Hobo with a Shotgun
Cert: 18 RT: 82 mins
3/5
From topless women beating a man to death with
baseball bats for fun to a schoolbus full of children being torched by a
flame thrower, Hobo With A Shotgun might force cinema owners to hand
out sickbags to punters.
Those with a strong stomach are in for a real treat, though. A
twisted, darkly comical Grindhouse offering, Hobo With A Shotgun has
enough jaw-dropping moments to ensure it attains cult status.
Rutger
Hauer is perfect as the titular vagrant who has the misfortune of
blowing into a town run by nutter Drake (Brian Downey) and his two
equally unhinged sons. The hobo lets some vile things slide – including
an astonishing decapitation featuring a manhole cover ?– but when sweet
prostitute Abby (Dunsworth) is targeted, he fights back with a shotgun.
For
those unfamiliar with Grindhouse, Hobo With A Shotgun might well seem
unwatchably bad with its OTT performances, obvious plot-twists and
gratuitous violence.
There’s some real smart thinking behind the
storyline, however, with director Jason Eisener paying homage to a
genre he clearly adores while coming up with new and improved ways to
work ?your gag reflex.
Put the brain in park and just enjoy.
Good for: Putting you off your dinner.
-Pierre de Villiers
