kanabuma
I really don't know what's wrong with this movie to get an average rating around 5. There was never a dull moment in this movie. Everybody acted perfectly in this movie. Story is excellent, especially the end, that was a very clever double-twist end i.e a twist followed by another twist. Since it's a supernatural story, we need not worry about logic. Lovers of thriller movies should not ignore this movie.
peterroeder34
I just saw this on my phone and I wanted to comment on the aspect of psyche vs reality. It is really futile to discuss if the hand is "real" because it is not possible obviously for a severed hand to act like that. Having understood that one should think of the psychological aspects of the movie. I think this is a great horror movie but the description of paranoia and delusions is quite weak since we never really get a feeling that Lansdale is suffering very much whereas such mental stated would be extremely unpleasant and not funny. The plot is also extremely predictable whereas an ec horror or twilight zone would have a good twist this movie is really too long and predictable.
tomgillespie2002
Oliver Stone's second feature film, The Hand is an effective horror yarn based on a novel by Marc Brandell. In an early scene the psychological themes that weave through this narrative are highlighted. Jonathan Lansdale's (Michael Caine) daughter, Lizzie (Mara Hobel), pokes the tail of a lizard, as her stick gets closer, the tail writhes. She questions her fathers explanation that it is reflex, as it stops once danger (the stick) is moved away. The original title of the novel was 'The Lizard's Tail', and it is this that sets up the idea of amputee psychological connections; an exploration of ideas perpetuated, and fetishised by the real-life condition experienced by amputees, phantom limb syndrome. (This is a condition where the sensation of - in this example - hand and fingers, can still be felt, despite the limbs absence.)Caine is a comic book artist, and in a freak car accident, he loses his right hand. After a search the hand is never discovered. With his career over, he moves away from New York to teach, his wife Anne (Andrea Marcovicci), and daughter stay behind. As Jon embarks on a sexual affair with one of his students, Stella (Annie McEnroe), and as Jon's angers erupt, it seems that his hand carries out revenge. The most effective scene in the film, one that is clearly, and brilliantly directed, acted and lit, is in Jon's cabin garage, police stand around sweating. They report a funny smell, and Jon is quizzed as to what is in the truck of his car. It's a thoroughly atmospheric sequence.The plot is, of course, completely silly, but it actually works quite well. It does have moments of great mood, helped by James Horner's score, and the visual effects by Carlo Rambaldi - the severed hand mostly effective, as "good-FX-their-the-time. This extension of the phantom limb syndrome is a delicious little idea, and perfectly fits within the context of many horror films of the time. It has elements of Stephen King, James Herbert, and certainly takes influence from the famous EC comics of the 1950's, and this modern mixture of efficient horror, gore, and a little splash of Jungian psychoanalytical character psychosis.www.the-wrath-of-blog.blogspot.com
horacekohanim
As a psychological thriller this actually works. In large part because of Michael Caine. As a B movie about a killer hand or a schizo cartoonist it features Olive Stone's tortured man, driven to ruin by a woman, whose lack of self-knowledge and unchecked rage propel him to violence. I kind of agree with another reviewer's disappointment at the ending not wrapping it up, but The Hand is enough of a thing that I feel neither way about the end. Stone's vitriol for women, a characterization many have stuck on throughout his career, is very apparent here. Caine as Johnathan Lansdale is comfortable in his beautiful country home, crafting a semi-popular syndicated cartoon. But his yogic wife Anne (Andrea Marcovicci) wants to do something with her life and demands a move to NYC. This ends up undoing him, but not before he struggles with having his writing/drawing hand severed. Without saying more, I'd recommend this for Caine's gradual unraveling, an engrossing trip into The Mind and even a good Oliver Stone cameo.
