The film stars Rutger Hauer, who most of you probably know best from The Hitcher or Blind Fury, but I always remember him as Roy from Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner. Anyways, Rutger is a homeless man who rolls into a new town by train. Stowed away in a boxcar, of course — he’s homeless, after all — but that’s where the stereotype ends.
He arrives in Hope Town only to realize the city’s governed by the demented and sadistic Drake. There is no law and order to be found. The first scene pretty much plays this out: Rutger is witness to a public execution in the streets. Drake and his two sons (Slick & Ivan) have taken a man and placed him inside a manhole. They lasso a rope around his head and proceed to rip it off by way of rope tied to the front of a pickup truck. A geyser of blood ensues and a trampy girl showers in it. Brilliant!
Rutger Hauer finally says enough is enough. During a pawnshop robbery, he grabs a conveniently already loaded shotgun off the wall and starts to spread justice around the city the Charles Bronson way…one shotgun blast and cheesy one-liner at a time. This film is no Oscar winner, but it is definitely a classic in my books. This is grindhouse filmmaking at its finest. Tons of violence, gore, cheesy writing and offensive material to make you walk away shaking your head; but you’ll be smiling.
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Aly Campbell not only saw the film but connected with Mr. Hauer because they happened to be wearing the same designer scarf. Here's her reaction to the awesome encounter:
The movie, starring Rutger Hauer as the hobo, was ridiculous and awesome. It’s gotten a distribution deal with Magnet Releasing, so if you get a chance to see it I definitely recommend it (as long as you’re not easily offended by blood, guts, profanity or nudity). After the film and the Q & A session with the director and cast, I got lucky enough to catch Rutger Hauer by himself just outside the theater and he was nice enough to let me get a video of him saying “Hi” to Eckerd College. He also gave me a hug, which pretty much made my year. He’s definitely the coolest, nicest celebrity I’ve ever met. So here he is, Rutger Hauer, in all his awesomeness, saying hi to everyone back at Eckerd:
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Nathan Andersen teaches film at Eckerd College. He and his students will be reporting their impressions of Sundance 2011 throughout the festival.
