Hobo with a Shotgun was originally one of the delightful and awesome fake trailers made for the promotion of the double-feature release of Planet Terror and Death Proof back in 2007. And just like the same trailer for Machete, and much later Eli Roth’s Thanksgiving, it was made into a full-length feature. But unlike the two/three mentioned, this one was more independent, made far away from the mainstream Hollywood system, and didn’t get any wide theatrical release. A damn fucking shame because this is meant to be seen on a big screen with a solid sound system and not on a laptop. Anyway, in the fake trailer, we saw David Brunt having the days of his life as an unhinged hobo. He was also supposed to play the role in the film, but a severe panic attack with the stress of carrying a whole feature-length on his shoulders made him disappear for weeks. He was reduced to a quick cameo as a “no dirty cop“ while Rutger Hauer took over the title role. The film got funded with 3 million dollars and shot in the back alleys over 24 days in Dartmouth. And no, that’s not a region somewhere in Mordor, but a city in Canada.
We’re in the 1980s where it all starts with some fresh optimism as Hobo is on a cargo train to explore some uncharted territories. Unfortunately, he couldn’t have dropped off in a worse city where they could use a RoboCop, a dozen of Paul Kerseys and maybe a Batman. But we’re soon to learn that you should never underestimate a hobo with a shotgun who’s about to meet the final breaking point. The city is ironically called Hope Town (tagged over as Scum Town) with the slogan “where the railway ends and life begins!“ Too bad that the city is already in its final stage of full psychotic collapse where the trash floats as much as the cocaine, graffiti on every wall, stink of piss and shit everywhere I can imagine, insane rampant crime, corrupt police, punks smashing people’s heads like melons with bump-cars while hookers do their thing to survive — and just everything imaginable to make this the worst urban dystopian nightmare on Earth. Nothing much new that Hobo hasn’t seen his whole life already though. So what is it that’s making Hobo finally raising his eyebrows? Good question.
The answer: As Hobo is shuffling around with a loot-shopping cart in some neighborhood, minding his own business, he gets to witness a random handcuffed guy running with a manhole around his neck (of course). “He’s gonna kill me“, he screams. He gets confronted by a guy in the most spotless white suit with his two sons, Slick (Gregory Smith) and Ivan (Nick Bateman). We learn that the dude in the white dress is called Drake (Brian Downey). He’s a batshit crazy gangster Joker-style sociopath who’s taken over the city, and if you don’t obey him, well, get ready to be decapitated by a barbed-wire noose in broad daylight in full public. We’re still in Canada, by the way, and not in the Middle East. Yeah, well whatever, now Hobo’s seen that. This poor guy was the third son of Drake, by the way, who got gamed over with no continues because he wouldn’t be any part of this deranged family.
The next thing for Hobo is to beg for enough cash to buy a… yes, you guessed it — a lawnmower. Because the grass is always greener on the other side, I guess. And just sitting on the sidewalk with an “I’m hungry“ sign doesn’t do shit, so over to plan B: to get paid by eating glass for the camera. No pain, no gain, as we say. The road to scrambling up enough money has been brutal as he’s also been a victim of police brutality with getting carved “scum“ on his chest before they threw him in a dumpster. Welcome to Fuck Town. But the day is finally here; to buy that shiny lawnmower. The optimism is back in full blossom as Hobo stands in front of it in the pawn store like an eager kid on Christmas morning. And, oops… the store gets robbed by a gang of thugs, of course. A baby gets a gun pointed at its face. As Hobo is trapped in a corner, he picks up a shotgun and blasts away. Hobo has had enough, and a vigilante is born as he goes on a rage-filled rampage around the city, blowing the brains out of all lowlife scumbags he stumbles upon, from sleazy pimps to a pedophile Santa. Hobo for president!
Hobo becomes the one big news headline after another that soon gets the attention of Drake, the crazy guy in the white dress we saw earlier, and he wants Hobo’s head on a platter. In the midst of this, Hobo does all he can to make sure that the young street hooker Abby (Molly Dunsworth) is safe, a golden-hearted hooker, who gave him shelter.
While the film has a far more polished look than the fake trailer, Hobo with a Shotgun still has the heart, spirit and the rebellious energy like a true Grindhouse exploitation ride. Almost everyone is over-the-top in a cartoonish Troma fashion, which can be tiresome in the long run. The two guys who play Ivan and Slick really sticks out, as they do their best to top eachother as they both seemed to approach their roles by mimicking a manic Tom Cruise. Jason Eisener has been clever enough to not give them too much screentime. Rutger Hauer does a more low-key performance in all of the madness where he can make the most cheesy lines sound dead serious and believable. He plays the role with a heavy heart and vulnerability where his eyes show layers of emotions, from fear, despair to pure rage. Top tier acting. Then we have his somber words of wisdom-speech in front of the infants at the hospital which is just sad and bleak, but also true, and even more true in 2025. He and Molly Dunsworth also have some great chemistry going on and is a charming duo to root for. And no, don’t worry, there’s no awkward and cringe sex scene here. Thank God.
The cinematography by Karim Hussain really spices up the film with vibrant use of colors. Yes, we’re used to seeing this in numerous throwback films, but Mr. Hussain adds its own look and personality to it that also fits the tone perfectly. The soundtrack is a solid plus, where we have all from synth/darkwave to some appropriate use of Disco Inferno during a morbid scene that includes a school bus filled with kids. The hospital-invasion scene is especially a standout, where you’ll recognize the tunes if you’ve played Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon, or vice versa. Jason Eisener was a consultant on that game, by the way. He also likes to “borrow“ classic theme music, as he also did in his short film Treevenge, and used the theme from Mark of the Devil (1970) in the opening credits of Hobo. Kids of the 80 and early 90s who grew up with The Raccoons will also have a pleasant surprise to have the nostalgia meter up to eleven.
Hobo with a Shotgun is pretty much a flawless film, and after fifteen years it’s still a unique gem in the modern Grindhouse genre. It’s fast-paced and entertaining as hell. The distinct tone keeps its track steady all through without falling off like a drunken walk-and-turn test, and blends the satire, the overall blood-filled insanity with the more gritty, serious and nihilistic undertones better than it should. That’s perhaps much because the whole cast and crew seemed to be right on the same page as director Jason Eisener and writer John Davies, who undoubtedly had a clear vision from the start. Or maybe the whole thing was just a lightning in a bottle. And Rutger Hauer was a phenomenal actor who couldn’t be a more perfect fit for the title role. RIP.
And I was, of course, curious to see what Jason Eisener would do next. Probably the sequel Hooker with a Shotgun? Oh, well. The years went by, and we finally got Kids vs Aliens, which I also did a trailer reaction of. And the film was a big letdown, to put it in a nice way, where there was no badge to give. Bummer. That said, I read somewhere, sometime long ago, maybe in a fever dream, that Jason Eisener was rumored to direct the remake of The Toxic Avenger. Well, there’s already one made where no distributors have the balls to touch it because it is “not safe enough to market“, so it’s not too late.
The time is also way long overdue for Rob Zombie to finally make his Werewolf Women of the SS with Nicolas Cage as Fu Manchu!!!
Director: Jason Eisener
Writer: John Davies
Country & year: Canada, 2011
Actors: Rutger Hauer, Pasha Ebrahimi, Robb Wells, Brian Downey, Gregory Smith, Nick Bateman, Drew O’Hara, Molly Dunsworth, Jeremy Akerman, Andre Haines, Agnes M. Laan, Duane Patterson
IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1640459/
