LeonLouisRicci Director Tobe Hooper rode the Cross-Over success of the Drive-In/Grind-House release of "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" (1974) into a Cult Awareness that eventually went Mainstream and managed to Mangle a Career Opportunity with a Descent into Oblivion, Ridicule, and just plain Bad Movie Making.He rode that Beaten Dead Horse for over Two Decades until it was Obvious the Man was a "One Trick Pony". He then Faded to Black as "The End" was Inevitable.This Movie is Not a Pretty Sight. Everything is Ugly, Extremely Ugly, it seems to be Ugly for No other Reason then to be Ugly. The Clueless Notion that because it's a Gore-Fest it has to Look Ugly, Sweaty, and Unattractive with all aspects being Unappealing.The Characters (starring Robert Englund and Ted Levine) the Sets, the God-Awful Acting, the Costumes are all Unappealing. Therefore when the Money Shots (the horrific gore and slaughter) are On Screen, there is No Contrast. Nothing to Differentiate from the Proceedings. It's just more Ugliness among the Ugliness.Adapted from a Stephen King Short Story, the Movie Fails the Paranormal, Demon Possession, Occult Angle and is Muddled and Misses the Main Message( soul-less capitalism and industrial evil) by a Mile.The Budget makes it all Appear Slick and Professional, but the End Result is a Mess of Ugliness that Appears Slick and Professional. One More Mangled Movie made on the Long and Winding Downward Spiral of Tobe Hooper. What a Waste.

TheBlueHairedLawyer Why do viewers everywhere seem to hate The Mangler? I bought it on VHS, assuming that it would be one of those "so bad it's good" films - it was freakin' incredible! Sure, it doesn't follow King's original story, rather, it expands it, giving viewers a grisly, evocative tale of corruption, industry, good old-fashioned police work, and of course, demons. The effects were amazing, disturbing but definitely well-done. As for the Mangler itself, an enormous industrial speed iron that spans the length of an entire factory and chews up and spits out everything in its path with steamy breath coming from the poker-hot rollers that flatten bedsheets... wow, I don't know how the filmmakers did it, but that massive thing is one of the best movie monsters I've seen in years - and I watch a LOT of horror films.My only complaint is that many of the characters who obviously had a story to tell, never got the chance in the film. Poor J.J. Pictureman for example, a forlorn-looking elderly gentleman with a vintage film camera who seems to have dedicated his entire life to crime scene photography. A mysterious illness is affecting him, causing massive internal bleeding. Detective Johhny appears to be his only chance to help stop Gartley, the maniacal old owner of the Blue Ribbon Laundry, from claiming other victims. Pictureman's brief appearances on-screen are tragic and depressing, but I think the filmmakers could've elaborated on his story more. The same goes for Lin-Sue and the foreman. Both of them, despite initially being good people just doing their job, were roped into being Gartley's slaves. But who are they? Lin-Sue certainly has a story behind her character, as does the foreman, who at first seems like a no-nonsense, bullying factory boss but then turns out to truly care for his friends and wants to stop the machine. What's his story? Aside from characters not having enough screen presence, I loved this film. The Mangler is a riveting, powerful tale that goes beyond Stephen King's short story and gives viewers the chance to see a town riddled by sacrifice.

Max Kämmerer How do you make a horror movie about an industrial laundry machine? Well, they kinda did it alright. Now this movie is not a masterpiece by any means, but it's watchable, even entertaining. The effects are good, except maybe the CGI for the Mangler at the end. The acting is solid at times, but admittedly sub-par at others. I enjoyed the surreal ending with the Mangler (but not the one were it's revealed what happens after the horror in the town stops).The worst part of the movie is Hunton's friend the occultist, especially when he keeps talking about "virgin's blood". Robert Englund is also not appealing as Gartley, aka pirate Mr Burns, but that's mostly because the character he has to work with is ludicrous. I also had a hard time keeping Sherry and Sue apart with their curly hair. The machine itself, the Mangler, is pretty horrifying looking with all its gears and steam. The exorcism at the end is weird - them hysterically throwing sacred objects and Bible verses at the machine. And one last thing: are the police in this movie wearing old Nazi uniforms?

slayrrr666 "The Mangler" was an overall pretty disappointing effort.**SPOILERS**Working at the Blue Ribbon Laundry service, William Gartley, (Robert Englund) becomes concerned wi6th the growing number of accidents in the facility. When Officer John Hunton, (Ted Levine) is called to the latest accident, he finds that Annette Gillian, (Ashley Hayden) is one of the only employees who's actually helpful, and despite his feelings against doing so, the factory is started up and the accidents continue. When talk arises from friend Mark Jackson, (Daniel Matmor) about it being possessed, the whole situation is laughed off as ridiculous, but as the evidence mounts that eventually point to it being haunted, they finally believe the truth and set out to stop the deadly device before more are killed or injured.The Good News: This one did have a few things going for it. The main thing is that the scenes inside the factory, when the machine is showing off the possession, are actually rather good. The first sequence, where the machine, after several close-calls, manages to snap and slice open the hand of one of the employees is brilliantly done, namely due to the film's ability to make the factory really creepy. With all the hissing steam blowing into the area, obscuring the demonic-looking machines appearing out of the darkness, making it look and feel extremely hot and dangerous, using the situation to a great effect. There's some other good parts from these scenes, and they're all pretty fun. The ending battle with the machine, when it becomes disconnected and chases them around the bowels of the facility in a long, extended chase through the darkened corridors is pretty creepy and actually good. The only other part to this that works is the gore, which is the best part of the film and what really saves it. There's some pretty bloody kills in this, as there's several that are pulled into the machine and squished between the cogs, another one is folded while still alive into a pile of flesh the size of a folded shirt, another has their arm hacked off with an ax while stuck inside the machine and another one is ripped in half at the waist, leaving this one pretty satisfying in the gore department. These few issues, though, are all the film has going for it.The Bad News: There wasn't a whole lot of good things to this one, leaving it to have a couple big flaws. The most noticeable one is the film's utter boredom and dullness. That's mainly due to the film being way too long, forcing so many scenes to either take an eternity to get through or just play out way too long and become boring. The investigation is started after the policeman has an altercation with a pair of garbage-men that isn't necessary or included in the rest of the film, taking up a couple minutes of time with him yelling at them, only to get directed away and the incident is never brought up, mentioned or played up again, calling into question it's inclusion in the first place. Other scenes, including the homicide call while on the road and the never-ending talk about what the inclusion of a possessed ironing board in the facility or the need to keep it operating are just plain boring and are just way too long to get any meaning out of them. The film is littered with these scenes, because it's goofy and idiotic premise doesn't really have any opportunity for a lot of action and must be played out with the boredom in it's place. The overall premise to this is so goofy and idiotic that it's so hard to take seriously it falls on that alone. The concept behind it is unique, but it's simply not frightening in the slightest and becomes like a joke after awhile. There's also the fact that, simply remove the machine from the company after the accident for inspection and work continues while the movie's over after a few minutes. It's just not a strong enough idea to go for so long because it's easily solved, the central idea is just too goofy to take seriously and it never really feels like it can pad out the required time with what it has, forcing it to show terribly long sequences for no reason than to make it feel somewhat longer than it should. These here are what really hurt this one.The Final Verdict: Mainly hurt by a few facts, there's a couple things in here that's worthwhile to this, but it's just too flawed to count. Give it a shot if you're into these kinds of films, like the creative side or just find it interesting, otherwise stick to others out there that are more worthwhile than this one.Rated R: Graphic Violence and Graphic Language