The Mangler 4K (Blu-ray Review)

Stephen King was red-hot in the 1990s, with Hollywood finding occasional box office gold with his books, working to adapt whatever they could. During this time, selectivity wasn’t exactly prioritized, resulting in projects like 1995’s “The Mangler.” King is certainly in possession of a vast imagination for the macabre, but many of his ideas are best suited for literary exploration, allowing the author to conjure wild visuals with pulpy descriptions and plotting. Bringing these ghoulish ide...Video“The Mangler” was originally issued on Blu-ray by Shout Factory in 2018, and now returns with a UHD release from Vinegar Syndrome, listed as “presented in Dolby Vision HDR and newly scanned and restored from its 35mm original camera negative.” The feature is a dark one, and the industrial hell look of the endeavor is faithfully preserved during the viewing experience, offering moodier hues with rusty browns and blacks. Primaries are secured, favoring blood reds and costuming choices. SmallAudioThe 5.1 DTS-HD MA mix for “The Mangler” offers crisp dialogue exchanges, with the production using extensive ADR to rise above loud machines and hissing steam. Performance choices register as intended. Scoring supports with clear instrumentation and dramatic emphasis. Sound effects are the big show here, and the beastly ways of the Mangler are preserved, with surrounds exploring grinding and moaning. Atmospherics also expand on occasion, understanding group activity and steam-y intensity. SupplementsBooklet contains essays by Mike Thorn, Chris Cabin, and Ariel Esteban Cayer. Commentary #1 features editor David Heitner. Commentary #2 features film critic Scout Tafoya. “Waking a Brutal Beast” (46:03, HD) is a making-of for “The Mangler,” featuring interviews with screenwriter/visual effects supervisor Stephen David Brooks, special makeup effects artist Scott WheeFinal WordsHooper has never been a dynamic filmmaker, and “The Mangler” is a mostly plodding viewing experience, battling to make the central concept of a killer laundry machine viable as a horror movie. It’s all too wacky to work (the writing doesn’t attempt to address the real nightmare of employee exploitation), and the production’s eventual decline into crude CGI to help put the Mangler in motion doesn’t add any extra points of pressure. “The Mangler” is definitely a King story that didn’t need a... Read full review: Blu-ray.com