Creature with the Blue Hand

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.

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.

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.

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.

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...