Hobo with a Shotgun (2011)

A homeless vigilante blows away crooked cops, pedophile Santas, and other scumbags with his trusty pump-action shotgun.

Director:

Jason Eisener

Writer:

John Davies

Stars:

Rutger Hauer, Pasha Ebrahimi, Robb Wells

1 win & 4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Rutger Hauer	...	Hobo
Pasha Ebrahimi	...	Bumfight Filmmaker
Robb Wells	...	Logan (as Rob Wells)
Brian Downey	...	Drake
Gregory Smith	...	Slick
Nick Bateman	...	Ivan / Rip
Drew O'Hara	...	Otis
Molly Dunsworth	...	Abby
Jeremy Akerman	...	Chief of Police
Andre Haines	...	Large Man
Agnes M. Laan	...	Prostitute (as Agnes Laan)
Duane Patterson	...	Pimp
Brian Jamieson	...	Santa
Tim Dunn	...	Store Clerk
Glen Matthews	...	Gang Leader

Storyline

A vigilante homeless man pulls into a new city and finds himself trapped in urban chaos, a city where crime rules and where the city's crime boss reigns. Seeing an urban landscape filled with armed robbers, corrupt cops, abused prostitutes and even a pedophile Santa, the Hobo goes about bringing justice to the city the best way he knows how - with a 20-gauge shotgun. Mayhem ensues when he tries to make things better for the future generation. Street justice will indeed prevail.

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Plot Keywords:

vigilante | shotgun | hobo | rampage | gore | 

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Taglines:

Delivering justice, one shell at a time...

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Genres:

Action | Comedy | Horror | Thriller

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site

Country:

Canada

Language:

English

Release Date:

12 May 2011 (Netherlands)

Also Known As:

Benamis su šautuvu

Filming Locations:

Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada

Box Office

Budget:

$3,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$12,046, 8 May 2011, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$703,002, 7 August 2011

Company Credits

Production Co:

Rhombus Media, Whizbang Films, Yer Dead Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

86 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Surround 7.1

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

While shot on a Red Epic camera, the film was digitally post-processed in order to make it look like it was shot on color reversal stock cross-processed in negative chemicals, which results in highly saturated, shifted colors.

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Goofs

When the Hobo is at the apartment getting beaten up, he gets his back stomped on with skate blades that cut his clothes and back up. In the following scenes, he is wearing the same clothes but the shirt is no longer cut, nor are there any injuries to his back.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Hobo: Spare some change?

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Crazy Credits

Special Thanks To: For ungodly inspiration, Ronnie's Pizza

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Connections

Referenced in Egg Cetera: Lounge Hobo Square Eggs (2015)

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Soundtracks

Love Can Hurt [CMI3082]
Performed by Sha-Na-Na (as Sha Na Na)
Written by Jocko Marcellino (BMI) and Mitchell Margo (ASCAP)
Courtesy of Crucial Music

User Reviews

Pulpy romp, fun but half-baked

"Hobo with a Shotgun" is a fairly impressive debut film considering it sprang from a two-minute "fake trailer," but there are a number of issues which may keep it from reaching true "cult" status (for which it was clearly intended)...and a number of notes it hits perfectly.

Rutger Hauer is a perfect fit for his role and as charismatic as always; anyone into schlocky cult films will feel right at home seeing him play the title character. This film also wins on atmosphere--I really felt as if I was watching something straight out of the 80s. The music is right, the vaguely post-apocalyptic feel is right, the lighting and production design are also just right. There are some great gore scenes here and some wonderfully indulgent bloody action sequences (if somewhat small-scale). It also doesn't hurt that some of the most gruesome moments are treated with a devilish sense of humor.

What hampers "Hobo" is its narrative--confused editing and confused scripting result in a jumbled plot, leaving one to wonder if something was left on the "cutting room floor." The writers seem to have rushed through their story simply to reach an unsatisfying climax; I felt much more could have been made of the title character's transformation from "Hobo" to "Hobo with a Shotgun." This crucial epiphany is cheaply handled and consequently the mythic persona at the center of the film feels shallow.

(as an aside, it seemed the character should have led some sort of heroic uprising, which I can't really hold against the film as this is simply what I would have liked to see. My point is, it seems there are a lot of missed chances here)

While the end also feels rushed, abrupt and incomplete, I would have to say this film is worth checking out...for fans of this kind of thing, which I certainly am. I was just expecting a little more. In any event, I'm glad it was made!

(P.S. There's a nice use of the Canadian pop song "Run with Us," from an obscure--obscure in the U.S., anyway--animated show called "The Raccoons" over the end credits. It adds to the 80s atmosphere beautifully. Bonus points!)