Search - Hangman on DVD

Bland vanilla with a tiny twist.

jddunn2 | Denver, CO United States | 04/09/2002

(2 out of 5 stars)

"I have to hand it to the filmmakers. The "hunt for a serial killer who taunts the police" gimmick is dead and Anthony Hopkins has eaten the corpse. Hangman attempts to breath a little life into the genre, though. And for the most part it's just a by-the-numbers police story. That's fine, but I've seen it all before. The real surprise is the twist near the start of the third act. I pride myself on being able to spot big plot twists (I knew the end of The Sixth Sense from the trailer), but I did not see this one coming. The only other time that's happened in recent memory is with Witness for the Prosecution. Movies can't survive on a single twist alone, though. And Hangman is no different. The actors are B-level and the characters were so vanilla I wanted to go out for a cone at the thirty-minute mark. We've seen all this before as a serial killer known as "The Hangman" taunts police with little riddles and pictures of `hangmen' (the game). If the police don't find the victim in time, the hang. Okay, I haven't seen that before, but it feels like I have.This was all over cable for a while so I'm guessing it will rotate back around in a few months. There's no need to get the DVD or tape.Recommendation to avoid unless you really like big twists in a bland story."

Standard

A. Trotter | New Hampshire | 12/08/2002

(3 out of 5 stars)

"No surprises in the script, but the acting is really good. I caught this one late at night on TV at the begining and stayed awake to watch it through. Rent before you buy; it's worth the money to rent & see it at least, but I'm not sure you'll want to pay to keep it unless you're a huge fan of someone in the movie."

Bah..

M. D. Fonseca | Thunder | 12/17/2001

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Lou Diamond continues with his string of B-movies. At least, this one here has a really good production. The viewer is cheated by not being able to guess the murderer due to the old scheme of "double criminals", well, a sort of it... Lou DIamond plays the cop once again."

I Like Madchen Amick But ... Interesting Idea Is Wasted

Tsuyoshi | Kyoto, Japan | 01/06/2002

(1 out of 5 stars)

"The title of the movie refers to "Hangman Game," in which you must detect the right word(s) within 6 chances given to you, in order to save a man's neck from a noose. The movie is about a person who takes the idea too literally, and two leads (Phillips and Amick) try to hunt down the criminal.The idea is good, and the two leads are giving solid, convincing performance, and production design is decently done, but the director completely fails to stir any emotional response on the audience's side: in short, there is little suspense and thrill to grab your heart. The film shows also confused relationships between patient, doctor, ward, father, daughter, etc.; it also goes on to talk about real estate, Amick's character's horses, and the killer's lawyer and mother ... so confusing that I am lost on the way. I sincerely believe these two leading actors deserve much better script.This film was released in Japan with the title "Satsujin Dotto Komu" meaning in English "Murder Dot Com." ... Come on...."