While it's Hope City by name, this is a town filled with degenerates, sadists and scum, so what better way to bring them into line? Have a hobo shoot them in the face with a shotgun of course. From out of nowhere, a movie with this unlikely story is currently a smash hit on BitTorrent and while few in Hope City have a moral compass, the director behind the Grindhouse flick Hobo With a Shotgun is hoping that this unexpected download-fest translates into some cool sales.

Season of the Witch, TRON Legacy, Battle Los Angeles, The Next Three Days, The Fighter, The Way Back, Source Code, Limitless and The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. Even to the most casual of fans, it will come as no surprise that these are the movies currently riding high on BitTorrent networks and in the wider world.

But every now and then, however, a movie comes along that both shocks and surprises, and director Jason Eisener’s Hobo with a Shotgun does just that, in more ways than one.

The movie began its life as a fake trailer played along with the Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino hit Grindhouse. It ended up winning the South by Southwest Grindhouse trailers contest, which is not bad for a flick featuring the killing of anyone from armed robbers and corrupt cops to a sickeningly abusive Santa Claus.

It later developed into a full-length movie and since its official VOD release on April 1st and ‘unofficial’ Internet release a couple of days ago, it’s been riding high on a BitTorrent wave. Having entered the Top 100 movies on The Pirate Bay, at the time of writing it has skyrocketed to an amazing No.13, right up there with the smash mainstream Hollywood hits listed at the start of this post.

In the last 24 hours its popularity on IMDb has increased significantly, almost certainly due to people reviewing the unofficial copy. There’s absolutely no doubt that people love it. But the news of the leak initially came as a disappointment to director Jason Eisener.

“Today it hurt to hear that people are illegally downloading Hobo With a Shotgun. I saw one torrent seeding over 7600 downloads,” he wrote. “I knew this day would come, I wish I could stop/prevent it from happening, but I can’t. I didn’t think it would shank me up this much.”

Despite realizing there was nothing he could do about it, Eisener headed over to The Pirate Bay. Perhaps he could do something after all?

“Please don’t steal my movie. I never stole anything from you guys. The writer and the producers and myself, put our pay checks back into this film, so we could make it happen,” Eisener posted on the site. “If your gonna steal it, at least come to my home and try to steal it from here.”

From a dude that fantasizes about grisly shotgun murders and gallons of spraying claret? Not likely. But while the comment solicited a few angry comments, it was interesting to see how the tone changed when Eisener became a little more pragmatic.

“If you like it I hope you guys at least support it on DVD or Blu/Ray,” he wrote. “I gave my pay check back to production so the film could be made. It’s hard for indy movies to make back their budget.”

Eisener went on to explain that with a lack of a big advertising budget, the movie would not make lots of money.

“This film is very far away from being a Hollywood film, it was made with Canadian money in Nova Scotia. Its not making millions, it doesn’t have a marketing machine big enough to do so. Its now on VOD in the states, and will soon be released in the UK and Europe,” he explained.

But posters on The Pirate Bay and other torrent sites are quietly confident that being a BitTorrent hit will give this blood-spattered exploitation movie the boost it needs. Eisener is hopeful.

“If our film doesn’t make its money back, it would be hard to make another film and pay everyone. We all have to pay rent and heat. I’m new to this, I appreciate people wanting to see my film. I just hope you guys spread the word about the dvd/blu ray or when it comes out in theatres.

“I appreciate the supportive comments. If you dig the movie, please support it. I see a lot more people downloading the film today. I’m glad there is demand for the movie and people want to see it. I appreciate those of you who are spreading the word.

“Some may feel I’m missing the point on this subject. I hope you guys prove me wrong, we have mouths we still have to feed, so I hope you’re right. Take care,” he concludes.

Compare this with the recent trainwreck approach favored by others who file-sharers aren’t even interested in and the difference is staggering. Who’s gong to make the most money? It’s a no brainer.

You can read a review of Hobo With A Shotgun here. It sounds like a riot.