Death by noose. A nasty way to die if you're not dropped from a length, but instead just had the support kicked from beneath you. A series of murders like this is taking place, linked to a net-based game of 'Hangman', the words of which are linked somehow. Detective Roos (LDP) is on the case. He finds himself drawn to Grace Mitchell (Madchen Amick), who is somehow connected to all of the victims. Hangman is a story of pure vengeance, against everyone who burdened the killer's mind.
Reviews
It's a Canadian made-for-TV movie about a psychiatrist (Amick), a detective (Phillips), and a serial killer (?).It's about what you'd expect, nothing more and nothing less. If this continues, the fantasy world of TV and movie will have more serial killers than victims.They all seem to have some kind of game they play with the agents of social control. There have been -- let me think -- serial killers who leave clues based on Alice in Wonderland, the seven deadly sins, the arrangement of stars in the cosmos, and the number of Hedy Lammar's marriages. Well, I just made that last one up, but you get the picture. This serial killer plays a game called hangman, which I've forgotten how to play, so the tensest scenes made little sense.But then the entire movie doesn't make much sense -- something about acquiring valuable land and a conspiracy between a killer and someone we thought battened on probity.Lou Diamond Phillips as the detective stands out because of his australopithecine features and his cheerfully flat delivery. Madchen Amick is notable because of her name. It so -- so -- TEUTONIC.The ending seems to leave an opening for a sequel, but I can't believe that. You probably won't remember the movie for long after you've watched it.
Lou Diamond Phillips and Madchen Amick are the only Americans in a Canadian made for television film Hangman. It's a complex psychological homicide thriller about a bunch of murders by hanging that center around some psychologists.Phillips is the lead detective assigned to a group of killings known as the Hangman murders. That's the way these victims depart this mortal coil and all of them seem to center around former psychologist Madchen Amick. The film has more twists then those pretzels you see at your local bar. During the course of Hangman, Phillips and his team come up with several theories of the crimes.There's not a shot fired and the physical violence is kept to a minimum, in the manner of Alfred Hitchcock. Yet things are kept pretty tense in true Hitchcock manner.Lou does a fine job underplaying his role as a detective who just can't get a handle on the case. His foe is an incredibly cunning one which you won't appreciate until the end.I wouldn't miss it, especially if you're a fan of Lou Diamond Phillips.
This isn't a masterpiece, still it's a smart and interesting thriller. Although the genre is a bit over-exploited, this movie has a capturing and really original story. The brutal techniques of the Hangman are something I've never seen on screen before. The acting is OK, not very overwhelming, however convincing. The ending might seem as a let-down, yet it's not stereotype compared with other films.
This film has to get it from the actors and the story. No shooting, speeding cars or supermans. Allthough there are some gaps in the scenario, the films is above the other serial killer movies. According to other comments the end is disappointing, I found the end plot rather original,surprising and making sense when you look back on the whole film.The actors act very sober but that makes the movie believable.