HOBO WITH A SHOTGUN

Directed by Jason Eisener
Starring Rutger Hauer, Brian Downey

Like Machete, Jason Eisener’s homage to exploitation started life as a fake trailer for Tarantino and Rodriguez’ Grindhouse.

Expanding a knowing two-minute fanboy gag into a knowing 90-minute fanboy gag could have been disastrously smug, but for one thing.

he movie stars 67-year-old Rutger Hauer, giving a performance that will thrill all who cherish The Hitcher, and remind us what a great screen presence he can be.

Rutger is a quiet soul, drifting into town with dreams of saving enough money to buy a lawnmower.

But when he realises the place is filled with abusive scum run by a sadistic tycoon (Brian Downey), he buys a shotgun instead, and kills everyone.

Along the way, this involves a kiddie-fiddling Santa, topless women with baseball bats and a giant octopus.

All the more remarkable, then, that, blasting through the shlock and scuzz, Hauer manages to be weirdly, grandly, moving.

His best since the Guinness ads.

Damien Love

Opens July 15 // Cert 15 // 90 mins