The new movie “Hangman” in 2015 received a lot of positive and negative reviews. What caused such contradictions?
Plot description
The film "The Gallows", reviews of which are so controversial, has an unusual plot. In the film’s debut, the audience learns that in 1993 a tragedy occurred in a small town during the premiere of the play “The Hangman”: one of the participants in the school drama group hanged himself on a fake gallows in full view. After an accident, 20 years pass. The pain from what happened calmed down a bit and was forgotten. High school students in the local school decide to re-deliver the failed performance.
In the new production, the leading role was assigned to the successful striker of the football team Reese, who went to the show to win the heart of his lover Pfeiffer, because she was also involved in the performance. All Reese’s actions as an actor are captured by a camera belonging to his inseparable friend Ryan. It was he who persuaded the lead actor not to disgrace on the stage in front of the audience, but to go the other way to win the heart of his beloved girl. Ryan’s plan was to destroy the scenery of the performance, as a result of which the performance would be canceled, and the upset Pfiver was forced to seek solace in Riesa's arms. The guys decided to act at night, but an unknown force blocked everyone inside, and the phones stopped working, which made it impossible to call for help. Someone is constantly watching and chasing the blocked young people, forcing them to recreate the final scene of twenty years ago.
Many are advised to watch the movie "Hangman." Reviews for the film range from extremely negative to enthusiastic positive. It is for this reason that it is worth looking at the picture to come to certain conclusions.
Filmmakers
The release of the film “The Hangman,” which we are reviewing today, was dealt with by the Bloomhouse studio, familiar to moviegoers in such works as Astral and Paranormal. Travis Cluff and Chris Lofing were nominated for the directorial role, for which it was a premiere film. Young directors were also involved in script development. The result was a mediocre youth horror film shot in the “found films” genre, that is, when upheavals in the film can be observed through the camera of dead or missing characters. The main actors were the young actors Reese Michel and Pfeiffer Brown. By the way, the directors decided to call the characters the names of the actors.
Acting
For most actors, participating in the creation of the film The Hangman was a debut in the film industry. Almost all of them did a good job of playing themselves, but at some points you can make a discount on the inexperience of the actors. Where the flaws of not the performers, but the director's duet were more striking.
The best of the cast was Ryan Schus. His character had a decent model of behavior and was engaged in shooting the events of the first part of the film. Almost the same level was played at the proper level by another guy - Reese Michel, creating the impression of a professional. His lover in the film Pfeiffer Brown played frankly at a weak level. Her completely unnatural game became the weakest link in the cast. Cassidy Gifford had to play a pretty hysterical girl who is very prone to panic. The plausibility of the reaction of the participants in the filming process was added by the fact that they did not initially know the whole scenario.
School as a horror venue
In addition, the theme of costume performance is interwoven with it. Any theatrical setting carries a mysterious and bewitching atmosphere, which in the light of day does not seem sinister. However, when night falls, as soon as the lights go out and there is nobody nearby, the feeling of fear takes its toll, penetrating thoughts. The serenity of high school students, who got away with it, turns into a real nightmare. Absolutely negative characters in the film are absent, and novice actors almost played themselves.
The "found films" genre is in decline
The release of the film “The Hangman” was once again demonstrated by the fact that the horror films of the “found film” genre are in crisis. After the movie “Blair Witch” appeared in 1999, the era of popularity of such films came. As a result of this, minimal financial investments increased hundreds of times. But over time, the visual findings of the “found film” genre became commonplace, and the plots were exhausted. Now producers are squeezing the latest juices from the most recently popular genre, which presented films such as "Reportage" and "Paranormal Phenomenon" to film fans. This explains the failure of the Gallows, in which there is nothing new.
Negative reviews
What do they say about the film "Hangman"? Reviews from the audience are not the most enthusiastic. Despite the desire of the Gallows creators to go along the beaten track and make a film in the genre of “found films”, their work received many negative comments. Young directors could not bring into their work something new, some zest that the viewer would like. While watching, in addition to the feeling that all this was already in other films, the poor thoughtfulness of the film and a lot of plot inconsistencies were striking. For example, the protagonist of the film, who will play the main role in the play, does not know that his father was involved in the cast of twenty years ago. The absurdity of this situation is explained by the fact that a photograph with the participants of the first production is placed on the board of honor at school. The directors of the “Hangman” a similar move is presented to the viewer as a serious discovery. The film also lacks any explanation as to the cause of the tragic death during the first production.
Also, the movie “The Hangman” (2015), reviews of which are mostly negative, has unpleasant and stereotypical characters. For example, one of the heroines locked up begins to panic and quarrel surrounding people. All this, coupled with the murderous seriousness of the events, contributes to the emergence of a negative impression. It is also worth noting the fact that the genre of a “shaking camera" is not displayed in the best way. For example, a doorway is taken for more than a minute, after which a terrible human grimace appears sharply in front of the camera.
The Gallows is stingy with scary moments, most of which are presented in trailers. Therefore, fans to get the thrill and adrenaline rush while watching can find a more suitable movie.
Positive reviews
The film “The Hangman”, despite a large amount of criticism, still received a number of positive ratings. Young film directors, in order to create genuine fear among the actors and reliably transmit fear in parts, revealed their script to them. To enhance the sensations, Travis Cluff and Chris Lofing called their characters the names of the actors.
The filmmakers built their storyline around the fears of adolescents caught in a frightening darkness and suspense. Fleeing a ghost with a bag on their head, they have to wander along school corridors and abandoned attics. Despite numerous critical reviews, “The Hangman” is worthy of attention to fans of the “found film” genre and has an intriguing ending.
"Hangman": reviews, rating
So to summarize. What is the rating for Hangman? Reviews about the film for the most part are not the best. After watching the movie, moviegoers gave him low ratings. On the largest foreign resource IMDb, which is devoted to the review of films, “Gallows” gave a rating of 4.3 out of 10. The number of voters was about 10,000 people.
At the most popular Russian-language service for film lovers, "Kinopoisk", the work of Travis Cluff and Chris Lofing received almost the same ratings - 4.328 out of 10. Film critics from around the world gave an even lower rating to the film. For 14 positive reviews, 77 film experts gave the Gallows a negative rating. In Russia, things are a little better, since only 3 negative reviews were written for 2 positive reviews.