Repairman Hadley (Weston Blakesley) buys an old laundry machine at an auction, and restores it to working condition, unaware of the demonic force that lurks within. The machine possesses the man, and drives him to kill so that it can feed on blood and guts. Meanwhile, house-breaker Rick (Reggie Bannister) and his son Mike (Scott Speiser) make the mistake of choosing Hadley's home for their next robbery...
Some might say that The Mangler Reborn should have been terminated before it reached full term. Some might say it should never have been conceived in the first place. But while it's true that the film looks and sounds terrible, having been shot on digital video on a very tight budget, I actually think it's not all bad. The plot is sufficiently twisted, allowing for some fairly suspenseful moments and a few scenes of graphic violence (although the use of a rubber mallet and not a lump hammer detracts a bit from the nastiness), both Aimee Brooks and Juliana Dever (as victims of the killer) are easy on the eye, the claustrophobic house setting works well, and the downbeat ending makes for a nice change. Plus, it's always good to see Phantasm's Reggie Bannister, but I wish someone would tell him that the bald head and ponytail is not a good look.
Sure, The Mangler Reborn isn't as effective as the original film (which starred Robert Englund, was directed by Tobe Hooper, and based on a story by Stephen King - and even with that talent involved, it wasn't that great), but it's still better than the current IMDb rating of 3.1 would have us believe.
4.5/10, generously rounded up to 5 for IMDb.
