HANGER (2009) Review

Directed by: Ryan Nicholson

Starring: Dan Ellis, Nathan Dashwood, Ronald Patrick Thompson

For the second time in as many weeks I've been subjected to a film by Ryan Nicholson and I have to say that I'm developing quite a soft spot for them. His no holds barred violence and gore approach is something you don't see in enough movies these days. However whereas GUTTERBALLS (full review here) was a really enjoyable and over-the-top romp, HANGER seemed to be lacking a certain something.

HANGER follows the familiar theme of revenge but in quite a unique and fucked up way. A prostitute named  Rose finds herself knocked up and her pimp Leroy (Thompson) is none too happy about it. After he slaps her around a bit he decides to perform an abortion using none other than a coat hanger. In the process Rose dies and Leroy disposes of the child by wrapping it in plastic and throwing it in a dumpster where a homeless man finds it and raises it. 18 years later we meet the grown up Hanger (Dashwood) and he is introduced to 'The John' (Ellis) who turns out to be his father and the only man who ever really cared for Rose. Together they exact a plan for bloody revenge against pimp Leroy.

There's a whole bunch of other shit which happens in between and along the way we meet some interesting characters including Russell (who has a disturbing used-tampon fetish) and Nicole (who enjoys pleasuring herself in the confines of her office) and of course the horny, perverted freak Phil.

Unfortunately I didn't find HANGER as enjoyable as GUTTERBALLS and I think it was mostly due to the story which at times seemed to get sidelined by a lot of unnecessary gay jokes and meaningless subplot. I also found the character Nicole to be weak and there didn't seem to be much point to her inclusion other than an excuse to throw in some pornographic scenes. I'm not really complaining about the porn, but I do think her character could have been made a bit more substantial.

The make-up and effects are top notch however (courtesy of Life to Death FX) and they did a great job with everything from gross, oozing fluids to wounds and prosthetics (although speaking of prosthetics, I'm still not quite sure why half of the cast needed such heavy facial sculpting). The gross factor has really been turned up here too and viewers will be subjected to an insanely graphic abortion scene, a foul rape scene, death by tampon (yes you read that correctly) and plenty of blood and guts - enough for anybody with a weak stomach to lose their lunch.