The Mangler (film)



"There is a fate worse than death."

The Mangler is a horror film adapted from a short story "The Mangler" by Stephen King. Released in 1995, it was directed by Tobe Hooper and stars Robert Englund and Ted Levine.

It is one of the worst-received King adaptations. There are also two sequels.

"Mark: "I think we may be fucked.""
 * Adaptation Expansion
 * Animate Inanimate Object: The mangler after the botched exorcism.
 * Bill, Bill, Junk, Bill: Hunton is doing this in his introductory scene.
 * Blood-Splattered Innocents: Sherry and Annette are covered by Frawley's blood when she is caught by the machine.
 * Bloody Handprint: Sherry leaves one on the icebox when she hurts her hand.
 * Chase Scene: The climax of the film is the mangler getting off of its hinges after a failed exorcism attempt and chasing after the protagonists.
 * Computer Virus: The antagonist of the second film.
 * Corrupt Corporate Executive: Mr. Gartley.
 * Dangerous Sixteenth Birthday: To Sherry, as she is next to be sacrificed for power.
 * Deal with the Devil: Mr. Gartley got his power thanks to the beast in the machine.
 * Disturbed Doves: Doves appear randomly when a picture is taken on the scene of Mary's death
 * Drop the Hammer: When the icebox attacks Mark, Hunton grabs a sledge hammer and starts beating on it.
 * The End - or Is It?: In the end it turns out that.
 * Evil Cripple: Mr. Gartley.
 * Evil Uncle: Mr. Gartley to Sherry.
 * Eyepatch of Power: Mr. Gartley's half-dark glasses.
 * Fingore: Lin's hand is caught by the mangler and loses one of her fingers. It turns out to be a part of the initiation to be one of the rich and powerful people of the town.
 * Half the Man He Used To Be: Mark when the mangler kills him.
 * Hey, It's That Guy!: Freddy Krueger is the evil owner of the laundromat, and Buffalo Bill is the Cowboy Cop trying to stop him!
 * Heroic Sacrifice: Averted when Sherry tries to sacrifice herself to the mangler to stop it, but Hunton forces her out of it.
 * Hollywood Exorcism: Tried against the machine, which backfires.
 * Hostile Weather: Thunder rolls in the background when Hunton and Mark are on their way to exorcise the mangler.
 * Human Sacrifice: The beast in the mangler requires 16 year old virgins to be sacrificed to it if it were to grant power to someone.
 * In Name Only: Mangler 2's connection to the first film? The computer virus is called Mangler and that's it.
 * Well, there is one scene where a random girl is killed by a laundry machine.
 * Inappropriate Hunger: The morgue worker is eating cherry tomatoes when Hunton visits the place.
 * Jittercam: It's sometimes hard to discern what the Hell is supposed to be going on in 2.
 * Life or Limb Decision: George forces his buddy to cut off his arm when he is caught by the mangler. He dies from the blood loss.
 * Mismatched Eyes: Mr. Gartley with his bad eye.
 * My Greatest Failure: For Hunton it is getting his wife killed in a car accident.
 * No OSHA Compliance
 * Oh Crap: Hunton, Sherry and Mark when they realize.


 * Playing Against Type: Ted Levine. He plays a heroic cop. Enough said.
 * The Power of Blood: The mangler starts craving for a sacrifice when Sherry's blood is caught on it.
 * Red Right Hand: Machine's followers have a piece of themselves inside the thing.
 * Squashed Flat: Anyone caught by the mangler.
 * Too Dumb to Live: When Jackson and Hunton are planning the exorcism, Jackson explains that demons who have been summoned with the hand of glory are much harder to kill.
 * Virgin Power: Sherry's blood brings the mangler and the icebox alive.
 * Vomiting Cop: Officer Hunton after seeing the remains of a woman caught in the machine.