Im Bann der Puppe

"The Devil's Hand" is a slick little B-film that moves at an amazingly fast clip. Don't look for deep characterizations, or explorations of motives, or anything else that would make the story stumble.

This flick takes itself seriously. It's established at the outset that the Gamba cult is real, and several scenes indicate that it has actual power. And there's never a nudge or wink from any of the characters to indicate otherwise.

The acting may not be top-notch, but it's credible enough. The opening theme is quite cool, too, and would be a good addition to a surf rock collection; unfortunately, it's never identified.

And the overall theme is still relevant today—how easy it can be to get sucked into a cult (religious, political, philosophical—take your pick) because of one's hopes of improving his lot. Look at the worshipers; by and large they look just like you'n'me. No wild-eyed zealots, no borderline personalities, just…ordinary people.

My only real quibble is the casting of Neil Hamilton as the villain. He seems to have been rather a one-note talent; his demeanor throughout the movie, whether fronting the doll shop or presiding over potential human sacrifice, is rather bland. Or maybe I just can't accept Commissioner Gordon being on the wrong side of the law!

I've seen 10-12 Crown International Pictures now and this is by far their most polished work. It plays like an episode of the Twilight Zone, and I would not be surprised if the writers pulled this story from a similar source as Mr Serling himself. It's very short, at just an hour and 10 minutes, and is definitely worth a watch for anyone looking into campy horror stories from the 50s (even though this was made in the 60s it doesn't have the free-love feel and was shot in black and white). Appropriate music, good acting, and surprisingly good cinematography all work in concert to make an enjoyable film.

As a side note, the DVD that Mill Creek put out has a cool feature where you can watch this in 'Drive Thru' mode and has everything from an animated short to a few commercials. Nice little bit of nostalgia!

Rating: 24/40

"The Devil's Hand" is a truly bizarre little horror movie. It's very short and to the point… But what a point! Supernatural themes, romantic love triangles and voodoo! That's all pretty courageous and ambitious for a low-budget horror effort from that time. Too bad it eventually didn't turn out to be a very good movie… Rick Turner is an ordinary man, with loads of appeal to the ladies, whose dreams are disturbed by the reoccurring image of a beautiful blond girl. The odd thing is that his soon-to-be wife supports him without the slightest bit of jealousy. I wonder how my girlfriend would react when telling her I repeatedly dream of a hot blond calling out to me from the skies? Rick's uncomfortable situation grows even weirder when he's led to a toy store where they sell a doll with a face identical to the woman of his dreams. It all turns out to be a conspiracy of a satanic cult, ruled by the shop owner, and the blond uses voodoo and hypnosis to conquer Rick's heart. How's that for seduction techniques? Despite the silly and utterly implausible storyline, "The Devil's Hand" is occasionally atmospheric and several sequences are quite suspenseful, notably the ones set in the cult's headquarters where the members' loyalty to Gamba (the evil God) is tested. Still, there's way too much talking and confusion going on and only the climax contains horrific action. William Hole's directing is very neutral and the only real good performance is given by Neil "Commissioner Gordon" Hamilton. Linda Christian is a beauty, but her acting skills are rather forgettable. Worth a look if you run out of other options.

A happily engaged man becomes plagued by vivid dreams of a beautiful woman. He ultimately meets her face-to-face, finding that she is a member of a secretive, near-lost religion which enables its loyal followers to obtain their heart's desires. Bewitched by this seductress, he quickly casts aside his fiancée to become her lover and converts to said religion. Predictable but amusing turmoil ensues in this poverty row potboiler, one which some viewers may find surprisingly watchable despite its very evident financial privation.

Briskly paced cheap thrills with a deliciously tacky veneer distinct to early-60s low-budget cinema...this much-forgotten curiosity should please most undemanding genre fans and enthusiasts of vintage lower-berth film oddities.

5.5/10

The Devil's Hand: Rick is your average guy with a nice, average fiancé except for one thing: he's having wildly lucid dreams about a sexy blonde. The dreams inexplicably bring him to a doll shop in the middle of the night, where he spots a doll resembling his dream woman in the window. Disturbed, he returns the next day during normal business hours with his fiancé and things get weirder as they stumble into a world of voodoo, devil worship, and more dolls! This film could have been subtitled "Deus ex machina," but it's mostly entertaining, and scores an extra point or two for having a totally retro-cool surf guitar opening credits tune.