The Mangler proved any Stephen King story, no matter how weird and outlandish, could become a movie franchise, and here's how they stack up. Over his long career in horror, King has tried his hand at making just about everything scary. From a rabid dog, to a sentient evil car, to a marauding oil slick, and of course, a demon-possessed industrial laundry machine, King has experimented with some very odd scenarios. Sometimes these gambles pay off, and sometimes they fall flat.

The Mangler, a short story included in King's 1978 collection Night Shift, is sadly an example of the latter. It's far from abysmal or unreadable, and like most shorts, doesn't overstay its welcome. That said, the idea of an industrial laundry machine getting possessed by a demon is so silly as to be laughable, and King plays things surprisingly straight, which probably was the wrong way to go in hindsight. The thing even gets up and walks around town at the end, an image that is just astounding in its audacity.

Related: Stephen King: Why The Desperation TV Miniseries Was So Unsuccessful

Despite those problems, The Mangler managed to spawn a direct adaptation, and two loosely related sequels. Here's how the franchise ranks, worst to best, or arguably worst to less worst.

3. The Mangler Reborn (2005)

The Mangler 3 Reborn

When it comes to the worse Mangler sequel, it's actually a really close race. In part 3, The Mangler Reborn's favor is a storyline that calls back to the first movie, in which a repairman purchases what's left of the original Mangler machine, rebuilds it, then supplies it further victims. While that's a fine enough idea, the film is hampered by a woefully low budget, which makes everything look very cheap, and the original movie look like an A-list blockbuster by comparison. The acting is also mostly terrible, with even Phantasm star Reggie Bannister seeming embarrassed to be onscreen.

2. The Mangler 2 (2002)

Lance Henriksen in The Mangler 2

The Mangler 2 has a wackier story than Reborn, turning the demon that possessed the original Mangler laundry machine into a computer virus, and having it infect the powerful computer network at an upscale private school. The acting is hardly amazing, but it definitely feels more convincing than Reborn, and benefits from the usually reliable Lance Henriksen. The budget, while not high by any means, is also at least decent, avoiding the egregiously cheap look found in its follow-up.

1. The Mangler (1995)

William "Bill" Gartley in The Mangler.

Directed by late Texas Chainsaw Massacre helmer Tobe Hooper, and based directly on the Stephen King short story, 1995's The Mangler isn't a great, or even good, film, but it looks like Kubrick's The Shining compared to the Mangler sequels. Being a theatrical release, the visual quality and acting are leagues better, and casting Robert "Freddy Krueger" Englund and Ted "Buffalo Bill" Levine in the leads was a great move. Still, the story itself is one of King's weakest, and there was a low ceiling as to how well a movie version of it would turn out.

More: The One Thing The Shining Miniseries Does Better Than Kubrick's Movie