Hanger

Director - Ryan Nicholson (Gutterballs, Famine)

Starring - Debbie Rochon (Model Hunger, Exhumed), Dan Ellis (American Guinea Pig: Bloodshock, Star Vehicle), and Nathan Dashwood (Arrow, Smallville)

Release Date - 2009

Genre - Horror

Tagline - "Payback is a bitch of a whore"

Format - Bluray (Personal Collection) (Screener)

Rating (out of 5):

     In 2019 the indie horror genre lost one of it's most revered filmmakers to cancer when Canadian filmmaker and effects artist Ryan Nicholson passed away.  I had befriended Nicholson on social media and was soon sharing news of his projects on the site.  He was a seriously underrated effects artist but his films were a little hit or miss with me.  Gutterballs and Famine were very entertaining but Live Feed wasn't for me.  When Unearthed Films announced the blu release of Nicholson's 2009 horror flick Hanger I was very curious about it.  I reached out to my friends over at MVD and they were kind enough to send a copy my way.  Thanks guys!

     The film begins with a prostitute that is nearing the end of her pregnancy when her pimp takes a hanger to her.  He aborts the baby and disposes of it in a dumpster but accidentally kills the prostitute in the act.  A homeless man found the baby and raised him.  On his 18th birthday the homeless kicks him out and sends him on his way to becoming a man.  His mother's John, and possibly his father, takes in him to raise him but his cruel up bringing awakens something evil in him.  Now, with a taste for blood, he sets out with his mother's John to kill the pimp responsible for the heartache he has suffered.  

     I know a lot of my friends in the horror community love Hanger, almost as much as Gutterballs, so to say I was excited to check this one out would be an understatement.  Sadly, the movie was not that fun me and I struggled to finish it.  There was a few cool moments but the overall film was trying too hard to be something it wasn't.  The acting in this one isn't bad but the characters doesn't fit the film.  I'm a huge fan of horror comedies so I understand over the top characters that move the story along.  However, the characters here reminded me a lot of the indie horror comedy The Taint except the film was extremely serious in tone.  The cast does one hell of a job at creating characters that stand out, and by god they stand out, but they don't fit the film at all.  The story for this one is something fun and rather unique but struggles with it's own identity.  The atmosphere, settings, and story all come together to make a very dark and blistering horror tale but the characters don't fit in with it.  Their Troma-like personalities make this story feel like it's trying to be a horror comedy...which it lacked any sort of humor.  Some of the characters would spit out poor attempts at one liners but they fail to land.  If the jokes would have came more naturally it would have been more enjoyable but the "jokes" the way they are do nothing for the film.  Finally, this film, like most Nicholson films, have some of the most impressive gore I've ever seen.  We get a lot of practical and make-up effects that should be seen by genre fans.  The story is lacking but the effects and blood is not.  Overall, Hanger is an effects heavy horror tale from the late Ryan Nicholson.  The story doesn't work but the effects are out of this world.  The blu from Unearthed doesn't look that much better than DVD quality but the addition of the special features makes it a must own for collectors.