No film from last year ever caused me such mixed feelings as Hobo With A Shotgun
Another borne from the homage/spoof Grindhouse trailers from Tarantino and Rodriquez that have since become fully fledged films and have gone on to form a new generation of that film genre (this joining the ranks of Death Proof, Planet Terror, Machete and Black Dynamite) Hobo is a Canadian feature starring the great Rutger Hauer that mines influences that I would say were more from the 1980s Troma films than actual 70s Grindhouse.
It is sick, OTT, offensive, schlocky, ultra violent, puerile and both hilarious and deeply unfunny at the same time. But above all, it is completely pitch perfect in recapturing the essence of the kind of production it is emulating. As such, I simply have to hold it in high esteem, because it is the consummate homage. But seeing as what it is paying homage to was God awful in the first place means that the film is too, whilst still being tonally excellent.
If that makes sense?
Given the choice, I'd recommend Machete over this as the more satisfying mainstream viewing experience as its roots are obvious but it chooses to use them as a springboard for an accessible (though still OTT and ultra violent) film.
Still, Hobo has a great poster - again highly evocative of those mid 80s schlock video covers.
