The Mangler (1995)

Robert Englund, Ted Levine and Vanessa Pike star in Tobe Hooper's 1995 horror film based on Stephen King's short story, "Night Shift." This begins at an industrial warehouse where one of the workers is killed in a laundry press machine. Soon, other workers become injured and killed by the machine. Levine (The Silence of the Lambs) plays police detective, John Hunton who investigates the matter. Englund (A Nightmare on Elm Street) plays crippled industrialist, Bill Gartley who runs the warehouse and has a sinister scheme of sacrificing people into the machine. Hunton discovers Gartley's plan and tries to protect his niece, Sherry Oulette (Pike) who is chosen to be sacrificed. This is a weak film, but Englund & Levine aren't bad in it though.

I guess it's about time to remind myself that I should take critical reviews with a grain of salt. James Berardinellli gave this film a zero star rating, but his review of the movie (which can be accessed through the "External Reviews" link on this page) was so funny that I had to check this movie out. Surprisingly, it was actually pretty entertaining...as a "so bad it's good" movie.After a woman is gobbled up by a giant laundry machine, Officer John Hunton (Ted Levine) is sent in to investigate. Evidence shows that it may not be an accident, and Hunton's priest brother-in-law, thinks it may be possessed by a demon, and the laundry's owner, Bill Gartley (Robert Englund) may have something to do with it.There is no possible way that anyone can take this movie seriously, and the cast members know this. Everyone seems to be winking at the audience, and that's what saves this movie from being a complete disaster. This movie contains such moments as two men trying to perform an exorcism on a giant laundry machine, and a machine that gets up and walks. How could ANYONE not laugh at that?The acting varies, but overall it works for the film. Ted Levine is in a role that's a far cry from his infamous portrayal of "Buffalo Bill" in "The Silence of the Lambs." Levine, who usually plays cops, seems miscast in a role like this. He gives it a game try by going way over the top, but he just doesn't quite work. The two other main cast members work rather well. Robert Engluds is probably the only person who can play Bill Gartley. He's the "creepy villain," but Englund, who mixed creepiness and comedy very successfully as Freddy Krueger, plays this role with a large dose of goofiness. He doesn't turn in a campy performance, but he is definitely going for laughs. Likewise, Daniel Matimor is sort-of spoofing the Father Merrin wannabe. Like Englund, he doesn't parody the character, but he doesn't take it seriously either. The girls are bad, but they don't say much.Tobe Hooper made two horror classics, "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" (unseen by me) and "Poltergeist," which I found underwhelming. Anyone who thinks that he's trying to make a serious horror movie here is seriously mistaken. Hooper is too intelligent to not know that to do so would be a disaster, so he plays up the badness to make it an "unintentional comedy." Everything is so cheesy that it becomes a whole different kind of movie. The cinematography is always interesting to look at as well.It's not perfect, however. There are parts that don't make much sense (particularly the ending), but overall it's pretty fun...in a ridiculous sort of way.

This movie is actually pretty good, the whole concept of a possessed Mangle may sound kind of silly but it isn't really. It reminds me of Chirstine except it's a killer Mangle instead of a killer Car, The Mangler is based on a Short Story by Stephan King, the film is directed by Tobe Hooper (The Texas Chainsaw Massacre) who directed another Stephan King book before and that was Salams Lot, Robert Englund who stars in the Nightmare on Elm Street films stars in this as the owner of the building with the killer Mangle. The Mangler also has a nice bit of gore to it with people getting mangled. The Mangler may not be for everyone but if you like movies about killer machines then check The Mangler out. 10/10

I didn't turn on this movie expecting much. I've always been a big fan of Stephen King's books, but the movies seemed to lack.This movie was a pleasant surprise, though. I was happily grossed out of my mind enough times to satisfy my taste, and the characters, while very, very corny at times, were some of my favorites in years. You wont find much of an all-star ensemble, but, like George Romero, I don't like to see too many big stars in horror flicks. The story, while conceded, is interesting enough to keep you watching, The ending was well worth the wait, too, offering up some of the irony that King is so adept at.If you're not a fan of B-rated movies, I'd steer clear. If you are, though, this is going to be one helluva fun ride. The Effects are very good, considering the budget was most likely very low.