Crawling Hand Movies --

[peter johnson]

Now, Scott brought up an interesting subgenre of B films that I don't believe I've seen discussed on the board before, here:  
Disembodied Crawling Hand movies -- you know, where there's a hand crawling around with a life of its own, that seeks out and strangles people, etc.
My wife and I really love the Oliver Stone directed "The Hand", with Michael Caine.  Back in the day, SCTV(Second City Television), with Catherine O'Hara, Dave Thomas, etc. etc. , did a brutal parody of this, focusing on the repeated Michael Caine line:  "Are you looking at me because of my bloody hand!?!?!".
This was/is worth many minutes of great laughter, and I do hope they DVD it soon -- both the original film AND the SCTV parody of said.
* * * *
What other Crawling Hand films are there out there?  
We own both the Raul Julia "Addams Family" movies, which have the wonderful Thing character, who is nothing more than a disembodied hand . . . What else?
peter johnson/denny crane

[PSlugworth]

Well, Evil Dead II, of course.

On a similar topic, does anybody know that there is actually a condition/syndrome/whatever that causes people to lose control of one of their hands like that?  I remember seeing a segment on it on some news magazine show when I was a kid.  I don't remember much, but I remember a man saying he woke up in the middle of the night and found his left hand trying to gouge his own eye out.

Very creepy.



Post Edited (03-12-05 01:51)

[dean]

Idle Hands, though not, I guess, a B-movie, but still nice none-theless.

The guy from Final Destination has his hand possessed and havoc ensues.  Also has Seth Green and some other guy as members of the undead who happen to like Burritos.  And it has Jessica Alba in it, which is quite a nice addition.

Zombies, possessed hand running about the place trying to kill people, a nice female lead and zombies.  All in all not a bad combo.  If I recall correctly the guy in charge of the hand movements was the same guy who did Thing from the Addams family movies.  And the cheesy effects were pretty fun too.  I quite enjoyed this teen-comedy/horror flick.

[Ozzymandias]

Can't think of the name but there is a Christopher Lee movie where a hand crawls after him. He even burns it at one point.

[kriegerg69]

Ozzymandias wrote:

> Can't think of the name but there is a Christopher Lee movie
> where a hand crawls after him. He even burns it at one point.

That's the film you're thinking of.

[kriegerg69]

Actually a film with that title....Surprised no one mentioned it.

[kriegerg69]

Peter Lorre classic.....which I'm also surprised no one has mentioned!

[peter johnson]

Yes, of course -- Dr. Terrror's House of Horrors -- I was trying to remember that one --
Scott had mentioned The Crawling Hand in another thread, which is what prompted mine --
The Beast With 5 Fingers isn't so much a Crawling Hand movie as it is a Possessed Hand movie, is it?  Now that can be another sub-sub-genre:  Possessed Hand/Possessed Body Part movies!!
Yes, I remember the look of disgust on Christopher Lee's face as he tries to burn that nasty hand in Dr. Terror . . .
I can barely remember the name of that disassociative disease, but I know what you're talking about -- where body parts rebel against the "host".
* * * * *
"Are you looking at me becasue of MY BLOODY HAND!?!?!?" -- really, if you haven't seen Caine do his thang in that Stone picture, you're missing a real pleasure --
peter johnso/denny crane

[Scott H.]

Body parts rebelling against the host? The Doctor Strangelove syndrome! Mein fuhrer! My hand does not what I wish for it to do!

There are actual cases throughout the world of reported "Dr. Strangelove syndrome" referred to having "anarchic" hands/feet/body parts that do not respond to their will. There is another, more scientific name to the disease, that I do not know. Some doctors attribute it to a traumatic incident in the frontal lobe that controls the motor skills. Like a short circuit in the brain that sometimes connects to the body again at random and against the will. Reminiscent of the movie Idle Hands, except there is no demonic possession. Maybe..... Hmmmmm....

-Scott H.

[ulthar]

Not a movie, but I remember reading a comic book as a kid (one of those kinda like Twilight Zone or something) with a story about a concert pianist whose hands were 'possessed.'  One was essentially good and the other evil.  While playing a concert, he would whisper to them "you are going too fast" or "good job" etc.  At the end, the evil one killed him.  I always thought this would make a good film short, Outer Limits ep. or something.

[DaveMunger]

The severed hand thing is very similar to the killer housecat thing, they jump up in someone's face and wrassle them to the ground, and you keep thinking, "how does it have the leverage to drag that guy down and kill him?" With the cat, I suppose at least it makes sense that it could jump. I think this sort of thing might work better if they'd play up the supernatural element a little, like with mummies.

[Mr. Briggs Inc.]

mad love
waxwork

[Mr. Briggs Inc.]

Oh yeah and the double feature about the small army of hands seperating themselves from various hosts.  the Other story was about killer chattering teeth.

[DaveMunger]

"The Body Politic" from "Quicksilver Highway"?

[kriegerg69]

ulthar wrote:

> Not a movie, but I remember reading a comic book as a kid (one
> of those kinda like Twilight Zone or something) with a story
> about a concert pianist whose hands were 'possessed.'  One was
> essentially good and the other evil.  While playing a concert,
> he would whisper to them "you are going too fast" or "good job"
> etc.  At the end, the evil one killed him.  I always thought
> this would make a good film short, Outer Limits ep. or
> something.
>

That's what you're trying to recall....MAD LOVE was a remake of an earlietr silent called HANDS OF ORLAC, which was remade again in the 50's.

Either way, technically.....the story has nothing to do with a disembodied hand.



Post Edited (03-12-05 21:45)