anything because they are just as corrupt as the crime lords themselves. Putting aside his dream of one day buying a lawnmower to start his own business, the hobo goes and finds a shotgun and starts dishing out vigilante justice on the people who he thinks is ruining the town and the people there. Along the way he befriends a kindly prostitute named Abby and they go after and fight the evil lurking in this town. Right off I am going to say that if you are at all turned off by brutal and sadistic violence, or if you are easily offended, or grossed out by such things then do not even try watching Hobo with a Shotgun, because you will be leaving the theatre and demanding for a refund. On the other hand if you have grown up watching gory horror films and other violent exploitation films from the past and nothing of this type of thing disturbs you one bit and you are a fan of said films, then you are going to enjoy this film, a lot. The story is simple, but that is not a problem as most of the grind house and cult films from back in the day were and this one captures the visual style, the dialogue and the over the top violence in a way that makes you feel as if you have time travelled back to the 70's and are watching a brand new film released from that era about a hobo and his shotgun. The film is extremely fast paced and has a kind of energy that I haven't seen in a mainstream release in quite some time. Despite what you think of the film, you certainly can not call this film boring, or slow. It is full of action and it's a very entertaining ride the whole way through. The film is very dark, sadistic and gritty and this may sound weird, but I am glad the director did not shy away from that. The old cult films used to show some very objectionable content and get away with it, while today if your film comes close to getting an NC-17 rating it causes a big stir and you will find it a hard time to get your film released. I am glad that this director and studio had a vision, stayed with it and did not compromise to the studio system. Yes, the film is extremely morbid, sadistic and gross, but it is done with so much style and raw energy and a lot of it is so over the top that it didn't bother me in the same way a more serious film would. The visual style of the film was also really interesting to look at and the musical score suited the film perfectly. Also, Rutger Hauer who plays the hobo does a great job here. The film is very over the top, but he goes with it and pulls the role off perfectly. This is exactly how a grind house movie should be, so all other wannabe directors should take note of this film because it's certainly the best we have had in this genre in awhile. A true masterpiece of the genre and I hope it does well when it hits other parts of the world in May.