Hand of Death

One of the most inexplicably hard-to-see Horror titles of the 60's has resurfaced -- well, sort of. Because of a combination of vague legal rights issues, big studio neglect and the dissolution of its original production company, HAND OF DEATH has all but disappeared from sight. Recently, its star, John Agar and a group of his devoted fans got a rare opportunity to watch a videotape of the film. Hopefully, 20th Century Fox (now that they have found a print) will resolve all those pesky legal details and reissue the film on DVD, tape and TV. The film itself has some definite merit. The acting, , writing, direction and basic storyline are totally pro all the way. Technically, HAND benefits from fine cinematography by Crosby (TABU, several Roger Corman features) -- although the Cinemascope film is hampered by a pan-and-scan transfer on tape. The real standout is a jazz cum horror genre score by Sonny Burke (ooh, a CD would be nice, hint hint). On one level, HAND is a typical: Mad scientist INVENTS serum, mad scientist TAKES serum, Mad Scientist BECOMES Monster kind of movie. But, a subplot (underdeveloped mainly because the film runs a too trim 60 whole minutes) about the military creating the serum for nerve gas war is intriguing and the above mentioned tech credits are handled by seasoned vets. I hope all IMDB fans will get the rare chance I did of seeing HAND OF DEATH soon. And, thank you, John Agar for letting me see your movie!

What an anomaly this film is. Ultra low budget, even for this class of thrillers, distributed by 20th Century Fox (which is why it was not seen and lost, as many of these type of horror films were part of movie packages shown on local independent tv stations were comprised of AIP, Allied Artist, Astor Picture titles. The big distributers sold to ABC, CBS, NBC, and the networks were certainly not going to show this! Shot in expensive neighborhoods Malibu and Brentwood, and last but not least, shot in Cinemascope! Can you imagine "Plan 9 From Outer Space" in Cinemascope? You get the idea. Wow! How can you resist not watching this. The script is terrible. Working with nerve gas in a lab the size of a department store bathroom, with the obligatory business style file cabinets in the background, any zero safety precautions. You would do more prep painting your kitchen. That being said, the monster is pretty cool and scary. Reminds me of the creature from the far superior "First Man Into Space." Ashamed though with a better script and bigger budget it could have been a B classic.

Scientist John Agar gets himself into trouble with some nerve gas in an experiment. His experiment not only turns himself into a mutant freak (which reminds me of the Thing from Marvel Comic's "Fantastic Four), but it also gives him the touch of death. Watching this movie is pretty much the touch of death itself.

I've heard so many "critics" carp about this movie that it astounds me...Let's remember that this was a LOST movie for many years. Thousands of us grew up with tantalizing pictures of the movie in Famous Monsters and Castle of Frankenstein. Along with Horrors of Spider Island and The Awful Dr. Orloff, it was the Holy Grail of Silver Age Horrors. Don't listen to detractors...this is EVERYTHING you want in a low-budget monster film; the compact running time actually adds to its appeal. I want to join with the fans in getting FOX to release this on DVD, or have them release the rights to some company who would embrace the project.

i caught this kooky little horror film on cable the other night. it held up pretty well. the notion of scientist turned monster is obviously familiar, but it actually managed to be creepy and suspenseful..wished the guy had found a pair of gloves before touching all those poor people. i also loved the 'nightmare' sequence when he's exposed to the deadly gas, and dreams of beakers and flying white mice. kewl! how odd that it was directed by a musical comedy song and dance man. this is a fun 50's -ish horror tale, with delightful over the top acting. and it's really short. which is something.