I’ve only got a review or two left from SXSW to put up, and one of them is for Hobo With A Shotgun. It won’t be a formal review though, as I made the mistake of seeing it at its midnight debut after nearly 48 hours of no sleep (a stunt I did not intend to pull, and did not repeat during the fest). It’s a testament to the candy-colored, blood-filled, hoboisterous creation of Jason Eisner that I managed to stay awake for the film, even if I was a bit too delirious to stumble away with a 100% intact memory of what happened to me. My post-haze impressions is that Hobo is a merely serviceable grindhouse-tribute movie elevated by the grumbling brilliance of Rutger Hauer, but the film played well at the festival regardless. Granted, what more sympathetic audience and venue could there be than one in a midnight screening at an Austin Alamo Drafthouse? Even with my guarded response though, I would still consider Hobo the best of the Grindhouse-related films, aside from Tarantino’s own creation (which barely fits with the other three anyway).
In any event, the new one-sheet for the film has been completed by artist James White, designer of the original Hobo With A Shotgun logo that has stuck with the concept since it was first entered in the Grindhouse trailer contest. Debuting on his design blog Signalnoise, the one sheet is a delightful merging of old school aesthetic and new-school technique, which sums of the film nicely. Rutger looks great, the logo is big, and the fire is plentiful. I think I like it even better than the Mondo poster they put out for SXSW, though it doesn’t quite top the full-on retro poster from January.
I don’t think the distribution arrangements have been made for Hobo yet, [the arrangements are made, but the scale of the theatrical release is still hazy —thanks commenter batphantom] though I would expect to see the Alamo’s new distribution arm take some part with Magnet & Alliance. The film is pulling the on-demand pre-release trick that so many of these size films have employed (Rubber being another example), but Hobo is one I’d suggest catching with a crowd in a theater if possible.
If you’ve enjoyed the exploitation-style revival of the last few years, Hobo is definitely right for you, and this poster is definitely right for Hobo.
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