Granted, this extremely low budget Z grade horror film provided me with many smiles and eye opening moments. Does that make it a good film? Certainly not! It's the type of film that would never be cobsconsid mainstream, the type of experimental movie that the writers, directors and technical team hoped would be groundbreaking but ends up a sometimes underground piece of trash. "The Hands of Orlac" had been done before in classic ways (as recent as the year before this), and the question is asked about this version: why?
There are several reasons why from my viewing of it, and the lack of budget gives a certain viewpoint to the story that makes it a must for fans of new wave cinema. The story focuses on a brilliant younh pianist (James Noah) who loses his hands after a horrible car accident and has the hands of a killer sewn on. This gives him an unintentional urge to kill, with the killer's hands obviously having a brain stronger than his own. The murders are shocking and brutal, one involving a teenaged boy truly disturbing. Another seemingly accidental death has the victim burning alive right in front of his eyes.
The less said about the acting, the better. A good majority of the acting is amateurish and noisy, with the women in particular braying their lines. One of the young actresses ironically is a young Sally Kellerman. Technically, this has some terrific moments, but then some ridiculously melodramatic moment comes along and destroys the mood. I guess if you go in looking for the unintentional laughs, you might find yourself enjoying it more.
There are several reasons why from my viewing of it, and the lack of budget gives a certain viewpoint to the story that makes it a must for fans of new wave cinema. The story focuses on a brilliant younh pianist (James Noah) who loses his hands after a horrible car accident and has the hands of a killer sewn on. This gives him an unintentional urge to kill, with the killer's hands obviously having a brain stronger than his own. The murders are shocking and brutal, one involving a teenaged boy truly disturbing. Another seemingly accidental death has the victim burning alive right in front of his eyes.
The less said about the acting, the better. A good majority of the acting is amateurish and noisy, with the women in particular braying their lines. One of the young actresses ironically is a young Sally Kellerman. Technically, this has some terrific moments, but then some ridiculously melodramatic moment comes along and destroys the mood. I guess if you go in looking for the unintentional laughs, you might find yourself enjoying it more.