Episode 19

The Vagrant (1992)

Published on: 3rd December, 2021

A story about a house a geek, a hobo, a house, and a whole lot of psychosis.

Listen in as me and my guest, Pete, talk through this strange mind trip of a film.

Directed by two-time helmer Chris Walas (The Fly II & The Vagrant) and written by Richard Jefferies (14 Going on 30, Cold Creek Manor, Bloodtide), The Video Vacuum called it a "painfully unfunny black comedy," and Entertainment Weekly said it was a "moronic, ineptly directed bummer." Ouch. Look, it's not a good movie, but that's what you're here for, right? It is profoundly strange and uneven, and that makes for a fun watch - especially under the influence of your preferred substance.

It tells the story of milquetoast businessman Graham Krakowski (played by the awesome Bill Paxton) as he buys a house that unbeknownst to him was a frequent haunt of a scarred and oozy vagrant (played sleazily by Marshall Bell). As Graham tries to rid himself of the vagrant he finds himself mixed up in a string of murders, excessive house makeovers, and eventually on the run from the police. Ever see Bill Paxton with a mullet? You will.

The film is currently available on Amazon Prime and Blu-ray.

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About the Podcast

Subversive Cinema
The show about the weird, whacky, and downright wrong entries in cinema history.
There are a lot of films out there, so it's only natural that a decent amount of strange content exists. These are the films we examine.

Each week, I sit down with a guest and we take a look a one of these weird, whacky, or downright wrong cinematic entries. Each of them has something about it that makes it special — I call it the "Subversive Sauce" — and that is recipe we try to break down.

Is it scientific? Absolutely not. Will you learn things you didn't know? Maybe. Might you hear about films worth checking out? Most definitely.

Tune in and see what the subversion is all about!
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About your host

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Art Hall

Art started in the podcasting ecosphere back in 2007 with the outrageous, yet short lived, scripted variety show "WBKR: Buckwilde Radio," which claimed listeners from over 20 different countries. After hanging up his headphones and heading west to move to Los Angeles, he kept podcasting in his heart but only made appearances rather than producing or hosting. It only took a global pandemic, boredom, and the pleading from his buddy, Joe, to get back into the mic booth.