Line #36 Film/TheMangler


1	[[quoteright:269:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/7149084_3_5823.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:269:Sadly, there's no robotized Robert Englund in the film.]]
3
4	->''There is a fate worse than death.''
5
6	''The Mangler'' is a horror film adapted from a short story ''Literature/TheMangler'' by Creator/StephenKing. Released in 1995, it was directed by Creator/TobeHooper and stars Creator/RobertEnglund and Creator/TedLevine. There are two sequels.
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8	!!The first film has the examples of:
9	* AdaptationExpansion: There's no way that the rather sparse short story could have made a feature film, so the filmmakers invented a plot about Gartley and other local businessmen forming a cult to accumulate wealth and power in exchange for sacrificing their daughters.
10	* AdaptationalVillainy: Gartley doesn't make a direct appearance in the original short story and isn't hinted to be involved with the possession of the speed ironer. He's implied at worst to be a corner-cutting cheapskate rather than a cackling CorruptCorporateExecutive. [[spoiler:Sherry likewise isn't Gartley's niece, doesn't pull a FaceHeelTurn, and doesn't take over the laundry.]]
11	* AnimateInanimateObject: The mangler starts chasing the protagonists after they botch the exorcism.
12	* BillBillJunkBill: Hunton is doing this in his introductory scene.
13	* BloodSplatteredInnocents: Sherry and Annette are covered by Frawley's blood when she is caught by the machine.
14	* BloodyHandprint: Sherry leaves one on the icebox when she hurts her hand.
15	* BludgeonedToDeath: When the icebox attacks Mark, Hunton grabs a sledge hammer and starts beating on it.
16	* ChaseScene: The climax of the film is the mangler getting off of its hinges after a failed exorcism attempt and chasing after the protagonists.
17	* ChekhovsGun: Mrs. Frawley's antacid medication. [[spoiler:Her spilling them into the machine at the beginning seemed to just be an unfortunate accident that led to her CruelAndUnusualDeath in the jaws of the Mangler. It turned out to be ''much worse'' when it's revealed that the key ingredient in those pills is ''belladonna''. Cue OhCrap.]]
18	* CorruptCorporateExecutive: Mr. Gartley is corrupt both in a mundane sense (uses his power and connections to keep his business out of trouble) and a supernatural sense (the whole "runs a satanic death cult" thing).
19	* CruelAndUnusualDeath: Poor, poor Mrs. Frawley. No human body was made to be pressed, steamed, and folded like a piece of linen...
20	* DangerousSixteenthBirthday: To Sherry, as she is next to be sacrificed for power.
21	* DealWithTheDevil: Mr. Gartley got his power thanks to the beast in the machine.
22	* DeathByAdaptation: George Stanner survives the loss of his arm in the story, and the incident which injures him happens under very different circumstances.
23	* DisturbedDoves: Doves appear randomly when a picture is taken on the scene of Mary's death.
24	* TheEndOrIsIt: In the end it turns out that [[spoiler:Sherry is now one of the machine's followers]].
25	* EvilCripple: Mr. Gartley.
26	* EvilUncle: Mr. Gartley to Sherry.
27	* EyepatchOfPower: Mr. Gartley's half-dark glasses.
28	* FaceHeelTurn: Lin and [[spoiler: Sherry]] both become evil under the machine's influence.
29	* {{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.
30	* HalfTheManHeUsedToBe: Mark when the mangler kills him.
31	* HeelFaceTurn: George Stanner, the factory foreman, turns against Gartley and tries to shut off the machine himself after Lin's accident. [[RedemptionEqualsDeath It doesn't go well for him]].
32	* HeroicSacrifice: Averted when Sherry tries to sacrifice herself to the mangler to stop it, but Hunton forces her out of it.
33	* HollywoodExorcism: Tried against the machine, which backfires.
34	* HostileWeather: Thunder rolls in the background when Hunton and Mark are on their way to exorcise the mangler.
35	* HumanSacrifice: The beast in the mangler requires 16 year old virgins to be sacrificed to it if it were to grant power to someone.
36	* InappropriateHunger: The morgue worker is eating cherry tomatoes when Hunton visits the place.
37	* ItsAllAboutMe: Gartley says this almost verbatim to Sherry as he prepares to sacrifice her.
38	* LifeOrLimbDecision: George forces his buddy to cut off his arm when he is caught by the mangler. He dies from the blood loss.
39	* MyGreatestFailure: For Hunton it is getting his wife killed in a car accident.
40	* NoOSHACompliance: Gartley's dark, cramped, closed-off factory with outdated machines and few safety measures beyond a handful of railings looks more like a relic from the Industrial Revolution era than any modern factory. Justified as Gartley's using his influence with the machine (and connections in town) to keep things running like they always have. When some local officials perform a "safety inspection" after the first accident, they do an extremely cursory examination of the machine and allow Gartley to reopen the factory with no questions asked.
41	* NotEvenBotheringWithTheAccent: The movie was largely filmed in South Africa and there are a lot of local actors struggling to sound convincingly American. Daniel Matmor (Mark) and Vanessa Pike (Sherry) at least try, although their accents [[OohMeAccentsSlipping noticably slip]] throughout the film. Jeremy Crutchley (Pictureman) doesn't even bother, speaking in his trademark Anglo-South African rasp throughout the movie.
42	* OhCrap: Hunton, Sherry and Mark when they realize [[spoiler: there was belladonna in the machine after all, courtesy of [[ChekhovsGun Mrs. Frawley's pills]]]].
43	-->'''Mark:''' I think we may be [[PrecisionFStrike fucked]].
44	* ThePowerOfBlood: The mangler starts craving for a sacrifice when Sherry's blood is caught on it.
45	* RedRightHand: Machine's followers have a piece of themselves inside the thing.
46	* SquashedFlat: Anyone caught by the mangler.
47	* TooDumbToLive: When Jackson and Hunton are planning the exorcism, Jackson explains that demons who have been summoned with "the Hand of Glory" are [[MadeOfIron much harder to kill]]. [[spoiler: Since the Hand of Glory (or as it's known by its more common name, belladonna) doesn't grow anywhere in the surrounding region, they both assume that this particular demon was summoned without it. Consequently, [[WhatCouldPossiblyGoWrong they expect an easy exorcism]], and [[TemptingFate arm themselves accordingly]]. ''They don't even bother [[CrazyPrepared taking any extra precautions]], [[GenreBlindness just in case they're wrong]]''. [[FinaglesLaw Boy, does that turn out to be a big mistake]]...]]
48	* VirginPower: Sherry's blood brings the mangler and the icebox alive.
49	* VomitingCop: Officer Hunton after seeing what was left of poor Mrs. Frawley after the machine was done with her.
50	* WhamLine: [[spoiler:After the exorcism is done and Sherry is saved, Hunton celebrates by popping a few of Mrs. Frawley's antacid pills, and passes the bottle to Mark so he can have a couple. But that's when Mark reads the label and notices the main ingredient. All while they're still ''mere feet away from the Mangler''.]]
51	-->[[spoiler:'''Mark:''' …''Belladona''? You got these from Mrs. Frawley?\
52	'''Hunton:''' [[OhCrap The Hand of Glory?]]\
53	'''Mark:''' [[{{Understatement}} I think we may be]] [[PrecisionFStrike fucked]].]]
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55	!!The sequels have the examples of:
56	* ComputerVirus: The antagonist of the second film.
57	* DeadStarWalking: Reggie Bannister of ''Film/{{Phantasm}}'' fame gets a little bit of screen time in ''Reborn'' before Hadley catches him.
58	* FacialHorror: By the end of ''Reborn'', half of Hadley's face has rotted away, revealing his teeth.
59	* {{Goth}}: Jo in ''2'' has this look about her, and has a stereotypical rebellious bad attitude to match.
60	* IAmTheNoun: In ''Reborn'':
61	-->'''Jamie:''' Fuck you and fuck your machine!
62	-->'''Hadley:''' I ''am'' the machine.
63	* InNameOnly: ''Mangler 2'''s connection to the first film? The computer virus is called Mangler and there's a scene where a random girl is killed by a laundry machine.
64	* JitterCam: It's sometimes hard to discern what the hell is supposed to be going on in ''2''.
65	* MsFanservice: Emily in ''2'' spends a lot of time being chased in her bikini.
66	* OurVampiresAreDifferent: While not technically a vampire, the possessed Hadley has to drink the bloody sludge of the Mangler's victims to sustain his rotting body.
67	* {{Troll}}: The Mangler virus in ''2'' enjoys playing with its food by making petty taunts and ridiculous pop cultural references while it chases them.
68	* TheUnblinking: After being possessed, Hadley almost has his eyes wide open, to eerie effect.

Context Film / TheMangler