"THE HANGMAN" (2024) Brings Back Country Horror And Heart
Camping is not for everyone. Horror movies have long told us that spending time in the woods can sometimes lead to death by machete, but a more basic and relatable reason against camping is because of the lack of comfortable amenities. While some prefer the fresh air and connection to nature, others see a place where everything is covered in dirt and is going to climb on top of you. Camping on paper is a perfect setup for a horror film if you think about it. A remote location (check), easy to get lost (check), easy for things to hide (check), and limited or no access to others (check). It’s no wonder so many horror movies have camping as a part of the story and it may even make you pause to wonder why anyone likes doing it in the first place. Still, camping is a great way to get out of our metropolitan lives and live a little more simply. Sometimes, however, that simplicity is upended by local legends and ghost stories aimed at deterring would-be campers from pitching their tents. In The Hangman, the newest folk-horror film from DREAD, those local legends are not just stories. Does this tall tale deliver big scares or is it a dwindling fire without kindling?
WHAT’S IT ABOUT?
To mend their troubled relationship, a middle-aged door-to-door salesman, Leon, takes his teenage son on a camping trip into deep rural Appalachia. Little do they know of the mountainous region’s sinister secrets. A local cult has summoned an evil demon born of hate and pain, known to them as The Hangman, and now the bodies have begun to pile up. Leon wakes up in the morning to discover that his son is missing. To find him, Leon must face the murderous cult and the bloodthirsty monster that is The Hangman.
HOW IS IT?
The Appalachian Mountains are an almost perfect setting for a horror film. They are vast, mysterious, and a place where one could easily get lost and forgotten about. The allure of the Appalachian Mountains is that they are largely uninhabited and one of the largest concentrations of forestry in North America, and it crosses both Canadian and US borders (technically a 3rd as well in French-occupied Saint Pierre and Miquelon) stretching from one end of the continent to the other. “The Hangman” isn’t the first film to use the Appalachians as a backdrop, however, it’s one of the few that takes a more folk-horror-oriented approach to the genre while mostly subverting the temptation to focus exclusively on the demographics of that area. Taking some cues from films like Pumpkinhead and The Evil Dead, but emphasizing emotion and levity more than big nasty creatures and gore, “The Hangman” for the most part succeeds in delivering an engaging and entertaining story.
The narrative's core is every parent's worst nightmare, and Leon (LeJon Woods) is living it. After a fallout with his son, Jessie (Mar Cellus), Leon decides to try and find a proverbial needle in a haystack. If losing your kid isn’t enough, Leon also has to contend with a host of racist drug dealers who aren’t making things any easier for him and the Hangman as mentioned earlier who is taking them all out. Leon is clearly not cut out for this kind of work, and his reluctant father-turned-hero is endearing without being overdone. In many ways, Leon is a lot like Ash in that he’s an everyman caught in an extraordinary situation. Leon isn’t ex-military and he trusts people as a default despite all signs suggesting the opposite, but that’s because his mission is clear; he needs to get his son back. LeJon Woods puts forward a grounded portrayal that makes Leon an easy character to root for, especially when his character makes the inevitable turn into badassdom at the beginning of the third act. The other supporting cast is equally well represented, but ultimately just cobblestones on the hero’s journey that Leon is embarking on. In some ways, Leon is similar to Odysseus as he navigates a series of unfortunate situations that serve to distract and derail him from this ultimate goal. Some of these distractions are welcome, while some of them seem to pad the story rather than add to it. One such example is the focus on the mountainous drug dealers inhabiting the land, all of whom are keenly aware of the Hangman, but also operating with impunity. One might think that the inclusion of opiates in the storyline would eventually payoff into some form of social critique or metaphor, but really it just seems to exist to present another layer of danger for Leon as both a Black man and someone who is in the wrong place at the wrong time. It is the same with the references to the racism that both Leon and Jessie have experienced in their past. While these are important parts of these characters and their history, it somewhat distracts from the obvious danger facing Leon and sometimes feels like too many ideas with not enough time to develop them fully. This also deters from some of the most interesting parts of the film, the Hangman himself.
Aside from a few kills shown in the first two acts, The Hangman doesn’t really become a core function of the narrative until the end of the 2nd act after we collectively learn about the lore. Credit where credit is due, the mythology around The Hangman is vastly more interesting than other similar folk horror films and it is the kind of strong foundation from which a franchise could be born. This is not to suggest that a sequel is necessary, but rather that the bones of the story are solid enough to withstand another sort of retelling. Combining elements of cult worship, trauma, and revenge, The Hangman’s story and character are equally as tragic as Daniel Robitaille in Candyman and the look of the Hangman is like a malevolent Billy Butcherson with a knack for knot-tying. It is commendable that the filmmakers leaned so much into the “hanging” element of the character’s story as there are some scenes in which The Hangman uses ropes the same way that Pinheads commands metal chains and hooks, and it leads to some wildly interesting death sequences to be sure. What really makes “The Hangman” better than your average horror film is how committed the third act is to going all out. From seeing Leon descend into the gates of hell and the righteous retribution he takes to save his son, the third act tries dutifully to tie up as many loose ends as possible. While there were still questions looming as the credits rolled, and some of the convenience of the climax pokes holes in the logic of the mythos established earlier, the sum total of “The Hangman” is a lot more fun than most films of this ilk. Solid practical effects and creature design, combined with the right amount of wit and a stellar leading performance make “The Hangman” a film worth swinging for.
LAST RITES
“The Hangman” accomplishes much of what it sets out to do by taking two terrible situations and pushing them together into one singular nightmare. While it is derivative in parts, it excels because of a strong lead performance and thoughtful lore that culminates in an outrageous final act.
THE GORY DETAILS
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Where can you watch it?
The Hangman releases in limited theaters on 5/31, and on VOD 6/4 from DREAD.
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