The Hand
It lives. It crawls. And suddenly, it kills...
Jon Lansdale is a comic book artist who loses his right hand in a car accident. The hand was not found at the scene of the accident, but it soon returns by itself to follow Jon around, and murder those who anger him.
Member Reviews
Badly done - RobBC
Even if you can get past the hokey special effects and freakhouse theatrics there is still plenty more to disappoint in this overblown, overacted, and overly loud story of a man pestered by his severed hand. Stone exhibits the worst excesses of De Palma and Cronenberg but with none of their underlying style; as if frazzled hair and screaming close-ups can compensate for the film’s sillier elements...like Caine wrestling in the garage while holding a rubber prosthetic to his neck. Despite some effectively creepy sequences the film doesn’t seem to go anywhere; I presume guessing whether or not the hand is real is supposed to be enough to hold our interest for 105 minutes. Stone finally ends the misery by throwing in a predictably ambivalent ending that seems more like a last-ditch effort to confound an audience long past caring. If creeping mitts are your thing check out the darkly gothic “The Beast With Five Fingers”, or the camp spookiness of “Dr. Terror’s House of Horrors” (“Art Critic” episode); “The Crawling Hand” (MST3K version!) or “Evil Dead 2”. I give this turkey one thumb, firmly down.Classic! - SisterFirefly
I first saw this movie at the drive-in with my parents when I was very young. Still, to this day, I firmly believe it's what made me into the horror movie fan that I am today.
Not filled with gore, but lots of suspense, this film is a must see for anyone who appreciates a good severed body part story. A revenge film, perhaps?
My favorite Michael Caine movie by far. I've seen it countless times.Not as campy as it sounds. - cathyottawa
This came on TV late one night, and I ended up watching the whole thing.
This is actually more of a psychological thriller than a horror, and takes itself quite seriously, not looking for cheap shlock scares. There's actually only three kills in the whole movie, and none of them are overly graphic.
The plot had a bit of a Stephen King vibe to it, and this was actually based on a novel, with Oliver Stone writing the screenplay and directing.
This is more about Micheal Caine's character of an artist, dealing not only with losing his hand in a tragic accident, but losing his marriage and his daughter, and his livelihood, all at the same time.
Basically, the question is, is Caine doing the killings and blacking out the memory of it, or is there really a possessed hand? The movie answers the question quite nicely, then tacks on a stupid ending that puts it all in to question again. Too bad.
I would have seconded Coconut_Willy's three star rating, had it not been for that ending.
Like Coconut_Willy said, I'm not sure who would want to rent this one, other than big Oliver Stone fans, or big Micheal Caine fans. But if it comes on TV late one night, give it a chance! :)
Member Reviews
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Badly done - RobBC
Even if you can get past the hokey special effects and freakhouse theatrics there is still plenty more to disappoint in this overblown, overacted, and overly loud story of a man pestered by his severed hand. Stone exhibits the worst excesses of De Palma and ...Classic! - SisterFirefly
I first saw this movie at the drive-in with my parents when I was very young. Still, to this day, I firmly believe it's what made me into the horror movie fan that I am today.
Not filled with gore, but lots of suspense, this film is a must see for anyone ...Not as campy as it sounds. - cathyottawa
This came on TV late one night, and I ended up watching the whole thing.
This is actually more of a psychological thriller than a horror, and takes itself quite seriously, not looking for cheap shlock scares. There's actually only three kills in the ...