Hobo With A Shotgun

Hobo With A Shotgun premiered at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival, and got a limited release on March 25 2011. It was written by John Davies, direced by Jason Eisner, and stars Rutger Hauer, Molly Dunsworth, Brian Downey, and Gregory Smith.

This film was based off of a Grindhouse trailer, that you can only find in certain Canadian copies of the DVD. The trailer was made by Jason Eisner, a Halifax filmmaker, and starred his friend, David Brunt, as the titular hobo. It won an international contest to be featured in the film, and after winning the contest, Jason Eisner decided to make his trailer into a film. With Rutger Hauer as the titular hobo.

If you were to take Planet Terror, Death Proof, Machete, throw them all in a blender, and make a film filled with Mexican zombie car chases that was extremely fucking awesome, it would have nothing on Hobo With A Shotgun. Filled with decapitations, blood, gore, genetalia shot off, a baseball bat made of razor blades, armor plated demons, and of course, a shotgun this film is the wet dream of a grindhouse/B movie lover. However, Canadians will love it as well, being that it's filmed in Halifax, and features many Canadian actors.

Let's deal with the acting first. Rutger Hauer has always been an unbelievable actor, and this time is no exception. Quite simply, he is playing a regret filled hobo, who is sick of all the filth that this town is filled up with. He does it perfectly. He's always been a fantastic actor, and I believe that he could play almost any role. As for the other actors, they all do a good job as well. For a Canadian, this film is also quite enjoyable, having cameo appearances from various Canadian celebritises, including Rob Wells, from Trailer Park Boys, as a man who lost his head, Brain Downey, from Lexx, as the main villain, and a particular newscaster that all Canadians love. Also, kudos to Gregory Smith and newcomer Nick Bateman, who play another two of the villains, in creating truly despicable, but enjoyable characters, and Molly Dunsworth, the hooker with the heart of gold, who might be a teacher one day.

Now, I'd like to talk about the effects. Absolutely brilliant. If you watch the original trailer, you know the effects are nothing special, but here, they're amazing. To talk about the decapitation again, the blood shoots up. It looked extremely realistic. It might seem like this is pointless, but I just think in the modern day and age, when CGI is used for almost everything, it's nice to see things that look so real, they must be. I would honestly give this film an Academy Award for it's special effects, but it won't be nominated,, considering how it came out in March, and not the end of the year.

Overall, this film is a complete gorefest, and I love it. It's certainly not for everyone, and it's not perfect, but it's as close as you can get. I give this film a 9/10, a definite a-must for anyone who wants to check it out.

We're going on a car ride to hell, and you're riding shotgun.