The Mangler Reborn (Video 2005)

A decade after the original massacre, another man obsessed over his machine ends with several murders and possession.

Directors:

Matt Cunningham, Erik Gardner

Writers:

Erik Gardner, Matt Cunningham

Stars:

Aimee Brooks, Reggie Bannister, Weston Blakesley

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Aimee Brooks	...	Jamie
Reggie Bannister	...	Rick
Weston Blakesley	...	Hadley
Scott Speiser	...	Mike
Juliana Dever	...	Louise Watson
Sarah Lilly	...	Beatrice Watson
Renee Dorian	...	Gwen
Rhett Giles	...	Sean
Jeff Burr	...	Lawnmowing Man

Storyline

A decade after the original massacre, another man obsessed over his machine ends with several murders and possession.

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Plot Keywords:

possession | murder | third part | kidnapping | murder of daughter | 

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Taglines:

The Massacre Continues...

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Genres:

Horror | Sci-Fi

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for bloody violence/gore, language and brief nudity

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

29 November 2005 (USA)

Also Known As:

Mangler - O Massacre

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$200,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Assembly Line Studios, Barnholtz Entertainment, MEB Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

84 min

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

The characters of Hadley and the Watsons were named after the turn-of-the-century company that built the laundry machine in the original "Mangler", Hadley-Watson.

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Quotes

Jamie: Fuck you and fuck your machine!
Hadley: I *am* the machine.

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Connections

Referenced in Behind the Mangler (2005)

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Soundtracks

"For Adeline (Guitar Trio)"
Composed and Performed by Robert Mills, Richard Bishop and Jeffery Taylor
From the album "Highly Bred and Sweetly Tempered"
Published by Muang Sing Music
(c)2004 Climax Golden Twins

User Reviews

We Like Aimee Brooks

While "The Mangler Reborn" is certainly not a masterpiece, it is better than what is reflected in most comments about the film. It is a rare example of a low budget horror film that is played totally straight, no humor and very little self-parody.

With a budget of just $85,000 they had to be very inventive so don't expect elaborate production design or special effects. The title character looks like a cafeteria dishwasher being operated by "Edward Scissorhands". They try to pass the thing off as sinister by always showing it in shadows. When a victim is fed to the thing they change to very tight shots of knives and clippers, trying to make it seem like they are part of the machine rather than being held by crew members off-camera. Obviously the film would benefit from a more elaborate and diabolical device, or at least one with some credibility.

But the Stephen King inspired premise is a good one and the first two thirds of the film set it all up very nicely. It is almost captivating for a while but finally runs out of gas and plods through the final 30 minutes.

An appliance repairman (Weston Blakesley) has acquired the cursed parts from the original "Mangler" (named for the old-style washing machine with external rollers to squeeze the water out of clothes) and is obsessively working to reinvent the lethal thing. Eventually he becomes possessed by the machine and more zombie than human. He must feed it humans because he needs to drink their "squeezins" to keep his zombie body from decaying.

Blakesley is quite credible as the slack jawed zombie who takes a rubber mallet on his repair calls and acquires his victims from among his customers. His life is complicated when a father and son burglar team (Reggie Bannister and Scott Speiser) attempt to rob his house and when his daughter comes for a visit.

Aimee Brooks gets a whole bunch of standard scream queen moments and is extremely attractive.

The main problem is that not enough happens to sustain an eighty-minute feature. Had a parallel story periodically cut in and built up a bit of suspense, "The Mangler Reborn" could have been a engaging little film.

Then again, what do I know? I'm only a child.