Creature with the Blue Hand

Good acting and an exciting story with a good tempo. However, it shows the cliché, scary mental sanctuary.

Dave Emerson (Kinski) is a member of a large aristocratic family in Britain ruled by the steely Lady Emerson (Ilse Steppat). The only other notable members are Dave's twin brother Richard (Kinski), and their lovely younger sister Myrna (Diana Körner). Dave has been sent to an insane asylum following the murder of their gardener, even though he insists he's innocent.

He escapes the clutches of the cruel Dr. Mangrove (Carl Lange) and swaps places with Richard at their country estate, but right as he arrives at home the murder begins anew. A killer in a hood with a single eyehole is stalking the grounds stabbing people to death using the arm from a suit of armor, painted blue and modded out with razor sharp claws at the tip!

On the case is Inspektor Craig (Harald Leipnitz), a detective with - who else - the Scotland Yard ...

Another twisty and barmy mystery concoction featuring a killer with a clawed hand, passageways, snakes, a mental asylum headed by the fiend Dr Mangrove, and twin brothers. It's gets a bit confusing, taxing my brain cells with so many changes in the plot, but it was fun- just don't try to figure it out too much. Nice to see Klaus Kinski in a restrained non-villainous role.

CREATURE WITH THE BLUE HAND is a suspenseful thriller full of mystery. Klaus Kinski plays a dual role as twins, one of whom might be a homicidal maniac. The titular killer actually has a blue hand to dispatch his victims. It comes complete with finger-knives!

This movie also contains an insane asylum, a castle with secret passages, and inhuman torture by both rats and snakes! Kinski is his usual, amazing self. He devours these sort of roles like so much candy!

WARNING: This film was rereleased under the title THE BLOODY DEAD, which includes a few added, non sequitur sequences of gory violence having nothing to do with the actual story. This unnecessary footage is tacky, silly, and insulting to anyone with a functioning brain...

Yes, that is right, I was trying to stay up late to watch this on the old Sammy Terry Terror Theater on Indianapolis/Bloomington channel 4, and fell asleep after about 15 mins. Therefore my recollection of it was as a boring movie, when in reality I was just tired. So I found a tape of it for $2 at the local swap meet and thought I'd give it a try since I liked all sorts of European giallo-styled films. What a great treat! Plenty of nice scary moments interspersed with humor and action. Not boring at all. Good performances all around, Kinski is superb. Now I know where Wes Craven got the knife-hand idea for Freddy K. One of the best things about these European horror films is that they actually have lengthy moments of suspense and dialog that aren't obscured by stupid, loud, obnoxious rock and pop music influenced noise like modern US horror films. They actually have soundtracks that enhance the mood rather than try to shock you with loud sudden blasts.

The DVD I watched had both the Bloody Dead and the original Creature with the Blue Hand versions on it; I watched the latter. Presumably the latter isn't exactly the original since it has English language titles and dialogue. Additionally, during the opening credits there are twelve gunshots and twelve bloody stains that appear on the screen. In The Video Watchdog Book, it's mentioned that krimis begin with that and the letters E D G A R W A L L A C E appearing out of the blood. However, those letters don't emerge on the version on the DVD, though they're clearly arranged that way.

Dave (Kinski) is committed after being found criminally insane for the murder of the family gardener. He later escapes, and people are murdered by a figure dressed in black wielding an iron blue glove with retractable knives. His twin brother, two other brothers, mother and sister are all concerned about his escape. The police investigate. Lots of secret passages and a sinister doctor is in charge of the asylum.

Enjoyable, but the ending seemed sort of contrived. Still, I'd like to see more krimis and even read some Edgar Wallace.