Rutger Hauer Stars in Grindhouse Lunacy of ‘Hobo With a Shotgun’

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CHICAGO – What do you expect from a movie called “Hobo With a Shotgun” (other than perhaps the most truthful title since “Snakes on a Plane”)? If you’re spending hard-earned money on a movie about a vengeful homeless person played by Rutger Hauer, you probably know what you’re in for. On those grindhouse terms, “Hobo With a Shotgun” totally works. It’s so far over-the-top that it makes “Machete” look believable, but that’s why it’s effective. Unlike so many movies you will see this season, “Hobo With a Shotgun” delivers.

Rutger Hauer plays the title character, a boxcar jumper who finds himself in the ironically-named “Hope Town,” a place that would make Gomorrah look like a lovely place for a summer vacation. Shortly after his arrival, our hero witnesses a horrific event in the center of town. The ringmaster of sin and chaos, The Drake (Brian Downey), along with his two sons (Nick Bateman, Gregory Smith), decapitate their relative in the middle of town while forcing people to not just watch but applaud. It’s clear that this is no “bad place.” This is a vision of Hell on Earth, a place where crime, violence, sin, and pain rule.

Hobo With a Shotgun
Hobo With a Shotgun
Photo credit: Magnolia Pictures

While trying to gather money to buy a lawnmower to start a business and get off the road, the hobo crosses paths with a hooker with a heart of gold named Abby (Molly Dunsworth). She protects him and becomes his reason for fighting back against the forces of evil in Hope Town. Instead of buying a lawnmower, he picks up a shotgun and goes hunting. With hysterically cheesy headlines like “Hobo Stops Begging, Demands Change” and “Parents Smile As Bodies Pile,” the hobo cleans up the streets.

Like everything in “Hobo With a Shotgun,” our protagonist isn’t exactly subtle. He’s not “hurting” pimps or abusers. In one scene, we witness a man in a Santa Claus suit masturbating in a car near a playground. Rutger Hauer blows his head off. This is a film in which people aren’t just killed, they are blown to gory, bloody pieces like the zombies in “Planet Terror.”

When The Drake and his sons get tired of the hobo, they decide to turn the citizens they’ve been using and abusing against him. They use a flamethrower to torch an entire school bus of children and tell people that there’s more where that came from if they don’t kill every homeless man in town. With citizens, bad guys, good guys, and dirty cops after him, our hobo is on borrowed time, trying to hand out as much justice as possible before meeting his certain end.

Hobo With a Shotgun
Hobo With a Shotgun
Photo credit: Magnolia Pictures

Rutger Hauer delivers a surprisingly effective performance in “Hobo With a Shotgun” perfectly nailing the balance required for this character. Of course, the movie is ridiculous but Hauer needs to play it straight and he does so with the perfect mix of righteousness, desperation, and straight-up exhaustion at a life lived in pain.

More importantly, director Jason Eisener knows how to stage a grindhouse piece with the perfect amount of outright lunacy and social commentary (at times, his work here reminded me of the best of George A. Romero, a comparison that doesn’t come easy for this “Dead”-head). You’ve never seen some of the imagery in “Hobo With a Shotgun” before and certainly won’t again for a long time. It does get a bit tired before it ends (as grindhouse movies often do), but this is a fun ride for the right audience — a grimy tongue in a very bloody cheek.

“Hobo With a Shotgun” stars Rutger Hauer, Brian Downey, Nick Bateman, Gregory Smith, and Molly Dunsworth. It opens in New York today and is available nationwide On Demand.

HollywoodChicago.com content director Brian Tallerico

By BRIAN TALLERICO
Content Director
HollywoodChicago.com
brian@hollywoodchicago.com

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