Hanger Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		1.0
Video		2.0
Audio		3.5
Extras		5.0
Overall		1.5

Hanger Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman July 24, 2021

When you have a last name with as many variable spellings as mine has, you get asked quite often if you're related to folks who ostensibly share your surname, but who in fact spell it differently. Over the course of many years, I've been asked at various points if I'm related to George S. Kaufman, Stanley Kauffmann and/or Andy Kaufman, but when someone asks me if I'm related to another guy who spells his last name with one 'f' and one 'n', Lloyd Kaufman, I sometimes have a few questions myself for my inquisitor, like, "What kind of movies do you watch?" Of course this is said in jest, but just the mention of Lloyd Kaufman's name is probably enough to evoke any number of responses from a certain niche demographic, many of whom love (for better or worse) Kaufman's legendary (?) output for the company he helped to co-found, Troma Entertainment. Now, anyone who simply mistakes Lloyd Kaufman for a trashploitation entrepreneur may have missed the fact that Kaufman graduated from Yale with a degree in Chinese Studies, and his long career in film also includes at least some collaborations on A-list films and crew, even if his producing career at Troma might understandably lead some to not believe those biographical tidbits. Considering the lurid and maybe even grotesque general plot elements at play, as well as some extremely graphic presentational proclivities, it would be easy to imagine Lloyd Kaufman having produced Hanger, but he's "only" here in a cameo "performance", albeit in a scene that is both horrifying and hilarious in about equal measure (some more prudish and/or PC types may find the scene absolutely objectionable in addition). Hanger was instead the brainchild of Ryan Nicholson, a guy who might have been thought of as "Lloyd Kaufman: The Next Generation", though Nicholson, unlike Kaufman, who's still with us as this review is being written, sadly passed away from brain cancer a couple of years ago at the relatively tender age of 47. Unearthed Films and MVD Visual have previously released Nicholson's "signature" effort, Gutterballs.

Hanger is deliberately provocative at just about every turn, and so those easily offended or squeamish are most definitely advised to stay far, far away from the film. The basic premise involves a hapless pregnant prostitute who is forced to undergo a horrifying abortion at the hands of her pimp, which ends up killing her. The pimp thinks he's killed the baby, too, but it survives, albeit hideously disfigured, and in a segue that might have used a bit more exposition, is raised and/or mentored by a variety of folks, including more horrifyingly disfigured individuals. The plot ultimately "evolves" (?) into a revenge story, as Hanger (as the aborted baby is ultimately christened) decides to avenge his mother's murder.

This is absolutely going to be "button pushing" material for many, and it's obvious Nicholson wanted it to be that way. As with Gutterballs, there are technical limitations to both the filming and the performances, but Hanger does offer some truly standout and very disturbing makeup effects.

Hanger Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Hanger is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Unearthed Films and MVD Visual with an AVC encoded 1080i transfer in 1.78:1. The presentation comes with a warning shown in screenshot 19 accompanying this review, alerting the viewer that ghosting and compression anomalies are "baked in", which may at least help explain things, if not make them look any better. This is by all accounts a pretty rough looking presentation, though in certain moments detail levels can rise appreciably and the palette can assume relatively well saturated levels. But as can probably pretty easily be made out in many of the screenshots accompanying this review, color temperatures are rather widely variant, and fine detail in particular is often less than impressive. Nicholson seemed to delight in offering fans a "grindhouse" experience, and the less than stellar video quality here may ironically only tend to support that choice.

Hanger Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Hanger features DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and LPCM 2.0 tracks that thankfully don't encounter the same consistent level of hurdles that the video side of things does, but that said, the surround track may not significantly open things up enough for some more persnickety audiophiles. The surround track's best improvement may be in its fuller midrange and especially low end. There are some moments of immersion and discrete channelization, but the LPCM 2.0 track may suffice perfectly well for many, especially given the film's relatively small scale sound design ambitions. There are no subtitles available on the Blu-ray disc.

Hanger Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Disc One - Feature Film

• XXX Version of Hanger (SD; 1:30:07)


• Behind the Stoma: The Making and Taking of Hanger (HD; 19:51) offers some nice interview segments with the late Ryan Nicholson, along with interstitial snippets of on set moments.


• Behind the Scenes Featurette (HD; 1:53:47) offers things like rehearsal footage and other candid footage.


• Dope to Hanger Yourself With: On Set with Lloyd Kaufman (SD; 11:57) is a comical recounting of Kaufman's participation in the film.


• Blooper Reel (SD; 1:31)


• Deleted Scenes (SD; 6:32)


• Additional Scenes (SD; 20:37)


• Black on White Bred (SD; 3:08) documents a sexually charged rehearsal (?) and is not recommended for any #metoo proponents.


• Photo Gallery (HD; 30:02) offers photos sequenced in pretty rapid succession, so have your pause button handy if you want to linger on any given image.


• Trailers includes Hanger (HD; 2:01) along with trailers for other releases from Unearthed Films and MVD Visual.


• Director's Commentary can be found under the Setup Menu.

Disc Two - Outtakes

• Hanger Raw Tapes Volume 1 (SD; 3:26:51)


• Hanger Raw Tapes Volume 2 (SD; 2:59:49)


• Hanger Raw Tapes Volume 3 (SD; 3:38:32)


• Hanger Raw Tapes Volume 4 (SD; 4:00:13)


• Hanger Raw Tapes Volume 5 (SD; 3:34:24)

Hanger Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Sadly, one person who did spell his last name correctly (that's another joke), the insanely wealthy Ewing Marion Kauffman, is evidently not a relative of mine, despite my protestations to the contrary (yes, still joking). Lloyd Kaufman gives a momentary boost to this otherwise luridly shocking film. Fans of the late Nicholson can be rightfully glad that Unearthed Films is bringing his films out in high definition, and this Collector's Edition certainly provides a veritable goldmine of supplementary material. Technical merits are iffy (video) to generally good (audio), for those who are considering a purchase.