The Devil's Hand

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.

An early effort from Crown International Pictures, The Devil's Hand stars Robert Alda (Alan's dad) as Rick Turner, who is visited nightly in his dreams by a beautiful blonde woman. After finding a doll in a shop window that is the exact likeness of the mysterious woman, Rick is able to track down his nocturnal visitor, Miss Bianca Milan (Linda Christian), but, hypnotised by her beauty, finds himself lured away from his longtime girlfriend Donna (Ariadne Welter) and into a devil worshipping cult run by sinister doll-maker Francis Lamont (played by Neil Hamilton, TV Batman's Commissioner Gordon).

A cheap and cheerful piece of '60s Satanic horror, The Devil's Hand is undemanding drive-in fodder that benefits from a brisk pace (and a not-too-long running time), reasonable performances, and a fun plot that includes voodoo, bongo drums, a traitor in the cult's midst, ritualistic gyrating, Russian roulette with swords, and a fiery demise for the baddies at the end. All this and a cool twangy surf guitar number during the opening credits make for a reasonably fun, if not all that memorable, time.

Favourite moment: when Rick sneaks into the doll shop, a front for the cult, and proceeds to make a total racket whilst bumbling around their place of worship. Way to go, twinkletoes!

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.

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

A man has strange visions of a mystery woman. One day he notices a doll in a shop window which exactly resembles the enigmatic lady who inhabits his dreams. He ventures in and is soon entwined in an underground voodoo cult.

The Devil's Hand in another low budget offering from Crown International Pictures, who were one of the main B-movie producers of their time. This one is on the whole fairly standard stuff with not a huge amount to differentiate it from the crowd. It focuses on occult practices, yet, aside from the dastardly leader, we never really see the cultists do much in the way of evil. We see their ceremonies in action though, which consisted of a revolving sword device that members of the cult spun like they were trying to win money on a game-show. Not only that but there was also a seemingly ever-present bongo player who ensured that a voodoo vibe was maintained at all times. The dolls themselves were quite a cute idea and certainly were the most memorable part of the cult's practices. The film itself has an early 60's charm about it that buys it some credit, while it is short and fast-paced enough to never outstay its welcome. It should please those with a taste for old school horror flicks, at least some extent.