Friday, October 28, 2011

Hand of the Devil (aka La Main du Diable) (1943)


This is a quietly creepy tale was produced during the Vichy government in France for a German film company. It's the sort of thing you DON'T want to watch late at night with the lights off because this sucker creeps up on you and smacks you upside the head.

The plot has a a strange man carrying only a small box showing up at an inn in the country. he is behaving strangely, more so when the police appear saying they were chasing a small man with a large trunk. He will not let anyone touch his box, however through a rouse he is called to the phone and the lights go out the box goes missing. Unable to find the box and uncertain what to do he relates his sad tale...which involves the devil...

At first you think you won't get scared. You may not even be certain you'll like the film...but then you're hooked and then things get weird and by that time the chills are moving up and down your back.

Not a film of startling scare rather a film of slow building terror this is a slowly building tale that sneaks up on you....

Its a wonderful little film that I never heard of until I ran across it in the German War Film catalog. What a great find. It scared the crap out of me and had me up watching a comedy film before I could go to bed.

Yes, it's similar to the Monkey's Paw, but at the same time the changes in the plot, the great cast, script and photography sell this to the point that you won't care.

Definitely one to search out.

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