A grindhouse film that manages to out-grindhouse the so-called grindhouse films of Grindhouse (Planet Terror, Death Proof and Machete), Hobo With a Shotgun is rough, bloody and mean to the core; its self-conscious title may inspire pre-show laughs, but the film itself is a stone-cold serious and often brutal portrait of a rather extreme variation on the idea (and practice) of “street justice.” Rutger Hauer (perfectly cast, for better and worse) is the homeless man who just can’t take all of the crime, filth and corruption of a place called Hope Town (though the graffiti reads “Scum Town”) any more, so he grabs a Remington 870 and starts blasting the holy sam hell out of pretty much anyone even vaguely involved with making life bad for people. And all this guy wanted was to start a nice lawnmowing business! Kudos to director Jason Eisener, who directed the original fake trailer made for an international contest to promote the release of Grindhouse, for playing this one hard and straight — and to Hauer for being both a good sport and a batshit crazy sumbitch.
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New On Netflix: Hobo With A Shotgun