Hobo with a Shotgun Review
By: Joshua “When life gives you razorblades, you make a bat covered in razorblades” Richey
With the release of Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino’s 2007 film Grindhouse, the directors held a competition in which they asked people to create and submit fake movie trailers (done grindhouse-style) and the winner would have their trailer attached to the film. Jason Eisener’s submission, a trailer for a fake film titled Hobo with A Shot, took home the prize. Once Eisener’s fake trailer hit YouTube, it became a hit instantly. Links to the video were passed all around, and everyone that saw it seemed to share the same opinion in that they’d love to see a full-length Hobo with a Shotgun film. Well, it’s here…and trust me, it doesn’t disappoint.
Eisener’s over-the-top film focuses on a hobo (Rutger Hauer) who jumps off a train car hoping to find a fresh start in a new town; but all he finds is a town that is littered with crime, drugs, and corruption. The man behind all of this madness is Drake (Brian Downey), who, along with his two sons Ivan and Slick, wanders around Hope Town and does whatever they want, take whatever they want, and kill whoever they want. The hobo’s ability to just look the other way comes to an end when one of Drake’s sons tries to rape Abby, a beautiful prostitute that is the only person in town that treats the hobo with any respect. Once it becomes quite clear that the hobo isn’t going to get any assistance from the authorities, the hobo takes matters into his own hands. He goes to the pawn shop in town and purchases himself a shotgun.
Yielding his mighty shotgun, the hobo starts handing out justice one gunshot at a time.
Perhaps the most wonderful thing about this film is that Hobo with a Shotgun has this unique ability to keep outdoing itself with its ridiculousness. The movie begins with a man being decapitated with barbed wire while his head is sticking out of a sewer hole. It’s brutal. You watch this and you think, “Man, it can’t get any worse than this.” But it does. Five minutes later, something so goddamn insane happens that you’re forced to go, “JESUS CHRIST EATING A TOASTER STRUDEL! That was fucked up! It can’t get any more disturbing than that!” BUT IT DOES! By the end of the movie they’re just mocking you. Your mind has exploded so many times by that point that people having their dicks blown off and gimps fighting giant squid’s no longer draw any emotional response from you whatsoever.
If you watch the trailer for Hobo with a Shotgun and find yourself even somewhat intrigued, then I highly recommend you finding a way to see it. If not, well, it’s probably not for you. You also probably don’t have a soul. It’s cheesy; it’s corny; it’s gory; it’s retarded; it’s absolutely fantastic.
I give Hobo with a Shotgun four ice skates to the chest out of five.
