Mangler, The (4K UHD Review)
Director
Tobe HooperRelease Date(s)
1995 (July 28, 2026)Studio(s)
Distant Horizon/Filmex/Allied Film Productions/New Line Cinema (Vinegar Syndrome)- Film/Program Grade: B-
- Video Grade: A-
- Audio Grade: A-
- Extras Grade: B-
Review
Tobe Hooper’s The Mangler has had a varied history, mostly a disreputable one. Released one year before Wes Craven’s Scream revitalized the horror genre, it’s a darkly comic take on a piece of Stephen King material that, for all intents and purposes, wasn’t received well by horror fans, let alone critics. However, as is per usual with popular genre directors whose work sometimes goes unappreciated upon its initial release, it managed to build a small following in the aftermath.
When a horrific accident occurs at Gartley’s Blue Ribbon Laundry, killing one of the workers in an oversized laundry press nicknamed “The Mangler”, an investigation is soon underway by the disgruntled but concerned detective John Hunton (Ted Levine). Leary of how and why the Mangler continues to pass safety inspections under the watchful eye of the laundry’s elderly and crippled owner Bill Gartley (Robert Englund), Hunton seeks the help of his former brother-in-law Mark (Daniel Matmor), a demonologist who concludes that the machine is somehow possessed by an evil spirit. Concerned for the safety of Gartley’s niece Sherry (Vanessa Pike), the two attempt to stop both Gartley and the Mangler before more victims wind up folded and pressed. Also in the cast is Lisa Morris, Demetre Phillips, and Jeremy Crutchley as “Pictureman.”
The positives for The Mangler are fairly straightforward. While the horror elements are evident, including seeing a couple of people actually put through the machine in spectacularly over-the-top and bloody fashion, the black humor of it all tends to go by unnoticed by many. It’s also well-shot, with Hooper employing a lot of free-flowing camera work. As the film was produced in South Africa (during severe political unrest), it also has a lot of fresh faces in it, which gives the story more of a grounded feel outside of the fantastical elements.
And then there’s Robert Englund (no stranger to Tobe Hooper), who seems like he’s having a blast as Bill Gartley in heavy make-up and prosthetics, complete with a “blind” contact lens in one eye, multiple facial scars, white hair, and leg braces. His character is particularly odious, but also a bit of a mustache-twirler, which makes him more amusing than despicable in the long run.
On the other hand, there are several things going against the film. For starters, Ted Levine hasn’t quite shaken his Buffalo Bill persona. Outside of a few scenes that seem to be either beyond him or just poorly-executed, he does a decent job and at least looks the part. It’s also a pity that the CGI rendered for the Mangler in the final showdown (and elsewhere) doesn’t hold up at all. Thankfully, there’s very little of it, but it’s so cartoon-ish that it takes you out of it whenever it’s on screen.
The basic plot of The Mangler is fairly typical for Stephen King adaptation material in the 1990s, with many similarities to Graveyard Shift released five years prior. It’s also obvious why the film has had such a poor reputation over the years, but at the same time, it has enough enjoyable elements that it can’t be disregarded completely, and it’s far more appreciated now.
Cinematographer Amnon Salomon shot The Mangler on 35mm film (Eastman Kodak) with spherical lenses, the results of which were finished photochemically, and presented theatrically in the aspect ratio of 1.85:1. Vinegar Syndrome debuts the film on Ultra HD from a new 4K scan of the unrated version from the original camera negative, which has been graded for High Dynamic Range and Dolby Vision, and encoded to a dual-layered BD-66 disc. It’s worth noting that this version opens with the Distant Horizon logo and not the New Line Cinema logo.
It’s an obvious improvement over previous presentations that’s sharper with clearer details, but with a more overt visual personality. Grain tends to be heavier during scenes in Gartley’s laundry with a higher bitrate in the 80 to 110Mbps range, while scenes outside are more refined with a much lower bitrate in the 40 to 70Mbps range. Other scenes, especially at night, fall somewhere in between with medium grain and bitrates in the 60 to 80Mbps range. This appears to have been a deliberate stylistic choice on the filmmakers’ part since the differences are so pronounced, and the encoding reflects that. The HDR grades spruce up the contrast with deeper blacks and refined shadow detail. The color palette soaks up the dingiest of hues, but also provides stronger shades of red, green, and blue, among others. Mild speckling and an occasional scratch here and there, as well as the aforementioned mid-1990s, low budget CGI that definitely doesn’t hold up, are the only obvious flaws as the overall presentation is as stable and solid as they come.
Audio is included in English 5.1 and 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio with optional subtitles in English SDH. These appear to be the same tracks included with previous releases, at least as far as I can tell. The original stereo track offers plenty of fine steering moments and envelopment, not just for the obvious up front elements in and around Gartley’s, but ambient sounds outside of Mark’s house and beyond as well. The 5.1 spaces these elements out slightly into the surrounding speakers. There are also some occasional low frequency moments to give it added dimension, particularly when the Mangler does its nasty work. The dialogue is mostly clean and clear outside of Ted Levine’s sometimes garbled lines, but the general quality of both tracks is strong.
Vinegar Syndrome’s 4K Ultra HD release of The Mangler sits in a black Amaray case alongside a 1080p Blu-ray taken from the same new scan and a reversible insert, featuring the original theatrical poster on the front and new artwork by Black Coffiend on the reverse. Exclusive to Vinegar Syndrome’s web site is a version with a glow-in-the-dark spot gloss slipcase and slipcover, as well as a 40-page booklet. This edition is limited to 8,000 units. The following extras are included on both discs:
DISC ONE (UHD)
- Audio Commentary with David Heitner and Alison Foreman
- Audio Commentary with Scout Tafoya
DISC TWO (BD)
- Audio Commentary with David Heitner and Alison Foreman
- Audio Commentary with Scout Tafoya
- Waking a Brutal Beast: Behind the Scenes of Tobe Hooper’s The Mangler (HD – 46:03)
- Behind-the-Scenes Footage (SD – 12:47)
- Still Gallery (HD – 222 in all – 11:18)
- Theatrical Trailer (HD – 1:30)
- TV Spot (SD – :38)
New to this release are a pair of exclusive commentary tracks. The first features a conversation between editor David Heitner via Skype with film and TV journalist Alison Foreman. Heitner primarily drives the conversation with Foreman occasionally interjecting to ask questions about his memories of the project. Occasionally they both go quiet during intense moments in the film and become reactionary, but it’s an overall decent chat. Film critic Scout Tafoya takes over on the second track. He’s a bit more pretentious comparatively, especially at the outset, but he does manage to give a spirited defense of Tobe’s directing of Poltergeist before launching into an examination of his filmography, as well as the film itself. It’s definitely the more interesting track of the two.
Waking a Brutal Beast is a new making-of documentary featuring interviews with writer and visual effects supervisor Stephen David Brooks, actors Robert Englund and Jeremy Crutchley, special make-up effects technician Scott Wheeler, make-up effects lead man Scott Coulter, and prosthetics co-designer Todd Masters. Many of them discuss their backgrounds, how they got involved with the project, how it was executed, and dealing with working in South Africa—all speaking of their experiences dealing directly with Tobe Hooper (points deducted for bleeping all of the swears). Next is a set of random Behind-the-Scenes Footage; a Still Gallery that contains 222 posters, promotional photos, and behind-the-scenes photos; the Distant Horizon theatrical trailer; and a TV spot.
It’s a nice set of bonus materials, though there’s several things missing from previous releases, including the R-rated version of the film (for archival purposes more than anything). Not included from the Scream Factory Blu-ray is an audio commentary with Stephen David Brooks and Nathaniel Thompson, an interview with Robert Englund, and the New Line red band trailer. Speaking of which, the original New Line Home Entertainment DVD release included a comparison video of the unrated and R-rated scenes. The Region 2 DVD from Germany includes a set of production notes, while the Region 2 DVD from Japan includes a video trailer and a set of interviews, likely EPK-sourced. Lastly, the Region B Blu-ray from Arrow Video includes two audio commentaries, one with Alexandra Heller-Nicholas and Josh Nelson, and the other with Matty Budrewicz and Dave Wain; and two video essays, one by Scout Tafoya, and one by Guy Adams.
As I said when I reviewed the Scream Factory release, it’s a shame that we don’t have Tobe Hooper on the record somewhere talking about The Mangler. It’s much more fun than most people gave it credit for when it was released. It’s also obvious that Hooper was going for gallows humor, in a way that’s almost always overlooked in his work (which includes The Texas Chain Saw Massacre). The Mangler’s tongue seems to be placed mostly in its cheek, and with decent performances, wonderful cinematography, and a couple of rather gory deaths, it makes for a mostly enjoyable horror film. Vinegar Syndrome’s 4K upgrade is more than welcome, and should please most fans.
- Tim Salmons
(You can follow Tim on social media at these links: Twitter, Facebook, BlueSky, and Letterboxd. And be sure to subscribe to his YouTube channel here.)