The Mangler (1995)

The horror film, The Mangler (1995), was directed and written by Tobe Hooper and Harry Alan Towers. It is based on Stephen King’s short story of the same name from his collection Night Shift (1978). The movie takes place in Gartley’s Blue Ribbon Laundry, where Bill Gartley owns a laundry press known as the Mangler. Trouble ensues when Sherry, Gartley’s niece, cuts herself while trying to avoid being crushed by an old ice box being carried past. This results in blood splattering onto the Mangler’s tread and causing sparks and streams of light. Later on, Mrs. Frawley, an elderly worker, struggles with a bottle of antacids and accidentally spills them on the moving tread. She tries to retrieve them, but the safety shield unexpectedly lifts up and traps her hand inside before she is pulled into the machine and folded like a sheet.

Police officer John Hunton, aided by his demonologist brother-in-law Mark, investigates the initial incident and subsequent ones. As events unfold, Mark becomes increasingly convinced that the mysterious machine is possessed. His suspicions are confirmed when they encounter a possessed ice box. In order to stop further deaths, Mark believes they must exorcise the machine and rid it of whatever demon has taken hold of it. As their investigation continues, they discover that Gartley and the town elders have been sacrificing their virgin daughters in exchange for wealth and power. Feeling a sense of urgency to save Sherry from the same fate, the two men team up with her to perform an exorcism on the machine. However, in a violent turn of events, the demon takes out its wrath on Gartley, his lover Lin Sue, and Stanner – all victims of its power.