Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.0
Audio		3.5
Extras		0.5
Overall		3.0

Hangman Blu-ray Movie Review

Sometimes, not knowing is scarier.

Reviewed by Martin Liebman February 4, 2016

Hangman doesn't look like much on the outside, favoring another cheaply assembled and lazily written chiller shoved out onto the overstuffed direct-to-video marketplace. But to ignore the movie based on an admittedly lame title, plot synopsis blurb, and advertising materials would be to miss a film that's much better than its peripherals suggest. It doesn't redefine any genre, but Director Adam Mason's Hangman does offer a very disturbing depiction of an individual who has clearly become lost to the world and to himself, unable to exist without breaking sharply from societal norms and living well beyond even the fringes of functional insanity. The movie smartly never looks at the whys -- it's not a psychological study -- but allows actions to speak louder than words as one of recent cinema's most frightening boogeymen silently spies on and molests a family.

He's watching.

The Miller family -- father Aaron (Jeremy Sisto), mother Beth (Kate Ashfield), daughter Marley (Ryan Simpkins), and son Max (Ty Simpkins) -- leaves home for a well-deserved getaway. But no sooner do they walk into the airport does a man (Eric Michael Cole) steal their car and go directly to their house thanks to a navigation system that's all too eager to point him the right way. He spends a good bit of time there, watching old Miller family home movies and wiring the house with a number of microscopic cameras. The family returns to find the house trashed, but the police are unable to do much of anything, and their investigation isn't thorough enough to locate any of the cameras. The family does its best to move forward from the invasion, but little do they know that the unwanted visitor is watching -- and is always closer than they could believe.

Hangman takes the Paranormal Activity approach to moviemaking by building the story entirely around consumer handheld cameras and static video feeds from around the house. But instead of ghosts or demons or whatever, the movie's villain is a very real flesh-and-blood faceless individual who, for whatever reason, gets his kicks from surreptitiously living amongst a random family. For him, it seems almost like a high. He's well beyond the classic peeping tom or home invader, instead immersing himself in the family's life. He drinks from, and the spits into, the orange juice. He uses their toothbrushes. He turns them against one another by exposing secrets and staging fight-starters. The movie's ability to speak to the very darkest fears by making man the enemy and, more, demonstrating his ability to so secretly and deeply immerse himself in the family's world is unspeakably scary, and that the movie never offers a motivation -- there's no backstory, seemingly no connection with the family -- for his actions makes it all the more terrifying.

Hangman's biggest struggle comes in its middle stretch following a frightening open and its more action-oriented and mildly revelatory third act. In that second act, the movie loses momentum as the audience simply experiences the madman's perspective of watching the family go about its business in, usually, monotonous detail. It amounts to little more than eavesdropping over a dinner party or a fight over a hidden report card. All it accomplishes is reinforcing what the audience already knows, which is that the madman knows all and manipulates how he wishes. It could, and probably should, have been cut in half or shaved down, at least, in an effort to maintain intensity, even at the expense of an already short sub-90 minute runtime.

For a movie so devoid of production values -- beyond a few minor visual effects, this is nothing more than cameras planted throughout a house or in the madman's hand -- it looks as good as it can and works seamlessly in a narrative context. Director Adam Mason demonstrates a command of the medium's limitations, practically at all times seeing through the madman's perspective as he either moves about the house or watches his bank of monitors from his hiding place. Mason further increases the tension by refusing to explore any outside influences; anything that goes on beyond the home's four walls, save for one or two key scenes, is largely ignored, unless the family brings it back inside. The cast is strong, too. The largely silent Eric Michael Cole is terrific as the masked intruder who conveys more depth through his actions and silence than do many other film villains who tend to talk their way out transmitting fear. His single-mindedness, skill at wiring the home for video, and ever expanding demonstration of mental instability make the performance an almost silent standout. Jeremy Sisto and Kate Ashfield do bring some weight to the movie by name and reputation alone, but they perform their parts well, and at two very different extremes when necessary.

Hangman Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Hangman doesn't really stand up to a "traditional" Blu-ray critique. If it did, it would score poorly. In context, however -- seeing the movie as it was meant to be seen -- there's really no room for complaint. The movie opens with a hopelessly fuzzy night vision sequence that's little more than basic shapes slathered in a few shades of green. The picture then opens up to more traditional "found footage" consumer-level HD recordings. Definition is as good as it's ever going to get. Basic details, such as a plush Lexus interior and appointments around the home, look fine. Sharpness is adequate and stability is commendable. Colors lack anything resembling depth or nuance but convey basic shades well enough. Night vision footage, beyond that fuzzy open, tightens up nicely for a crisper, more detailed image for the movie's bulk. Lack of camera focus presents a few deliberate challenges, and things get interesting when the camera is pointed at a monitor showing another video feed. This isn't a pretty movie in the traditional ooh-and-ahh Blu-ray sense, but by all accounts it appears a faithful reproduction of filmmaker intent, which, at the end of the day, makes this a very good transfer.

Hangman Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Much the same can be said of Hangman's audio. Imprecise, lacking sonic nuance, and only good enough to convey the basics is the name of the game with this Dolby TrueHD 5.1 lossless soundtrack, and like the video, that's about all one can reasonably want from it. Dialogue presents well enough. A few examples of muddy reproduction are understandable in context. Sound effects are likewise missing more than reasonable definition but various crashes and bangs and other assorted details present well enough that the listener isn't left trying to sort out what, exactly he or she is hearing. Things like thumping beats from a car stereo offer decent heft and presence but considering the rather crude recording, it sounds fine. Audiences can occasionally hear the camera's zoom motor noise and all of the usual little sonic bumps that are now customary in these sorts of movies.

Hangman Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

All that's included are previews for Hangman (1080p, 1:16), Howl, Frankenstein, and Charlie's Farm.

Hangman Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Hangman understands how "creepy" and "unsettling" work in movies. Even as the film suffers through a needlessly overdrawn middle stretch, it maintains a sense of deep unease in the audience as it gradually, and very subtly and slyly, explores the madman's inner workings without really saying anything at all. Performances are strong and the film maintains a cohesive narrative and watchability even as it's extremely simple on the technical end. Alchemy's Blu-ray offers a faithful reproduction of the movie's intentionally limited picture and sound qualities. Unfortunately, no extras beyond a trailer are included. A commentary from Director Adam Mason and Actor Eric Michael Cole would have been welcome. Recommended, largely on the strength of the film.