Hobo With A Shotgun: Elderly Man-Of-Mayhem Deliver’s Justice, One Shell At A Time

It’s already been four years since the theatrical release of the Tarantino/Rodriguez back-to-back explosive hit Grindhouse. Five fake trailers were made and the one that won the entry contest, Hobo with a Shotgun, was my favorite (easily followed by Eli Roth’s Thanksgiving). The faux trailer hasn’t slipped my mind ever since I heard the catchy one-liner hook, “This hero is going to have to deliver justice one shell at a time,” which made me burst out laughing in the theater.

Jason Eisener and co-writer John Davies are the brains behind Hobo with a Shotgun, and the two have been collaborating with their friends in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, on low-budget movies for some time now.

In a recent interview, when asked on how the story came about for Hobo with a Shotgun, they said it was jokingly talked about for years before they had a chance to finally make the first trailer. So when the contest came around, the duo were ready to make B-movie magic. Already armed with an arsenal of experience involving car stunts and setting themselves on fire, we’ll now get a chance to see what the guys can pull off with professional actors and an actual crew.

Hobo with a Shotgun is simple, and that’s the beauty of it. It’s about a homeless man who is looking for a break in a new city, but ends up being trapped in urban chaos. The city is ruled by crime that includes armed robbers, corrupt cops, abused prostitutes, and also a sick pedophilic Santa. It’s up to the hobo (Rutger Hauer) to do justice with a 20-gauge shotgun. Jason Eisener summed up his bloody and chaotic movie with a few word: “It’s an elderly man-of-mayhem movie” that kills young people. You could say that Death Wish 3 and Death Wish 4 are two sources of inspiration, and you could even include Clint Eastwood’s Gran Torino.

I personally still favor the original trailer (after a few watches it seems to get better), but from what the unrated official trailer shows for the feature length film, the production looks amazing–as long as you keep the genre of the film in mind. I love the cast, the cheesy gory effects (especially the hammer to the foot), the lighting, the original score, and the vibrant colors used for certain scenes. This movie surely promises justice for your hard-earned buck and we are getting ready for a bloodbath.

The world premiere for Hobo with a Shotgun will be shown at Sundance this month sometime between January 20 and 30, 2011. If you’re located in Park City Utah, be sure to pick up your tickets and check it out.

Hobo with a Shotgun original faux trailer