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Nostalgia is a curious thing, especially when it comes to film. Multi-media empires have been built on filmmakers revamping the entertainment of their youth for new audiences, but it’s extremely difficult for modern productions to capture the spirit of older movies without turning into exaggerated parodies. Of course, there are exceptions to every rule, and every now and then we’re treated to a film that truly understands the material it’s based on and provides us with genuine old-fashioned thrills. Ten years ago, Jason Eisener gave us one of these rare movies with Hobo with a Shotgun, and I’d like to talk about how it’s the best Faux-Grindhouse flick out there.
While this retro gem came out in 2011, the story behind the film begins a few years earlier, back when Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino teamed up to make Grindhouse. Intending for their double-feature to act as a love-letter to sleazy exploitation flicks, the directors also encouraged other filmmakers to contribute to the project with fake movie trailers. Prominent creators like Edgar Wright, Eli Roth and even Rob Zombie ended up chipping in with absurdly entertaining teasers, but it was only Rodriguez’s Machete and Eisener’s Hobo with a Shotgun that made the leap from fake trailer to real movie.
Eisner’s trailer was actually the winner of a contest hosted by Rodriguez and South by Southwest as a part of Grindhouse‘s marketing campaign, but it soon became clear that this low-budget homage to the gritty thrillers of the 70s could easily stand on its own as a real exploitation film. The trailer’s proposed story of a homeless vigilante cleaning up the streets of a town overrun by crime and corruption would have been right at home in the era of Pam Grier and Russell Albion Meyer, so the filmmakers decided to adapt the idea into a feature-length production.
“At least he’s only killing the dirty cops.” – “We’re all dirty cops!”
Concerned about the pressures of leading a feature film, the star of the original trailer (David Brunt) resigned himself to a simple cameo, leading the filmmakers to bring in the legendary Rutger Hauer to take over the titular role. Other than that, the film is a pretty faithful adaptation of the source material, retaining most of the absurdly violent scenarios and one-liners as it tells the story of a down-on-his-luck drifter who just wants to do the right thing.
From homeless fight clubs to a child-molesting Santa-Claus, the film borrows a page from Toxic Avenger‘s Tromaville in its depiction of Hope Town as a comically exaggerated dystopia where half the population appears to have been replaced by sociopaths. In fact, Hauer’s Hobo is actively punished by the police for attempting to save a prostitute from death at the hands of a local gangster, and the antagonists have no qualms about burning schoolchildren alive in order to prove a point. However, unlike most Troma movies, Hobo with a Shotgun is so well-directed and well-performed that a lot of the over-the-top cruelty comes across as genuinely horrific rather than funny, which is both a blessing and a curse.
Of course, Rutger Hauer is what really makes the film tick, providing genuine heart in what was meant to be a simple satire of the exploitation movement. Not only does he fully commit to the gruesome action sequences, but he also delivers one of the most memorable performances of his career as a surly vagrant with a heart of gold, slowly driven mad by the evil that surrounds him. The Hobo’s final monologue before the flick’s climactic showdown remains one of the late actor’s finest moments, masterfully blending the script’s dark humor with completely serious line delivery that would have been nominated for awards had it taken place in another kind of movie.
Nick Bateman, Gregory Smith and Brian Downey also make for entertaining Troma-like villains as the sadistic criminal family that runs the town, though horror hounds will most likely fall in love with the demonic hitmen Rip and Grinder, collectively known as The Plague. This duo of armor-clad killers is implied to have killed both Jesus Christ and Abraham Lincoln on previous missions, and I’m still bummed that they never spawned official action figures.
“I’m gonna sleep in your bloody carcasses tonight!”
The film also boasts plenty of gore, with gnarly action sequences that only exploitation-styled cinema can provide. While everything is intentionally low-fi, the blood and guts hit extremely hard, with a lot of effort put into making the picture look like something that could have really been made in the 70s. In fact, the entire movie is a lot better than it needs to be, making a point of relying on retro practical effects and grimy photography while also sneaking in a few poignant takes about real-world homelessness issues. It would have been really easy for Hobo with a Shotgun to end up as another cynical farce, making fun of the ideas that inspired it instead of actually doing something with them, but the filmmakers chose to take every aspect of the production seriously regardless of their budget, much like the real Grindhouse classics of the past.
While I adore Rodriguez and Tarantino’s homage to the golden days of exploitation, I feel like both Planet Terror and Death Proof are more concerned with emulating the schlocky aesthetics of classic exploitation flicks rather than the rebellious spirit that informed their productions. That’s what makes Hobo with a Shotgun such a special little movie, as the filmmakers behind it understood that exploitation is more than just a visual style. Hell, if it had been shot on real film stock and if Hauer looked a few decades younger, it would be hard to tell that this isn’t a legitimate 70s movie.
It’s dark and mean and could have used a bigger budget, but that’s precisely why I think Hobo with a Shotgun is Faux-Grindhouse at its finest. The macabre sense of humor and over-the-top violence might not be for everyone, but there’s so much effort going on behind the blood and guts that the film remains unmatched even a decade later. So if you’re up for some ultra-violent justice delivered one shotgun shell at a time, I’d definitely recommend this masterful throwback.
Born Brazilian, raised Canadian, Luiz is a writer and Film student that spends most of his time watching movies and subsequently complaining about them.
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Rock and Shock served as New England’s premier horror convention for 16 wonderful years before its reign came to an unexpected end in 2019. While several other events admirably attempted to occupy the void left in the local horror community, none were quite able to fill Rock and Shock’s sizeable shoes.
If its debut is any indication, Silver Scream Con is, at long last, a worthy successor to the throne. Created by Massachusetts’ own horror-inspired metal band Ice Nine Kills, the first ever Silver Scream Con took place August 26-28 at the Doubletree Boston North Shore in Danvers, MA.
Rock and Shock catered to the intersection of music and horror, but with Ice Nine Kills’ rabid cult following behind it, Silver Scream Con brought in a new audience beyond die-hard genre fans. Informal polls conducted before each panel consistently showed that more than half of the attendees were at their first horror convention. Moreover, INK frontman/mastermind Spencer Charnas often had the longest line out of all the celebrities.
Cancellations are an unfortunate reality when it comes to conventions, and it can hurt when a headliner has to back out at the last minute. Silver Scream lost Skeet Ulrich the week of the show due to filming commitments, but they promptly replaced him with a fellow Scream star, Jamie Kennedy.
The guest list also included Kane Hodder (Friday the 13th Part VII-X), Nick Castle (Halloween), Bill Moseley (The Devil’s Rejects), Doug Bradley (Hellraiser), Danielle Harris (Halloween 4-5), Tom Arnold (Freddy’s Dead: The Final Nightmare), James Jude Courtney (Halloween 2018), Ari Lehman (Friday the 13th), Felissa Rose (Sleepaway Camp), Paul Soter (Super Troopers), Erik Stolhanske (Super Troopers), Miko Hughes (Pet Sematary), Andrew Bryniarski (The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2003), Dave Sheridan (Scary Movie), Ricky Dean Logan (Freddy’s Dead: The Final Nightmare), and more.
Upon entering the main floor, attendees were greeted by the sight of the Ice Nine Kills museum, complete with memorabilia from the band’s music videos and live shows. The room featured a variety of vendors – ranging from handmade collectibles and artwork to shirts, toys, and posters – with the outer perimeter lined by celebrity guests. Those with long lines occasionally caused traffic jams, but for the most part it worked well. A second room housed additional celebrities.
Panels are one of my favorite aspects of any convention, and Silver Scream Con did not disappoint, with MTV’s Ryan J. Downey on hand to host them all weekend. After traversing down a labyrinth of hallways to the designated area, I poked my head in on a standing-room-only Ice Nine Kills panel featuring Charnas with Moseley, Logan, and Hughes, all of whom have appeared in INK music videos.
I was most interested in hearing Kennedy discuss how Scream captured lightning in a bottle. It came as no surprise that he was funny, but he was also insightful; he shared anecdotes about how viewers identified with his character of Randy, seeing Jaws at the age of five, Scream‘s alternate ending in which Randy asks Sidney out to a movie, and inadvertently ingesting magic mushrooms one night after filming.
When the subject of Wes Craven came up, he relayed a quote from the director that stuck with him: “Just because we’re making a horror movie doesn’t mean the experience has to be horrific.” He’s also a fan of the Radio Silence team behind the new Scream films. “The franchise couldn’t be in better hands, and I’m just lucky to be part of it,” he said, later admitting that he cried during the big death scene in Scream (2022).
A highlight of the hour-long chat was seeing Kennedy’s mind be blown when Downey exposed him to the fan theory that Billy and Stu were queer-coded, with their homicidal tendencies spawning from repressed sexuality. “I’ve gotta get on the Reddit boards,” he quipped.
Kennedy’s panel was immediately followed by one with Doug Bradley, much of which was unsurprisingly dedicated to Hellraiser and Clive Barker. He admitted that he played Pinhead in eight consecutive movies for the money, but he also said, “I didn’t want anyone else doing it. I was possessive about the part, to a point.” Despite diminishing budgets and unrelated scripts having Pinhead added to them, he stands by his work. “The only one in the series I feel doesn’t work is Inferno, for various reasons.”
It was heartening to hear the horror icon share his thoughts on Jamie Clayton’s casting as Pinhead in David Bruckner‘s Hellraiser reimagining (which you can read more about here). He also talked about working with Cradle of Filth, meeting Ringo Starr in full Pinhead makeup at the 1992 MTV Video Music Awards, being a fan of the band Ghost, and his dream of Guillermo del Toro adapting Clive Barker’s The Scarlet Gospels.
Cosplayers were out in full force throughout the con, but they were giving a chance to shine during a costume contest on Saturday evening. The kid’s competition was stolen by a Krampus, while the adults featured with a plethora of worthy entrants ranging from Dani from Midsommar in a hand-painted dress (who took home the top prize) to a Wendigo on stilts and two different takes on Stranger Things‘ Eddie Munson.
The weekend’s festivities also included in-costume photo ops with Ice Nine Kills, Hodder, Moseley, Harris, Bryniarski, and hip-hop duoTwiztid. Friday night featured a karaoke party, complete with celebrity participants. On Saturday night, Ice Nine Kills headlined an intimate, sold-out concert at the nearby Cabot Theater in Beverly, MA with support from Twiztid and Lehman’s band, First Jason.
In all my years attending conventions, rarely have I seen a first-year operation run as smoothly and with such a strong turnout. Everyone I spoke to – from celebrities to attendees – seemed impressed as well. I’d love to see it expand to utilize more space, thereby creating room for additional vendors and a less cramped environment in the future. Sequels are almost always inevitable with horror movies, after all, so I’m already looking for Silver Scream Con Part 2.
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