31 Days of Horror Movies: The Hand

Tonight we have a film that really shouldn't be watched by kids, yet, I first saw it as a kid. Go figure.

The Hand

Michael Caine plays Jon Lansdale, a right-handed comic artist who loses his right hand. He has a wife and kid, and not all is well with the marriage (really, have you ever seen a movie where the relationship is A-OK?), and things don't get any better when, while wife Anne is driving one day, Jon's hand is severed from his arm in an accident. Bereft of his hand (and talent), Jon sinks into a funk, and Anne feels guilty.

There's a lot of melodrama in The Hand. The Lansdale's marriage is on and off the rocks several times. Jon has an affair. Oh, and his severed hand decides to go around killing people. Or does it? Could these grisly murders he blames on his separated hand actually be Jon's own work, and he's simply transferring the guilt to something he's lost? The film (kind of) answers this, but does so in a way that finds it mainly milking the audience for more chills and thrills.

I'll admit that The Hand isn't a particularly good film. It's selection for this month of horror films is more of a nostalgia pick than anything else. The scene when Michael Caine's character loses his hand is quite memorable, in a very blunt and terrifying way. And then when the hand creeps around on its killing spree, well, let's just say that it's a childhood memory I won't forget.

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