Now living as an online cult gem, “Hobo with a Shotgun” has an interesting history. Around the time the craze for the Tarantino-Rodriguez “Grindhouse” rolled around, there was a lot of excitement. Fake trailers, the Grindhouse feel, and two big movies, and then they offered young filmmakers at SXSW a chance to create their own fake trailer to be featured during the actual movie. “Hobo with a Shotgun” won out. Granted, it only was featured in a few theatrical showings across the US, it was praised as one of the few entries to capture that truly trashy atmosphere that made Grindhouse so much fun. And shockingly, Eisener captures the time much better than Rob Zombie’s trailer did.
David Brunt stars as a homeless man who is watching too much crime going on in his city. Child molesters, domestic abuse and even police corruption run rampant, so what’s a hobo to do? He buys a shotgun and kills the shit out of bad guys. That’s all. And that’s all I want. David Brunt, who hasn’t had much experience with acting, is perfectly over the top as this street vigilante who is merciless with his twelve gauge and isn’t afraid of blood splatter. Jason Eisener perfectly captures the feel of the Grindhouse and exploitation genre, and shows without a doubt why this deserved to win.
The plot in the title? Check. Over-the-top performances? Check. Neon lighting? Check. And of course, there’s my favorite and yours, a shotgun used as a whipping stick to take down some criminals. “Hobo with a Shotgun” is that time capsule that almost topples everything that was achieved in “Grindhouse,” because Eisener simply understands the cartoonish nature of the sub-genre. He doesn’t try to stylize his trailer, he simply vies for a trashy gritty setting, amidst trashy characters who go to war, and the man who finds himself rattling the cages of some colorful and vicious gangsters.
Would I see a feature film? Yes, but even the best of them can fuck up something good. If Eisener can keep the pace here and establish a decently lengthened feature, then bring on the Hobo with the Shotgun; that crazy bastard will win us all over, and maybe Eisener will show these Hollywood fat cats how it’s done. At only two minutes, it’s hard to find a flaw with this. It’s compact, fast paced, and captures the time period in a purely dynamic sense. “Hobo with a Shotgun” is one of the many gems of the Grindhouse movie craze, and Eisener really rises to the challenge to stay on par with Tarantino and Rodriguez.