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Norman Coombes (II), Ashley Hayden, Todd Jensen, Danny Keogh, Ted Le Platt ... see more see more... , Ted Levine , Ron Smerczak , Larry Taylor , Sean Taylor , Robert Englund , Daniel Matmor , Demetre Phillips , Jeremy Crutchley , Vanessa Pike

A hellish piece of professional laundry equipment wreaks havoc in a tiny New England town in this horror film. It all begins in The Blue Ribbon Laundry, a place run by the ruthless, crippled old Bill ... read more read more...Gartley. With no feelings at all for his employees, he demands absolute obedience and unrelenting hard work. One day an old speed iron goes crazy, sucks in and permanently presses a hapless worker. The rest of the crew is frightened and in shock, but this does not stop old Gartley from cruelly ordering them back to work. A police officer investigates the case and begins suspecting that the sinister owner is concealing something. When a boy suffocates in an abandoned refrigerator that had somehow come in contact with the speed iron, the cop calls in his friend the theoretical parapsychologist who deduces that there is a "transference of evil" going on. Meanwhile, Gartley is putting the moves on comely Lin Sue; he also is interested in messing with his own niece. Both girls have been harmed by the evil iron and have contributed some of their precious blood to it. It is the cop who discovers that in order for Gartley to remain successful, he must see that the demonic machine periodically receives such sacrificial donations. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

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24% liked it

6,337 ratings

Critics

22% liked it

9 critics

R, 1 hr. 45 min.

Directed by: Tobe Hooper

Release Date: June 1, 1994

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DVD Release Date: August 17, 2004

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Flixster Reviews (227)

  • WrenchLT
    January 12, 2011
    WrenchLT
    Probably Tobe Hooper's goriest film... and his most bizarre too! Having a demonically possessed clothes-presser is a unique sight to behold. I thought it was good fun - ridiculous, but enjoyable. Robert Englund and Ted Levine are always good to watch.
  • matertenebraum
    July 27, 2009
    matertenebraum
    "And did the Countenance Divine Shine forth upon our clouded hills? And was Jerusalem builded here Among these dark Satanic mills? "

    William Blake, "Jerusalem", 1795

    "We all have to make sacrifices!" --from the Mangler-screenplay, 1995

    Coming from Stephen King's 1978 collectio... read moren of shorts, "Night Shift", Tobe Hooper brings us his very different-take: a parable of 19th Century, proprietary-capitalism and the nightmare of the American-workplace. This film is what labor-conditions were 100-years-ago, and what they could easily become again if we aren't too-careful. Since the discovery of a slave-sweatshop in El Monte, California a few-years after the release of this film, it isn't so fantastic. Maybe some of us were too-comfortable to "get" this film in the Clinton-era. Most people don't get this film at-all, even just watching it on its surface-levels. It's a real hoot! Yep, you can watch it with a beer, and you can watch it with an open-mind thinking about its deeper-meanings, or you can do both. And--shocker!--ALL of them are FUN.

    Tobe Hooper has said for-decades he wanted to do comedy, and he comes close here, which helps this film from being too-oppressive. Ithink Hooper understood the story better than Stephen King--it seems King worked in a clothes-pressing plant like this one in the 1960s, which gave-rise to it, but Hooper has always struck me as politically-radical in his approach-to-horror. The best horror usually has a real subversive-edge, and this is what makes this a good one. Sure, it's hokey, but it has its tongue firmly-planted in its cheek, it is jokey. It also has some sub-themes in the lines, "There's a piece of me in that machine--and a piece of it in me." It speaks well of how people are spiritually-contaminated by our system. The disease is greed.

    If it wasn't for Ted Levine ("Buffalo Bill" in Silence of the Lambs) as the bedraggled town-cop John Hunton, Robert Englund would literally steal-the-show here. Tobe uses some great low-shots and wide-angle lens compositions (ala "Citizen Kane") that lend the film a great comic-book look, and make Englund shine as a despicable-villain. The irony is, mill-owner Gartley is also a victim of the machine, even robbing him of the ability to walk. He's also half-blind, which makes-sense. The characters are pretty well-drawn, and we learn that Detective Hunton has some baggage left-behind from the death of his wife in a car-accident, years-earlier. The town is run like a virtual-dictatorship by Gartley, who basically represents the "robber-barons" of the 19th century (as well as today), completely-uncaring about the safety and welfare of his employees. A man who has lost his humanity. Sound familiar?

    Eventually, an accident occurs where the niece of Englund's character spills her own blood on the "Mangler", a clothes-press that must be 100-years-old. Another shop-employee spills her belladonna-laced antacids into the guts of the machine, and it begins taking-victims...and parts. Oddly, all the people Bill Gartley "owns" (the Mayor, the Police Chief, Doctors, etc.) have missing-fingers. Of course, the premise of a demoniacally-possessed machine is fantasy, which is what makes the story a parable, but it's fun. Over-time, Detective Hunton finds that the Gartley dynasty has been-sacrificing their own young to the infernal-machine for a century, and now they're "spreading-the-love". Don't all employers? Some require the blood of a virgin!

    So, people have been wrong about this one. It's a minor-classic of a bad-decade for horror. The genre has its fallow-periods where interest isn't as-high, and 1995 wasn't exactly a banner-year for horror-buffs. And quit-comparing every film a director does to their most well-known ones, it's emotionally-retarded. This is a solid horror-film, and if it had been presented in the proper-context, would have been better-appreciated. The short-story is good, but this is better, and Stephen King sure isn't Edgar Allan Poe or Lovecraft ferchrissakes. The New Line DVD is great, it has a perfect widescreen-transfer, and even includes the gore that was cut with split-screen comparisons to the theatrical-version. A great horror-film, and a respectable one for Tobe Hooper. Now you can all go and rewatch the original "Texas Chainsaw Massacre"--just don't touch-yourself so-much this time. We all have to make sacrifices, after-all. Ignore the other reviews, those people are snobs.
  • YosemiteSamFan
    August 2, 2007
    YosemiteSamFan
    One of those Stephen King adaptations which is weak and wretched to watch. Even Robert Englund (Freddy from Nightmare on Elm Street) as a cruel machine shop foreman couldn't save this movie from the blockbuster bin of forgotten horror flicks. There are some nasty gore moments, bu... read moret nothing to get too worked up over.
  • sanjurosamurai
    January 3, 2007
    sanjurosamurai
    worst movie ever. should have never been made
  • jim222001us
    August 17, 2007
    jim222001us
    I forgot I even seen this in the movies! or that I seen it at all actually.
  • iansubordinate
    April 11, 2010
    iansubordinate
    Strange as hell. Tobe Hooper is a hit or miss kind of director, and this film falls right in between "hit" and "miss". Stylistically it sticks out as his most original, looking like it was going for abstract, Terry Gilliam style, and the death and gore was entertaining as well. I... read more have no idea what Tobe was smoking when he made this but I dont want any cuz it might kill me. Not for anyone but the truly adventurous horror fans
  • kcddck
    February 7, 2010
    kcddck
    Horrible movie. Ted Levine and Robert Englund do the best that they can with this horrible movie. Too bad Stephen King can't find better people to write movies for his stories.
  • ladysjay
    October 9, 2009
    ladysjay
    This movie was absolutely disgusting. I loved it. It made me so sick to my stomach within the first 15 minutes, and I fought hat nausea for the duration of the film. Lots of blood, lots of gore, plus ROBERT ENGLUND! How can it go wrong? Also, I noticed one point when Robert Englu... read morend's character said, "I'm a man of my word." I couldn't help wondering if Heath Ledger was channeling this character when he played his role as The Joker.
  • indiephan
    May 31, 2009
    indiephan
    A killer laundry machine. I have worked for many years operating sheet metal machinery, and was fortunate that I was never a victim of THE MANGLER !!!
  • firstamb
    July 9, 2008
    firstamb
    Tobe Hopper directs this grizzly horro flick set in a dark factory where a machine eats people and grinds them up. Charming. Heh.

View All The Mangler Reviews

Critic Reviews

Stefan Birgir Stefansson
February 18, 2008
Stefan Birgir Stefansson, sbs.is

how the mighty have fallen

Walter Chaw
July 10, 2003
Walter Chaw, Film Freak Central

Junkyards and common sense were made for stuff like this. Full Review

Gerry Shamray
April 13, 2003
Gerry Shamray, Sun Newspapers of Cleveland

A major bore.

Ken Hanke
July 30, 2002
Ken Hanke, Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)

Hooper's made some good thrillers, but this one is more silly than anything else

Scott Weinberg
July 26, 2002
Scott Weinberg, eFilmCritic.com

It's about a homicidal laundry machine. You do the math.

Godfrey Cheshire
March 26, 2009
Godfrey Cheshire, Variety

Click to read the article Full Review

Stephen Holden
May 20, 2003
Stephen Holden, New York Times

Click to read the article Full Review

February 13, 2001
Los Angeles Times

Click to read the article Full Review

Richard Harrington
January 1, 2000
Richard Harrington, Washington Post

Click to read the article Full Review

James Berardinelli
January 1, 2000
James Berardinelli, ReelViews

Click to read the article Full Review

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The Mangler Trivia

  • Garland 'The Marietta Mangler' Greene Templeton Nebbercracker Norther Winslow Rockhound Randall Boggs  Answer »
  • What is the name of the 1995 movie Robert Englund played in about workers being pulled through a huge press that ironed sheets? Evil lurks  Answer »
  • In which 90s film would you find the following characters: Vince Larkin Nathan 'Diamond Dog' Jones William 'Billy Bedlam' Bedford Garland 'The Marietta Mangler' Greene Joe 'Pinball' Parker Guard Sally Bishop Duncan Malloy Mike 'Baby-O' O'Dell Johnny 'Johnny-23' Baca   Answer »
  • Name the 1997 movie has the following characters: Garland "The Marietta Mangler" Greene, William "Billy Bedlam" Bedford, Cyrus "The Virus" Grissom, Nathan "Diamond Dog" Jones, and Johnny "Johnny-23" Baca.  Answer »
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