The Mangler is a demonically-possessed laundry machine fueled by bloodlust. It serves as the primary antagonist of the 1978 short story "The Mangler" by Stephen King, and also of the story's 1995 movie adaption and its second and final sequel "The Mangler Reborn".
The actual Mangler does not appear in "The Mangler 2", which starred Lance Henrickson, from Pumpkinhead fame. The Mangler here is replaced by a malicious and rogue computer virus with a similar bloodlust. The Mangler 2 is often regarded by fans as the worst film in the series.
In the short story
In the short story of the same name, a police detective investigating a sudden rash of grisly deaths caused by an industrial laundry press machine discovers that, through a series of unfortunate coincidences, the machine has become possessed by a demon. The story ends after the detective and his friend underestimate the demon's power; and in seeking to exorcise the machine, they instead goad it into ripping free of its moorings and prowling the streets in search of fresh prey.
The Mangler (film)
The short story was adapted into a feature length film in 1995, and had a highly prestigious cast, including Robert Englund of Freddy Krueger fame as the mysterious owner of the laundry machine, and Ted Levine of Silence of the Lambs fame. Despite being a box office bomb at the time of its release, it got pretty positive reviews, mostly for its cast and special effects.
The Mangler 2
In 2001, a direct-to-video sequel to The Mangler was made, but got very negative reviews from critics and fans alike, mostly because the film adopted The Mangler for its title mostly to cash in on the first movie. The film is about a computer virus that kills people, rather than an industrial laundry machine. Fans almost unanimously consider it to be the worst film in the series for this reason, similar to Halloween 3. Fans also note its similarities to The Lawnmower Man.
The Mangler Reborn
After a long absense from the screen, the original Mangler returned in the last film in the series, The Mangler Reborn. The film involves a handyman who fixes up the original laundry machine in hopes of selling it, but winds up being forced to feed people to it, or he too will fall victim to it. The film was a direct-to-video release and was panned by critics, but fans applauded the film for marking the return of the original Mangler and the film's original premise.
Trivia
- Stephen King who created the 1978 The Mangler short story, has stated that, among the many jobs he took to support his family before he became famous, he worked in an industrial laundromat.