Hanger

I don't know how many Debbie Rochon movies I have seen, but there is always room for another one.

This is the latest edition in Troma's catalog, and it even features Lloyd Kaufman.

Most will be grossed out in the first 10 minutes after witnessing an abortion by coat-hanger. The baby lives and we join him when he is grown (Nathan Dashwood). Otherwise the movie would be over, as he seeks out the pimp who killed his mom (Rochon).

This movie has all the trash you can imagine: cannibalism, freaks, smashed heads, blood, gore, and things too disgusting to mention.

Rose is a hooker who has become pregnant.Her abusive pimp Leroy decides to perform an abortion on her by using a coat hanger.But the baby doesn't die during horrible procedure.Eighteen years later Hanger gets a job and a apartment.With the help of The John they both plan to get a bloody revenge on Leroy."Hanger" is a dirty and exploitative indie horror flick directed by always reliable Ryan Nicholson.It's totally bad taste and politically incorrect.The atmosphere of "Hanger" is grubby and dirty and it resembles "Basket Case" or "Street Trash".The film is not as fun as "Gutterballs" and "Live Feed",but if you are a fan of utter cinematic smut and filth you need to see "Hanger".7 abortions out of 10.

It becomes clear from the very beginning that this film has nothing to offer. The entire story is just one giant pathetic cry for attention. Obviously trying to appeal to audiences who love all things sick and twisted, Hanger desperately tries to be offensive and controversial. And in this aspect the movie fails miserably. I love all things over the top and I did not find Hanger to be offensive or disturbing in the slightest bit. In fact I found this movie to be an insult to the intelligence of fans of disturbing entertainment. You have to do more than just bring up touchy subjects and expect everyone to squirm. Putting a decent story behind it would be a good start. And spend the extra cash to get a capable group of actors together for Christ's sake. Where did they even find a camera that produces such poor video? Hanger is an example of low quality horror at it's worst. Such a disappointment. Especially after the directors previous film Gutterballs turned out to be so good.

Like Roger Ebert, I have to give some credit to a film that does what it sets out to do and has no illusions about social value or artistry. That's "Hanger" in a nutshell. Pure exploitation from start to finish. (This review refers to the uncut edition, as though a cut edition would be any better.)

Perhaps one of the most striking things about the film (other than an obsession with genitalia) is the heavy use of facial appliances. There may be two male actors who are not heavily covered with facial appliances throughout the film (and I have my doubts about one of them). Female roles fare a little better, trading "money shots" for not having to wear prosthetics. The whole thing comes off like a medieval allegorical play, with all the players in masks representing their roles.

Overall, not as funny or interesting as "Gutterballs." It is much more extreme than "Run, Bitch, Run," which hardly rose to the level of exploitation anyway. And it's not nearly as creepy as "deadgirl," which is in a completely different class of film-making (i.e., much superior).

The best use I know of for "Hanger" is to show somebody an exploitation film that exists for no other reason than to exploit. Still, you gotta admire honesty.

Not recommended for people with reasonable standards of decency or any expectations of artistry.

I guess I qualify to fit the target group of this movie, after all I have seen previous movies by Nicholson and "Gutterballs" was real fun. Sure, all his movies have a trashy flair and the sexual shocking was there every time... but "Hanger" is a different thing. You can describe this movie like a cross between "Street Trash" and some stupid 70ies Revenge Movie. Basically this could guarantee some interesting 90 minutes for fans of Movies like Pulp Fiction/Boondock Saints and underground horror. But what Nicholson delivers here qualifies for the Troma Catalog in one of the lowest drawers.

The movie is set in the dirty red light district and revolves around a prostitute who gets a back alley abortion with a clothes-hanger by her pimp (is that guy supposed to be black or what... since the Chinese guy is barely Chinese I guess tough guy Leroy is a non-black black guy??). So you get were the title comes from which is also the name of the aborted monstrosity walking the street with a deformed face, a stoma, baby-talk and toy rabbits. Now Mr. Hanger meets his father (like most characters with serious prosthetic work on his face and especially nose) and they plot some rough revenge. Funny thing is that this "plot" always tends to be dropped on the sidelines for some lame masturbation or gay sex jokes as well as ridiculous soft-core sequences of some meaningless chick (I don't get her deeper idea for the plot) working her snatch in her office.

All this leads up to one of the most ridiculous shoot outs in movie history (let me guess.... Mr Nicholson liked Boondock Saints very much but really took a deep dive here)that like everything in the movie is thrown in a pot and blended to a tasteless mush. Basically all you get is tasteless jokes about deformed retards (all those back alley hicks reminded me a lot of "Street Trash" yet "Hangers" stretches it much further), you get some guy collecting tampons and making tea out of it, a gay retard using hangers stoma for a fun ride, fart jokes, prosthetic dicks with cartoon "boing" samples, some killed prostitutes and a torture sequence with a blowtorch (Hmm, reminds me of something else) which is like many of the not so many gory moments in this movie plain ridiculous. The way the scenes are bound together and especially the dialog come across like written by a retarded horny 16year old writing a script with his dick in his hand.

Come on Mr. Nicholson... there is a boundary to stupidity on a level that the viewer feels ashamed for the director and you crossed it. The ending of your movie deserves to enter the halls of trash to serve as a warning of how it should never be done.