The Mangler is the kind of film I used to plan weekends around on as a teenager. All I needed was to see the New Line logo, hear a couple of familiar names and have Stephen King’s brand sign off on the deal. What I saw was something that would only be rivaled by my later viewing of Death Bed. Why does certain aspects of horror fandom flock to movies about killer inanimate objects? I like the rationale behind it, but not the execution.
Honestly, the film suffers from two things. The first being that this was a short story stretched to feature length. It needed to be in a Night Shift anthology film instead of struggling to find a third act. The final part being that Tobe Hooper wasn’t allowed to finish the film, as he was replaced by the producer. The sudden push to increase the gore and hurry up the story made a mess. I’m sure the twist ending would’ve packed more of a punch had the original flare been followed. But, who has time for narrative cohesion anymore?
The Mangler special features
- NEW 4K Scan Of The Original Camera Negative Of The Uncut Version Of The Film
- NEW Audio Commentary With Co-Writer Stephen David Brooks
- NEW Hell’s Bells – An Interview With Actor Robert Englund
- Rare Behind-The-Scenes Footage
- Theatrical Trailer
- TV Spot
