20 Films That Prove The 1990s Was The Worst Decade For Horror

Ooh, look at that - another Stephen King movie, and this one from no less a powerhouse director than Tobe Hooper, the man behind the legendary Texas Chain Saw Massacre, as well as one of the better King adaptations in TV movie Salem's Lot. Factor in that it also stars iconic Freddy Krueger actor Robert Englund, and we should have an instant classic on our hands, right...?

Wrong. Dead, dead wrong. The Mangler is among the feeblest King movies made to date, which is saying a hell of a lot, and there's a particularly bitter aftertaste to it all in this instance because of the wealth of talent involved. Of course, it's hard to imagine how anyone might have made a truly great horror movie out of what has to be one of King's silliest ideas: a demonically-possessed industrial laundry press.

There are certain elements of the film that work: there's an enjoyably gaudy American Gothic aesthetic, reminiscent of Hooper's earlier work on The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2, and the film is not without its pleasures as a work of high camp. But as a meeting of minds between two of the greatest figures ever to work in horror, it's hard to view the film as anything but a massive let-down, and a huge waste of effort for all involved.