ActionFest 2011: Hobo With a Shotgun (2011)! They Picked on One Hobo too Many! |

You know a movie is weird when the reel gets messed up and starts playing upside down and backwards, but everyone thinks it’s just part of the film! That’s exactly what happened at ActionFest during the first screening of Hobo with a Shotgun. Think about that!

What once started out as a fake trailer for Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez’s Grindhouse is now a full length feature film. No, I’m not talking about Machete, I’m talking about Hobo with a Shotgun! Rutger Hauer is a hobo new to Hope Town. He jumps off his train and is greeted by a filthy, corrupt city run by crime boss Drake (Brian Downey) and his two evil sons in training, Slick (Gregory “That kid from Everwood” Smith) and Ivan (Nick Bateman). After seeing numerous immoral acts go unpunished by the police, Hobo gets fed up with it and takes matters into his own hands. While trying to clean up the town with a shotgun, Hobo makes friends with a prostitute named Abby (Molly Dunsworth). Together they make plans to team up and move out of the city, but will they get out before Drake and his sons find them and kill them?

Several performances stand out in the film. Molly Dunsworth does a great job as Abby, playing the only sane person in a city full of nutjobs. Gregory Smith also stands out as the sadistic Slick, and believe me when I tell you that he deserves the comeuppance he gets. Lastly, Rutger Hauer really nails the whole slightly-crazy hobo vibe as the titular Hobo with a shotgun. He has lots of little mannerisms that are spot-on, and the way he mumbles to himself is very hobo-y.

Hobo with a Shotgun is an action-packed exploitation film and it is definitely violent and gruesome. It’s shocking, super duper disgusting, and I loved it. This film is one of the goriest films I’ve seen. The action was well paced, imaginative and unique…not to mention just plain gross!

In the beginning, however, before Hobo gets his shotgun, the film was very, very unpleasant. Of course it had to be to set up the rest of the film, but the unpleasantness went on a little to long for me. Once Hobo gets his shotgun, though, all hell breaks loose!

If you’re grossed out at the thought of people getting their hands shoved in lawnmowers, or a busload of kids getting torched on a school bus (yeah, you read that right), then this crazy, disgusting movie may not be for you. Hobo with a Shotgun is for those who love violent, gory, exploitation films and those who like to see the “politically correct” boundaries kicked in the nads and pushed off a cliff. It will have a limited theater release in the USA on May 6, 2011. It can also be found on some OnDemand services.

Baddies: The Drake and his two evil sons

Best Line: “First, I have to wash this guy’s a**hole off my face.”

Best Kill: The baddies attach a custom manhole cover around a dude’s neck and drop him down a manhole in the middle of the street, leaving only his head above ground. The baddies place a ring of barbed wire around his neck, attach it to their truck and drive off, decapitating him! Blood squirts everywhere as a girl in a white bikini starts to dance in it. And that’s just the opening kill!

Best Explosion: I don’t remember there being any explosions made of fire, but there were some explosions of meat and blood! One hobo was trying to hide from a mob of people by diving into a large box. As soon as he’s safe inside, someone drops a crane bucket on the box causing a ludicrous amount of blood to explode everywhere!

Action Rating: 3 ½ Hobos With Shotguns , out of 5.