The Canadian splatter fest “Hobo With a Shotgun” arrives in New York after generating hot buzz at Sundance 2011. Exactly why director Jason Eisener’s flick garnered praise is beyond me.
Dutch actor Rutger Hauer is the titular hobo, who arrives in town on a freight train, full of hope for his future.
It doesn’t take him long to discover that he’s entered a living hell, run by an evil crime lord (Brian Downey) and his two sadistic sons (Nick Bateman and Gregory Smith). Even the cops are crooks.
Hobo, who’s never given a name, must have seen “Death Wish,” because he buys a shotgun and, with the help of a young hooker (Molly Dunsworth), turns vigilante.
The movie is filled with all the carnage, violence and gore that you can imagine — and then some.
There’s nothing wrong per se with those traits, as long as they are presented with style and a few laughs.
Japan’s Takashi Miike has the formula down pat, but Eisener has no idea how to give violence a touch of class.