Hobo with a Shotgun is everything I wanted it to be. A bizarre, often tasteless, homage to the wild 'n' wooly low-budget scene of the 80s, this Canadian-shot flick takes bits and pieces of Street Trash, Peter Jackson's pre-Lord of the Rings gore-a-thons (Dead Alive, Bad Taste), and such exploitive revenge fare as Savage Streets and cooks it up in a rundown meth lab to deliver to you what's sure to be one of the most outrageous, bat-shit crazy efforts you're likely to see this year. Suffice it to say, if you didn't grow up with or have a love for this type of stuff, you're not going to like this. And whoever decided to cast b-movie legend Rutger Hauer as our titular homicidal homeless is a frigging genius.

If you're familiar with the Quentin Tarantino-Robert Rodriguez b-movie love letter that is Grindhouse then you might've heard of Hobo with a Shotgun. In Canada distributor Alliance Atlantis held a contest where you could submit your grindhouse inspired mock trailer and the winner would be shown in theatres before the double bill homages that were Planet Terror and Death Proof. Nova Scotia based filmmaker Jason Eisener came up with the concept of a beaten down homeless man who's had enough of crime in the city and dispenses justice using his trusty shotgun and ended up winning the contest. And now here we are, four years later, and someone actually ponied up the cash to expand his idea into a feature-length motion picture.

Welcome to "Fucktown" (as it's called by the residents) where crime is running rampant and if you're not associated with megalomaniacal Drake (Brian Downey) and his two cocky, violent sons then you're either cowering in fear, selling your body on the corner, or face down in the gutter. Arriving on the rails one day, our hobo hero (Hauer) isn't looking for trouble. He just wants to scrape up enough money to realize his dream of owning the lawn mower on display in a nearby pawn shop.

After witnessing Drake car-pulling the head off his brother, and various other deeds of his clan, our hobo has had enough. He decides to take the law into his own hands and eliminate all the scum from the streets at the end of a shotgun barrel. He also befriends "hooker with a heart of gold" Abby (Molly Dunsworth) which gives us purposely cheesy interludes and a completely random scene where our hobo explains reasons to her why you never hug a bear.

Bizarre is the name of the game here. It's wall-to-wall insanity and everyone is in on the joke. What little plot there is takes a backseat to numerous scenes of people being shot in the chest, having their faces rubbed in giant bags of cocaine, a flamethrower moment I won't ruin for you but made someone leave the theatre when I saw this, some creative ice skates usage, and a massacre by some armour suited baddies called "The Plague" - and in the middle of all this is a pissed off Rutger blazing away.

When I was walking out after seeing this I had a huge grin plastered on my face. I ignored comments behind me from people saying it was "retarded" (c'mon, the movie is called Hobo with a Shotgun, what were you expecting? Shakespeare in Love?) and let what I'd just witnessed sink in. Much like when I left Machete, this recalled some of my favourite 80s moments while giving it a new, even more over-the-top, slant. And don't get me started on how epically amazing the musical score is.

As I mentioned above, the casting of Hauer was a smart move. Sure, his career hasn't been the best lately but all you have to do is take a look at fare like Blind Fury or The Hitcher to see how awesome he can be. He's grimy, delivers all the crazy lines dreamt up for him perfectly, and you can't help but be amused by his longing glances at the lawnmower. As his hooker buddy, Dunsworth is not only great to look at but also holds her own in a role that starts off seriously (for this film, anyway) before going off the rails - like the entire flick. I didn't really care much for Downey as Drake because he's not given lots to do but yell and wave a gun around threateningly but Nick Bateman and Gregory Smith as his sons Ivan and Slick constantly steal scenes they're in and reminded me a lot of the thuggish baddies in any Troma production (especially Toxic Avenger). Bateman also mixes in some American Pie Stifler for good measure.

Hobo with a Shotgun is amazing. Make no doubt about it. It's the type of film that would be in perfect company playing in New York's 42nd Street during the 80s exploitation boom. If this is something that sounds appealing to you (and why wouldn't it?) then get down to the theatre right away and show some love for the homeless! (Chris Hartley, 3/30/11)

Directed By: Jason Eisener.
Written By: John Davies.

Starring: Rutger Hauer, Gregory Smith, Robb Wells, Molly Dunsworth.