MY CAREER CHOICE: HOBO WITH A SHOTGUN

HOBO WITH A SHOTGUN is one of the best exploitation films ever made.  The film is a colorful well contained mess of high imagination and low brow gore effects.  Originally after watching the trailer I kind of felt like this was more of a Troma produced cheap fun but completely stupid style of movie making.  Troma films are made cheaply and are meant to be stupid and nothing more.  There is no art to them.  The mentality behind them is just make something outrageous to capture the young stoned out minds attention.  After watching HOBO WITH A SHOTGUN I can tell you that this movie is nothing like them at all. 

Rutger Hauer is a hobo who gets a shotgun and starts shooting all the criminals in his neighborhood.  This doesn't sit too well with The Drake, the local crime boss and his two sadistic sons  Ivan and Slick. Apparently both sons are played by ALL THE RIGHT MOVES and RISKY BUSINESS style Tom Cruise I could be wrong though.  The Drake and his two sons spend the movie trying to kill Hobo but to no avail.  Along the way Hobo meets a hooker who helps him but that's boring I don't want to talk about that. 

The film does have a retro vibe to it.  But it is also visually unique creating its own feel like a movie you have never seen before.  Its not just another modern exploitation movie filmed in "GRINDHOUSE-O-VISION".  This is more like filmed in "JASON EISENER-O-VISION" or whatever you want to call it.  The energy is high in this movie and seldom does it drop leaving your mind to think of other things going on in your life.  HOBO WITH A SHOTGUN keeps your attention throughout.  This is a colorful film.  In fact there is so much color in this film that the colors seem to bleed into one another.  Its never bland and grey.  I think most low budget directors would go for a more obvious depressing look.  Most directors take film too seriously and try to make everything as realistic and dark and moody as possible losing the fun aspect to a movie like this.  There is a lot of heart in this film.  The creators give the Hobo character some depth giving the audience a person to care about.  Hobo just wants to buy a damn lawn mower so he can start his own lawn mowing business. 

THE PLAGUE!!!!  There is a lot of outrageous stuff going on in this movie.  But just when you think you have seen everything the movie brings out The Plague.  The Drake calls in these two biker hit men, bounty hunters or astronauts from hell.  I don't know what their occupation is but they are totally badass.  Both of them are dressed in full metal armor.  One looks like a metal samurai S.S. storm trooper and the other is more like the devil's washing machine that makes "TRON" sounds.  They are totally badass.  The samurai one cuts people in the leg while the devil's washing machine follows behind and hangs the wounded to the ceiling with his harpoon noose gun.  Its really cool.  They kind of remind me of the NEON MANIACS.  These two psychos come from another movie all together.  They look like they belong in KAIJU-MONSTER BATTLE.  In fact back at their lair they are fighting a giant squid for some reason.  I guess they are Anti-Monster Creation which is good because Pro-Monster Creation is just sick.  It's sick I tell you!  That's a testament to Rutger Hauer's badassness when the bad guy has to call in villains from another movie all together just to take him down.

There is high quality professional film making mixed with some amateur writing and dialogue.  Hauer shines above all with his support cast usually keeping up but not always.  It's a small complaint but every now and then you get that "these are the local community actors" impression from the supporting cast.  That doesn't happen too often though.  The movie does lose a little bit of steam at the end with the hooker showing up dressed like EXTERMINATOR 2 and DEAD-ALIVE.  She saves the day which is fine but I would have liked to have seen Hobo shoot more baddies at the end with his shotgun.  Again it's just a small complaint. 

The film makers enjoy the art of film making and it shows in every scene.  Unlike Troma films HOBO WITH A SHOTGUN is made with care and control even when it doesn't look like it.  This film could have been a lot more tasteless to the point of unwatchable.  I'm talking TOKYO GORE POLICE.  But it never goes that far.  Even the blow torching the kids in the school bus scene wasn't too terrible.  I kind of thought it was funny.  The payoff is when the scorched bus comes back to claim the soul of Slick and take him to hell.  That scene itself shows that HOBO WITH A SHOTGUN is operating on a higher level of creativity.  That is why I am considering putting this film up in my mental list of top ten all time favorite films but I don't know.  I need to watch this one again soon to make sure.  All I am saying is if you like hobos with shotguns shooting pedophile Santas in the face then you should check out HOBO WITH A SHOTGUN.  It's good fun.

Jason