Hanger

Hanger by Ryan Nicholson

Hanger is a 2009 movie directed by Ryan Nicholson, the director of such sleaze horror classics as Gutterballs and Live Feed. Anyone familiar with Ryan’s directorial work should already have a good idea what they are in for with Hanger. For anyone else the films synopsis SHOULD be enough warning, but even knowing both these things I found myself surprised by the audacity in Hanger. Fans of Ryan’s other work and those with an extremely warped sense of humor should love Hanger.

I got to admit I was a bit disgusted by some of the stuff I saw on the screen. It would be hard to tell watching me watch it because I was moving from “EWW” to laughing out loud with barely a break. I can safely say I think 80% of my friends wouldn’t like Hanger, probably at least half would be morally offended and 10-20% would think less of me as a human being for even watching it. It is definitely not a film for everyone.

Hanger is a film about a botched coat hanger abortion, ok that right there should tell you a lot. While the mom dies the baby manages to survive, horribly mutilated, both physically and mentally with a taste for blood. He grows up on the streets till his father comes for him on his 18th birthday and they set out on a path of revenge against the pimp who killed his mom.

Reading the synopsis I was expecting a typical revenge flick, type horror film. A film where a hideously deformed killer stalks hapless victims in search of the one who wronged him. Well there was a little of that but damn Nicholson can really pile on the sleaze. If you are the type who can’t watch a film with a morally ambiguous killer, avoid Hanger. However if a film in which the “hero” eats a Jehovah’s Witness while screaming “Give me a baby” maybe you might like it, but that is really just the tip of the iceberg.

To enjoy Hanger, or at least get through it, you need to be able to watch rape scenes shot in humorous ways including anal rape on an unconscious man, and rape of the heroes’ stoma (surgical incision in the side that allows you to bypass you rectum to defecate). I usually don’t like giving spoilers but besides the above scenes prepare for bloody tampons being sniffed and sucked, tea being made from tampons, being choked to death on feces, a coat hanger abortion, forced cunnilingus on a bound man (pretty graphic), a man choked to death on a tampon and bloody menstrual flow, cannibalism, and well I am sure I have missed something and that’s just the big stuff. Prudes also need to know it features a fully nude female masturbation that is hotter than anything I have seen in a no porn film, as well as some light object penetration. The nude scene is featuring actress Candice Lewald from Gutterballs. She is a beautiful actress and stands in stark contrast to the other physically deformed characters.

Does this film have any redeeming values? That’s kind of a trick question because I don’t think director Nicholson intended it to have any redeeming values. He sets out to produce horror sleaze that will appeal to only a select portion of the horror fan base and he succeeds. I personally preferred Gutterballs as it was more of a straight up horror film, albeit somewhat of a parody of the slasher horror film. With all of the depravity of Hanger, the part I most disliked was that Hanger himself was not a likeable hero. The protagonist in a film doesn’t have to be a good guy, but Hanger just seems to want to be a god guy, but he keeps eating people. I get where Ryan is going (I think) but that part just didn’t work for me.

The disgusting stuff didn’t bother me that much, I mean it’s just a movie people. I don’t like fecal horror, so the poop scenes weren’t really for me. Some may say rape is never humorous, and I agree. I didn’t laugh during the rape scene in Gutterballs, and I didn’t laugh at the rape in Hanger, but neither did they instill a righteous anger at the director for filming them.

In the interest of complete honesty, the best part of the film was the gorgeous Candice Lewald, credited as Candice Le in the film. Revealing more than most actress are willing to reveal on film, at least non porn, she heats up Hanger ( no pun if you have seen the film) with her long masturbation scene. The tampon scenes may turn off a lot of people, but may just as well turn on a lot of people. She could be in my movie, or be my secretary, any time.

So after all this what is my opinion, and would I recommend Hanger. While disgusting and sleazy, past the point of any film I have seen so far, I liked Hanger. I do think Gutterballs is a better film and personally liked it better, but for what it is, Hanger works. I did not like the character Hanger and could do without the poop scenes but that wasn’t enough for me to completely dislike Hanger. Would I recommend Hanger? After reading this you shouldn’t have to ask. I would only recommend it to fans of Ryan Nicholson’s other films and fans of gross out sleaze horror. People with a weak stomach and who can’t take what I mentioned above should avoid it at all costs.