Running Time: 1hr 25min
Release Date: February 9, 2016
Review by: Stacey
Jesus, that's a pretty terrible cover for this one, huh? As is expected with most found footage movies, there's the obligatory "inspired by true events" note to up the spook factor for us (which basically means nothing in the movie actually happened). What Hangman does manage to do, however, with the tired subgenre is give the film an inventive execution and a couple of creepy moments here and there...but that's about it, unfortunately.
After the Millers return home from vacation, they see that their home has been ransacked and trashed. The intruder is nowhere to be found, but has left some seemingly menacing mementos in the form of hanging mannequins. Shaking off the situation and expecting things to go back to normal, the family starts to notice odd goings on throughout the house that suggest the intruder might not be done with them.
I won't lie, the only reason I initially watched this was because I have a disturbing crush on Jeremy Sisto, who plays the father, Aaron. Don't act like y'all didn't have a hate boner for him as Elton in Clueless. The second reason I wanted to watch was because I have a no-shame kind of love for most (not all!) found footage films. Because of that, I could appreciate the fact that instead of going the usual hand-held camera route, they opted to have the film almost entirely shown through hidden cam footage set up by the intruder (creeeepy). I'm already a big puss when it comes to home invasions and people skulking about but to think they're actually hiding IN your home while watching EVERYTHING you do? That's a big nope from me.
Like I had mentioned in the beginning of this review, there were some creepy moments throughout, like when the intruder (Eric Michael Cole) would just cruise around the house when everyone was sleeping and eat their food and misplace random objects, or when he was rifling through a guest's purse when everyone was at the dinner table only a few feet away. It let you know that this person had not much to fear at all, which didn't bode well for the family's future. There was a nice sense of dread in some instances. That being said, the sloooow and uneventful parts of the film outweighed the genuinely creepy moments. And I just can't forgive the multitude of things that took place that just didn't make sense- how come no one ever wakes up when a creeper is standing right over them?! (I'm sorry I'm yelling, but that's one trope that chaps my ass to all hell.)
Now, I can usually appreciate a good low-budget horror film, but just because you lack some funds doesn't mean you can't make a well thought out and decently shot film, right? Hangman wasn't very successful with the editing, the pacing, the script. I will give credit where credit is due and say that the acting was fairly good despite their unrealistic reactions to the things happening around them. I was also pretty peeved that we never really got any kind of explanation for the Hangman's motivations whatsoever. I mean, I would like to think that a person wouldn't just randomly pick out a family to terrorize while secretly living in their attic unless they had a damn good reason to...right?
Ultimately, Hangman and director Adam Mason couldn't quite supply viewers with what could have been a pretty terrifying experience.
1/5 wake up, wake up, wake up, wake up
Out on VOD now!
Check out the trailer below
I won't lie, the only reason I initially watched this was because I have a disturbing crush on Jeremy Sisto, who plays the father, Aaron. Don't act like y'all didn't have a hate boner for him as Elton in Clueless. The second reason I wanted to watch was because I have a no-shame kind of love for most (not all!) found footage films. Because of that, I could appreciate the fact that instead of going the usual hand-held camera route, they opted to have the film almost entirely shown through hidden cam footage set up by the intruder (creeeepy). I'm already a big puss when it comes to home invasions and people skulking about but to think they're actually hiding IN your home while watching EVERYTHING you do? That's a big nope from me.
Like I had mentioned in the beginning of this review, there were some creepy moments throughout, like when the intruder (Eric Michael Cole) would just cruise around the house when everyone was sleeping and eat their food and misplace random objects, or when he was rifling through a guest's purse when everyone was at the dinner table only a few feet away. It let you know that this person had not much to fear at all, which didn't bode well for the family's future. There was a nice sense of dread in some instances. That being said, the sloooow and uneventful parts of the film outweighed the genuinely creepy moments. And I just can't forgive the multitude of things that took place that just didn't make sense- how come no one ever wakes up when a creeper is standing right over them?! (I'm sorry I'm yelling, but that's one trope that chaps my ass to all hell.)
Now, I can usually appreciate a good low-budget horror film, but just because you lack some funds doesn't mean you can't make a well thought out and decently shot film, right? Hangman wasn't very successful with the editing, the pacing, the script. I will give credit where credit is due and say that the acting was fairly good despite their unrealistic reactions to the things happening around them. I was also pretty peeved that we never really got any kind of explanation for the Hangman's motivations whatsoever. I mean, I would like to think that a person wouldn't just randomly pick out a family to terrorize while secretly living in their attic unless they had a damn good reason to...right?
Ultimately, Hangman and director Adam Mason couldn't quite supply viewers with what could have been a pretty terrifying experience.
1/5 wake up, wake up, wake up, wake up
Out on VOD now!
Check out the trailer below
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