Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Michael Allen
Writers: John Davies, Jason Eisener, and Rob Cotterill.
Jason Eisener ("Treevenge") was the winner of a South-by-Southwest contest, which covered faux trailers; this was back in 2007. Meanwhile, with some help from local producers, Eisener developed this cheesy grindhouse trailer into a full length feature film, titled Hobo with a Shotgun. Now, playing across Canada, critic Scott Weinberg says of the film's style: "It's crazy, it's messy" (Fearnet). Most importantly, the film manages to be shocking, with all kinds of violence and bloody situations.
One of the first sequences in the film involves an anonymous character (Robb Wells) having his head ripped off, while secured to a manhole cover. Let the gore begin! Children are kidnapped by pedophiles, a Santa masturbates in front of a school park and all of a send you are like: what the hell is going on here? These scenarios and others will demand a reaction and this reviewer found himself constantly shocked and then agitated to constant laughter. However, others might find the material too abhorrent to sit through.
Shot in Halifax, Nova Scotia with help from Telefilm Canada, Hobo with a Shotgun does not stop there. Soon, there is a conscious or unconscious homage to the 1987 Arnold Schwarzenegger flick The Running Man. An evil despot targets a heroic hobo for messing with his drug dealing fun. Soon, all homeless people are being chased by mobs of blood thirsty citizens, including women and young hobo children. Only the strong survive, while slower street people are hit by flaming Molotov cocktails. The over-the-top violence will surely invoke a grimace or a look of disgust, or self-conscious laughter.
Parent committees beware, because there is a scene involving a flame thrower and a crowded school bus. Children are flambeed and Eisener knows how to test viewers' boundaries and strangely, Hobo with a Shotgun received a Restricted rating, only. Because, the f*^& bombs are aplenty, while women are rarely clothed and characters are introduced and outroduced by decapitations, headshots and electrifying toasters. The material is not for the sensitive, while this reviewer, completely desensitized to violence, laughed ridiculously most of the way through.
Hobo with a Shotgun is currently in select Canadian theatres, as of March 25th, or through Amazon Online. This film is for those who can handle the shock and awe of '80s styled violence, which is brutal and sometimes even campy. Eisener has created a shocking actioner, which will get audiences' attention. The result is an awe-inspiring time set in a fictional world called Hell Town, where the only solution to your problems is at the end of a gun.
Overall: 8 out of 10 (this film is for a certain crowd, not for the sensitive or children, good pacing, ultra-violent, sometimes shocking and often funny).
A review of the film by Scott Weinberg of Fearnet.com is here:
Hobo with a Shotgun at Fearnet
Become a fan of the film on Facebook:
Hobo with a Shotgun on FB
Available as an online rental:
Advertise Here - Contact me Michael Allen at 28DLA
| | | | | |
Subscribe to 28 Days Later: An Analysis by Email
Posted in: 2011,campy,grindhouse,hobo with a shotgun,homage to the '80s,jason eisener,john davies,movie review,rutger hauer,telefilm canada
0 comments:
Post a Comment