Oliver Stone's studio debut, 'The Hand' is a fun, campy horror flick that probably doesn't get the credit it deserves. The film stars Michael Caine as Ian Lansdale, a comic book writer, who unfortunately loses his dominant hand in a car accident. Struggling to deal with the loss, Ian begins to realize that his severed hand may have taken on a life of it's own. The film does a good job at playing with perception as I found myself routinely unsure of whether this hand was indeed killing people or rather it was just a manifestation of Ian's mind. The film suggests the idea that the subconscious can do evil things and while it's interested, I think more time needed to be spent on Caine's failed marriage and angst towards his wife. Although a very early work of Stone, his penchant for changing up imagery is in tact-routinely switching from color to black&white as a way of illustrating these potential subconscious black-outs. The film doesn't get nearly enough credit for it's brooding imagery and atmosphere, particularly towards the end of the film where there are some great compositions. Michael Caine gives a strong performance and it's pretty damn fun to watch, particularly towards the end of the film. Definitely not perfect, but it's underrated campy fun. 7.5/10
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AuthorLove of all things cinema brought me here. Archives
June 2023
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