La mano del diablo

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

I discovered this movie on a cheap horror movie box set and this is one of those movies that surprised me. It is definitely a cult type of movie and could become a "gulity pleasure". It is obviously dated and perhaps a little "goofy" in parts,being over 40 years old,but it is better than it has a right to be. The movie is aided immeasurably by the performance of Neil Hamilton as the leader of a cult of devil worshipers. He would later go on to be Commissioner Gordon on the Batman television series. It also has one of the catchiest instrumental theme songs I have heard from a movie of this type and era. If you are a fan of older movies and this genre,it is worth seeking out in my opinion. It can certainly be had cheaply enough.

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: 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.

"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!