Plenty to Like, Plenty to Dislike

The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

A film with more than the usual spoiler issues. Talking about it in any detail feels akin to handing you a gift-wrapped present and saying, "I hope you like it -- It's a thriller about a diabolical secret experiment."

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

THE DEVIL'S HAND is a cheap witchcraft thriller from 1961 which comes across as a sedate and non-contentious TV movie. The story is about a man who falls in love with a mysterious woman, only to discover that he's unwillingly joined a coven of Satanists in the meantime. Don't you just hate it when that happens? The film is slow and rather tame for modern viewers, with a handful of ritual scenes dotted throughout which remind one a little of the lame Hammer chiller THE WITCHES. The acting is just as restrained as the horror elements of the narrative and other than a few fun moments involving voodoo dolls there's little to remember about this one.

This Crown-International movie is a really tough slog to go through, even though the running time is only seventy-one minutes long. Before I get to why the movie simply does not work, I will admit that the movie has a little merit here and there. While the budget was obviously rock bottom, the filmmakers managed to squeeze every last penny out of the limited funds. The movie is well lit, well photographed, and with acceptable set dressing.Unfortunately, the filmmakers simply didn't have a good script to work with. The movie is filled with endless scenes of characters talking. This results in the movie sorely lacking in horror sequences. And the few horror sequences that do happen are extremely tame. I think that even audiences back in 1961 would have thought that this movie was soft stuff, so I can only imagine what modern day horror fans would think of this toothless movie.

From the movie industry's beginnings and up through 1977, it was okay--even SOP--to make and watch "little movies." Occasionally a big budget, all-star affair would be produced, such as the biblical spectacles of the '50s or disaster films of the '70s, but "little movies" were the norm.Then "Star Wars" came along. Overnight, it wasn't okay for a picture to be anything less than a 50-million dollar, effects-filled extravaganza. I was in high school at the time and remember this phenomenon well. The mega-blockbuster-only culture in film making persists to the present day.For audiences too young to remember the pre-1977 world, movies like "The Devil's Hand" are little more than a source of ridicule. No laser blasts? No propane explosions? No skyscrapers with thousands of windows blowing out simultaneously? Well, then it's garbage.Happily, I do recall the pre-1977 film world and loved the intimacy and offbeat nature of its modest movies. "The Devil's Hand" is one of them.The story is set among a modern-day, urban cult of devil worshipers and their interesting powers (making quick money, obtaining the lover of their choice, etc.). Unwitting Rick (Robert Alda) is drawn into their shady circle by an elite member of the cult (Linda Christian). Although his life with them becomes supremely comfortable, their merciless practices and lethal vindictiveness makes him realize no one in their realm is safe.The film's strength is in its late-night atmosphere. It was produced in 1961, an attractive moment in US history. Everything looks great: the characters, their apartments, their cars and even the ceremonial back room. The music is befittingly mysterious and dreamy with the notable exception of the wonderful main-title theme by Baker Knight and the Knightmares. This rock 'n' roll number was recorded specifically for the film at the dawn of the twist craze and it charted at #37 on San Fransisco's hot 100 in August of 1961.I remember how "The Devil's Hand" turned up regularly on Detroit's "Scream Theater" Friday nights at 11:30pm during the late '70s and early '80s. I loved it then and I love it now--it's a gem.

A slow beginning eases quietly into an intriguing mystery, who is she, the woman that haunts his dreams. The answer leads to more questions, slowly guiding the main character, and the audience, into a secret world, and a powerful temptation. The character is forced to choose between the purity and innocence of his fiancé, and the simple world she inhabits; and the dark world of the woman of his dreams, a sultry temptress who offers intense passion, and power granted to those who embrace her, and the mysterious group she is part of. He knows he is being manipulated, he knows he desires her because she is using her powers on him, but still, he can't resist.http://www.hulu.com/watch/70585/the-devils-hand