source: Hand of Death

Moviecut—Hand of Death

Hand of Death

Scientist, Alex Marsh (John Agar) has been working in his desert laboratory, on a combination Hypnotic drug / nerve gas (!!). Unsurprisingly, something goes horribly wrong, and Marsh is exposed to a massive dose of the hazardous agent. As the effects of the drug become evident, Marsh must face... TWO TERRIBLE FACTS: #1- His touch has become lethal to anyone around him! #2- He's been reduced to a charred, carp-faced blubber man! After the deaths of several innocent citizens, Marsh is on the run, while his girlfriend (Paula Raymond) cries and screams a lot. HAND OF DEATH is another monster-runs-amok movie, in a similar vein to HIDEOUS SUN DEMON, THE MANSTER, TRACK OF THE MOON BEAST, etc. As such, it has its moments, and even elicits occasional sympathy for agar's tragically bulbous character. Watch for Butch "Eddie Munster" Patrick during the beach finale...

How can a movie be so short and yet be super boring and have almost no meaningful dialogue? It's mind blowing. If you took all the good things about this movie and put them in a trailer, you would have a very short trailer. Sadly, I have seen worse so I gave 2 stars. That doesn't mean anyone should watch it.

I can imagine being a kid in the early 60's and sitting in the local theater watching this movie. A classic low budget B movie from the era, this one has a decent story line with plenty of scenes of the effects of a experiment that went very wrong. I you enjoy low budget B movies, don't miss this one. A good story, a few laughs and a gruesome monster.

AMC just ran HAND OF DEATH early Sunday morning at 5 am. The print was the same as what ran on Fox Movie Channel but with a major difference. The AMC print ( courtesy of Fox television ) was not a dark and muddy mess that obscured the monster make up. It was nice and bright with far better contrasts. So it was still a cruddy 16mm pan and scan print, but at least you could appreciate the effects and make up. If you are interested keep an eye on AMC as they are in the habit of running horror and sci-fi stuff late night on the weekends and this will undoubtedly get another broadcast over the coming months. As for the film itself, I'd agree with other comments that it is not a lost classic, but an entertaining way to pass 58 minutes if you are a fan of this genre. Fans of John Agar will certainly enjoy his performance, the guy played so many roles like this he could do them in his sleep ( and sometimes did ). Plus you get to see a young Eddie Munster almost menaced!

Hand of Death (1962) *** (out of 4) A scientist (John Agar) experimenting with nerve gas accidentally infects himself and soon he's able to kill with the very touch of his hand. As days go on he also starts to form into a burned up monster. This film has gotten a lot of attention over the past several months since AMC started showing it in regular rotation. Most critics bash the movie but in my opinion this is one of the best "B" movies from the era. This certainly didn't deserve any Oscars but for a "B" movie it's damn entertaining from start to finish. There are plenty of campy moments but there's also some very nice cinematography and the look of the monster is brilliant.

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.