Hobo With a Shotgun

Hobo With a Shotgun, like Machete, grew out of a trailer for Grindhouse, though that trailer was only shown in Canada, as it is a product of Canadian director Jason Eisener and writer John Davies. They won Robert Rodriguez's trailers contest, and the final film was shot in Nova Scotia.

Unlike Machete, Hobo With a Shotgun has a mostly amateurish cast and is not a fully realized story. The cartoonish violence is way over the top, and though there is also a sense of outrage (this time concerning the homeless), it doesn't stimulate the conscience like Machete.

Rutger Hauer is the title character, who rides into town on a flatcar. He discovers the place is a crime-ridden ruin, run by a crook (Brian Downey) who favors white suits, and his two thuggish sons. Hauer witnesses the public execution of Downey's brother, who is killed in an elaborate fashion. There is no police interference because they are in Downey's pocket.

Hauer helps out a young prostitute (Molly Dunsworth), and they dream of leaving town and starting a lawn-mowing business. When Hauer goes to pawn shop to buy his lawn mower, though, he walks into a robbery, and instead grabs a shotgun, which is conveniently loaded. He then goes on a vigilante crusade, wiping out crooks, and finally facing off against Downey and his sons.

There's really not more to the film than this--the arc is very simple, and no character really changes. Hauer (who seems to have an inexhaustible supply of shells) is very handy with his weapon. It's still hard to believe he could get that much done, though. It's also hard to believe that no legal authority would step in after Downey's sons torch a school bus full of children. But I guess the type of films that Hobo With a Shotgun is an homage to didn't make much sense, either.

This is an unpleasant film in almost every way, and doesn't show much talent for storytelling or filmmaking.