Creature with the Blue Hand

Thankfully I haven't seen the re edited hatchet job that was released as The Bloody Dead that was culled from this movie. The ads on the video release did tout it as before Freddy in the Nightmare On Elm Street series.But this is another from the German krimis based on the works of Edgar Wallace.

What we have here is the old good twin/evil twin plot that has been done to death.Two brothers (played by the ever intense Klaus Kinski)are the center of a plot. One was convicted of murder and locked in the squirrel farm over his protestations of innocence.Conveniently the asylum is in the neighborhood of the family estate.

Freed by an unknown benefactor the twin flees to the family basement. Then a series of brutal killing via a spiked glove begin.Confusion abounds as the brothers bounce back and forth in cases of mistaken identity.As usual there is a fortune to be inherited as well, secret police agents and a mad doctor(is there any other kind?).

This by no means a great movie.It just happens to be rather unremarkable and somewhat predictable if you've seen enough movies in this genre.Hey, somebody has to sit through it so you don't have to.

See it only if you don't want to think strenuously.

One of his betters though it still don't beat Schizoid or Venom. You get 2 Kinski's for the price of one. The classic one bad brother and one good. Kinski in an asylum? Perfect for the schizophrenic nymphomaniac actor. He's always a favorite goon to watch.

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

Creature with the Blue Hand AKA: The Bloody Dead is a fun, breezy film. It's short and sweet and gets right down to business. If you've seen any of Vohrer's other films, you'll find that this is basically his greatest hits album. Creepy mansion with secret passages? Check. Creepy asylum run by a powerful, corrupt man? Check. Creepy truck driven by villain in creepy fog at night? Check. Creepy visually impaired character? Check. And the list goes on. It's fun and doesn't take itself seriously. I liked the soundtrack too!

On the other hand, it felt a bit too formulaic. Some of the scenes were so contrived as to be almost like a parody.

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.