Thursday, Oct. 27, 2011

Hobo with a Shotgun

The composition is saturated, burned-out. The story…a homeless guy roams the streets of a lawless city with a Remington pump. Don’t bother looking for deeper meaning, not that you could find it under the mountains of gore. No, this is simply the story of a “Hobo with a Shotgun.” Based on one of the fake trailers from the Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez double-feature, “Grindhouse” – it’s sad when the only recognizable actor is Rutger Hauer. An ode to the ’70s action-exploitation films, this is “Death Wish” and “Walking Tall” with buckets of pig blood spilled over its head. This recalls a time when a movie poster was a work of art and usually better than the movie it represented. This calls to mind the splatter of “The Exterminator,” “They Call Her One Eye” and later the comic “Toxic Avenger.” The sad part, even though it was probably intended, the special effects are dated and the acting is beyond terrible. I know, it’s an homage and comedic relief, but it doesn’t make it any easier to watch. If you’re doing a dissertation on the effects of 1970s drive-in-movies on cinema today, give it a watch for research – otherwise, leave it alone.