The Hangman – Movie Review (2/5)

THE HANGMAN is a new DREAD horror movie that starts out really well and then changes style over and over… and over. While the title is generic, the movie is just all over the place. Read our full The Hangman (2024) movie review here!

THE HANGMAN is a horror movie from DREAD which is often low on budget, but high on passion for the genre. For this latest movie, however, it feels like it wants too much. It starts out as one thing but turns into something else. And then something else again. It isn’t a good thing.

The runtime is just shy of an hour and a half but it feels so much longer due to the many style changes. I don’t want to be bitter and hate something that was clearly made with a love of genre movies. And yet, the end result really did nothing for me, while the first act surprised me in all the right ways.

Continue reading our The Hangman movie review below. Find it in select theaters on May 31, and on digital from June 4, 2024.

Father, son… and the Demon?

The Hangman is all about the middle-aged door-to-door salesman, Leon, and his teenage son. In an attempt to mend their troubled relationship, the nearly desperate father takes his teenage son on a camping trip before the young man takes off for college.

They go deep into rural Appalachia.

I should probably mention that the father and son are black. As a white girl, I wouldn’t go on a trip to the deep anything without several people for protection. As a gay girl, I wouldn’t go there. Period.

There are other places to go camping than in an area where you are notoriously unwelcome and downright hated!

In any case, while the racist element does come into play early on via the prominent use of Confederate flags by the people living there, this isn’t really the main story. Though, if it had been, I think I would’ve enjoyed this movie more.

In any case, the mountainous region has a sinister secret. There’s a local cult that has summoned an evil demon known to them as The Hangman. The morning after arriving at their campsite, Leon wakes up to discover that his son is missing.

To get back his son, Leon must face the murderous cult. Oh, and The Hangman.

You had a perfectly good movie…

Admittedly, I am pretty much so irritated because I was damn impressed with the beginning of it. The characters had some depth and seemed to go for a deeper and darker story. I loved seeing the father and son scenes, and how seeing confederate flags is a scary experience all in itself.

Then came the first switcheroo.

Before The Hangman is over, we’ve been through so many different styles. At one point, it felt like watching some sort of Rambo meets Ash vs Evil Dead, which could be rather cool (yes, I am realizing that as I write this), but it just isn’t.

At that point in the movie, we’ve been through brutal moments of racism, drug cartels, human trafficking, and something that feels like a nod to Get Out, but not really. In other words, as a viewer, I felt like my emotions and expectations had been scattered so much that I was now left numb.

And that is never a good thing!

You had a perfectly good movie during the first act of The Hangman, then you somehow broke it. Well, in terms of my personal expectations and preferences anyway.

Watch The Hangman in Select Theaters or on Digital

The director of The Hangman is Bruce Wemple who also co-wrote the movie alongside its star LeJon Woods. As much as I enjoyed the beginning, it ended up feeling like LeJon Woods simply created a screenplay for him to act out all the scenes he had ever dreamt of.

And hey, if that’s the case, then I surely cannot blame him. As a writer and actor, who wouldn’t want to do this. However, this desire should never take precedence over making a good movie. The stories and styles of this movie could’ve been made into three separate movies instead.

Alongside LeJon Woods (The Tomorrow Job) in the lead, we also see Lindsey Dresbach (Pitchfork), Jessy Holtermann, Scott Callenberger, Jefferson Cox, Mar Cellus, Rob Cardazone, and Richard Lounello. The actors do what they can within this story and all deliver solid performances.

This movie comes from DREAD which is the specialty horror brand of Epic Pictures. I love it whenever someone focuses on genre films. For this one, the genre became genres and not in the hybrid sense that I love. I do still feel the passion of the filmmakers, but the result just was not for me.

The Hangman is out in limited theaters from May 31 and on digital from June 4, 2024.

Details

Director: Bruce Wemple
Screenwriters: Bruce Wemple, LeJon Woods
Stars: LeJon Woods, Lindsey Dresbach, Jessy Holtermann, Scott Callenberger, Jefferson Cox, Mar Cellus, Rob Cardazone, Richard Lounello