Review of The Vagrant (1992) by Brody M — 02 Dec 2009

The Vagrant stars Bill Paxton as an ordinary businessman who buys his first house in an area that's not really one of the safest, especially when he finds out a mutilated vagrant (Marshall Bell) has been squatting there for some time.

As a result, the two engage in a small war against each other as Paxton is convinced the vagrant haunts him every night and kills people around him. Everything is questioned though as the audience starts to wonder if the vagrant is actually doing all of this bad stuff (or if he even exists), and whether Paxton's character is mentally stable.

Detective Michael Ironside is definitely one of those convinced it is Paxton committing the heinous crimes. As if this cast weren't already badass enough, Colleen Camp (Wayne's World), Stuart Pankin (TV's Dinosaurs), and Patrika Darbo (Hatchet) show up in some fun roles.

In the mid-90's, before he became an A-list star, Paxton had already amassed a sizable cult following in many cult classics (Aliens, Predator 2, The Dark Backward, etc), however, The Vagrant was his chance for a leading role, one that is pretty fun to watch him in.

Underrated actors Bell (Total Recall, Starship Troopers) and Ironside (um...Total Recall, Starship Troopers) finally get some great, sizable roles in the Vagrant as well. The film was directed by Chris Walas, normally an effects guy (who more than makes up with this film after debuting with the awful Fly 2), and written by Richard Jefferies, who also wrote Scarecrows and Cold Creek Manor.

Overall, the Vagrant plays as a horror comedy, and manages to dish out both elements pretty well, especially for being a small-scale early 90's film. One particular scene that had me laughing my head off involves the lead character's mom and her exit from a courtroom.

Tried and true gag, but definitely a good tool to use for a rather dark film. Good movie overall. The Vagrant definitely deserves to be taken out of VHS limbo and brought back to life on glorious DVD.