Horror comedy The Vagrant is the epitome of oddball. The direction is quirky, the performances are kooky, the music is eccentric, and the plot goes off on some very strange tangents. I usually enjoy oddball, but on this occasion I found the film's little idiosyncrasies rather annoying instead of charming, a shame because it had an intriguing premise and a pretty decent cast.

Bill Paxton plays meek yuppie Graham Krakowski, who buys a house only to find that the vacant lot opposite is home to a scary hobo (Marshall Bell) who proceeds to make Graham's life a misery. When a series of murders rocks the neighbourhood, Graham is convinced that the vagrant is responsible, but after body parts are found in his house, he becomes the prime suspect.

For most of the film, the viewer is kept in the dark as to whether the vagrant is real or a figment of Krakowski's imagination, and whether the yuppie is the killer himself, which keeps one watching, but things go from weird to downright bizarre as Graham flees his home to live on a trailer park (growing a mullet to fit in),hooks up with a chubby chick called Doattie (Patrika Darbo),is blamed for killing a blind man's dog, and hits the road again, all the while pursued by a hard-bitten cop, Lt. Ralf Barfuss (Michael Ironside). A twist towards the end explains exactly why the dirty old tramp does what he does.

With make-up FX man Chris Walas in the director's chair, one can expect some decent gore--there's a severed head and feet, which are found in Graham's fridge, a character is impaled on chair legs, and the vagrant's demise features ruptured eyeballs--plus there's a modicum of nudity in a dream sequence that sees the bum boffing Krakowski's girlfriend Edie (Mitzi Kapture).

To Walas's credit, his film is never boring and also fairly unpredictable, but with such a strange approach taken by all involved, I believe this to be very much a 'Marmite' movie, and I've never liked Marmite.

3.5/10, rounded up to 4 'cos I'm feeling generous (Walas did create the Gremlins, after all!).

I love me some Bill Paxton. Everyone should love Bill Paxton. He has since passed away but even before that I viewed him as a national treasure. If you can watch Weird Science, Aliens, The Vagrant, Tombstone, Near Dark, Twister, True Lies, A Simple Plan, or Frailty and not be enamored by him in at least one of those films, you need to re-evaluate your life.

Paxton plays Graham Krakowski a hardworking lower middle class citizen who purchases a fixer-upper. His new purchase is being intruded upon by a vagrant who proceeds to drive him insane. Graham believes the vagrant is a killer but others refuse to believe him. Is Graham going crazy or is this intrusive old man really a murderer?

I had a lot fun watching this slightly unknown gem. It's quirky and fits right in with Paxton's known nuttiness. He turns almost everyone against him as he slowly lets a weird vagrant encroach upon his personal life. Even though he can't afford it, he spends a substantial amount on building a fence around his whole residence, installing alarms and cameras. He becomes extremely paranoid and even dreams about this dirty old vagrant breaking into his house. Maybe he has the right to be paranoid? Give this one a try. Some great low-key humor with some thrills.

Anal and ambitious neurotic yuppie accountant Graham Krakowski (well played to nerdy and uptight perfection by Bill Paxton) buys himself a new house. However, Graham's life gets turned upside down by the unwelcome and unsettling intrusion of a crafty and dangerous bum (a creepy and menacing portrayal by Marshall Bell, who looks positively hideous sporting grotesque make-up) who used to squat in said abode. Director Chris Walas maintains a snappy pace throughout, ably mines a wickedly funny line in inspired oddball black humor, and does a sound job of sustaining a quirky tone as well as adeptly crafts a deliciously wigged-out paranoid atmosphere. The clever script by Richard Jefferies not only astutely explores the basic yuppie fear of failure and poverty (Graham transforms from smug affluent executive to scruffy down-on-his luck redneck during the course of the wacky story),but also delivers one real doozy of a surprise twist concerning the homeless man's true identity and actual motives for ruining Graham's life. The solid cast keeps this picture on track: Michael Ironside as hard-nosed detective Lt. Ralf Barfuss, Mitzi Kapture as Graham's unreliable girlfriend Edie Roberts, Collen Camp as kooky and horny real estate agent Judy Dansig, Patrika Darbo as cheery trailer park resident Doattie, Marc McClure as Graham's loyal and amiable friend Chuck, Stuart Pankin as stern boss Mr. Feemster, and Teddy Wilson as easygoing blind guy X-Rays. Moreover, this movie has a delightfully over-the-top cartoonish quality that in turn makes it quite a loopy hoot to watch. The slick cinematography by Jack Wallmer and John J. Connor provides a cool stylish look. Christopher Young's energetic heavy-breathing score further enhances the overall outré mood. Recommending viewing for fans of out of the ordinary fright fare.