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Hangman (2017 film)

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Wikipedia article




'Hangman' is a 2017 American crime thriller film directed by Johnny Martin and written by Charles Huttinger and Michael Caissie. The film stars Al Pacino, Karl Urban, Joe Anderson, Sarah Shahi, and Brittany Snow. The film follows a detective who tries to track down a serial killer who bases his murders on Hangman, the children's guessing game. It was released on December 22, 2017, and was panned by critics.

Plot



In Monroe, Georgia, Detective Ray Archer leads police in pursuit of a speeding van. Confronting the driver, Archer notices a pendant dangling from the rear-view mirror.

One year later, reporter Christi Davies accompanies Detective Will Ruiney to the scene of a murder: a teacher has been hanged outside her school, with the letter O carved into her chest. Inside, they find a classroom staged by the killer, with two mannequins playing hangman, and Ruiney and Archers badge numbers carved into a desk. The now retired Archer joins the investigation, and Captain Lisa Watson warns Davies not to interfere. The coroner reveals that the victim, Carrie Cooper, had frequently been treated for broken bones. Searching Coopers apartment with Davies, the detectives determine that Cooper was dating someone named Joey Truman, and find her bedroom covered in blood, with BDSM equipment in her closet.

At Trumans address, they question a woman revealed to be Joey Truman who attempts to flee and is arrested. She claims Coopers injuries were part of their relationship, and denies killing her. Truman attempts suicide but survives, and her alibi is confirmed. Some of the blood from Coopers bedroom is determined to belong to a felon named David Green, whom the detectives trace to a church. There, the killer escapes after crucifying another victim carved with an N and wearing a pigs head and leaving them his hangman diagram to solve. Green, the churchs pastor, explains that an unknown assailant took blood from him months before. Ruiney realizes the killer will claim seven more victims, with a new murder every night.

The FDA stamp on the pigs head leads the detectives and Davies to a slaughterhouse and the body of Eric Anderson, carved with an M. Archer deduces that they should search the nearby river, recovering Andersons car. Ruiney is forced to accept that the unsolved murder of his wife, Jessica, was committed by the Hangman Killer; she was his first victim, carved with a V. At Andersons home, they discover a model railroad replica of Monroe, pointing them to the next victim. They find him hanging above railroad tracks, alive and carved with a C, but are unable to save him from an oncoming train. The detectives learn this victim was responsible for the car accident that paralyzed Captain Watson, indicating she is the killers next target.

Racing to her home, they rescue Watson from the Hangmans noose, before he could finish carving a letter. Ruiney discovers the body of a police officer as the Hangman slips past Archer in the officers uniform. Fleeing by motorcycle, the killer is pursued by the detectives and Davies, but escapes when their car is struck by a semi-trailer truck. Joey Truman, the next victim, is found carved with a T, with Archer saying this was revenge for the pair saving Watson. Knowing the killer was inactive between Jessicas murder and the night he took Greens blood, the detectives track down Adam Kellerman, who served a prison sentence for assault during the same period, and later sold Anderson the model town. Raiding Kellermans toy store, they discover him dead from an apparent suicide, surrounded by evidence indicating he was the Hangman.

Davies is abducted by the real Hangman, but tears off his necklace. Taking her to a mausoleum, he places her in a noose rigged to a ceiling fan. Discovering Davies has been taken, Archer finds the pendant and realizes the Hangman is the driver he arrested a year ago. Watson calls with news that the killer is live streaming video of Davies online, leading them to the mausoleum, where Archer confronts the Hangman. It is revealed that as a child, the Hangman witnessed his fathers suicide after receiving an eviction notice; he blames Archer, the police officer who arrived on the scene, for failing to save him from abusive foster care. Ruiney shoots and wounds the Hangman, and the detectives free Davies. As Ruiney grapples with the Hangman, Archer throws the killer off a staircase, but fatally strikes his head and dies. Ruiney notices the Hangmans completed word EVICTIONEM (Latin for "eviction") and shoots him dead. At Archers funeral, Ruiney receives an ominous note: a new game of hangman.

Cast



* Al Pacino as Detective Ray Archer

* Karl Urban as Detective Will Ruiney

* Sarah Shahi as Captain Lisa Watson

* Brittany Snow as Christi Davies

*Joe Anderson as Hangman

Production



Principal photography on the film began in Atlanta, Georgia on November 17, 2016.

Reception



On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 4% based on 23 reviews, with an average rating of 3.2/10. On Metacritic the film has a weighted average score of 31 out of 100, based on eight critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews".

References




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