By Geno McGahee
I’m a huge fan of Michael Caine and I recently bought a pack of movies that came with a 1981 horror film called “THE HAND.” The film is directed by Oliver Stone, so I figured it had to be a winner. We have Caine and Stone both giving the viewer a good old fashioned, horror-themed hand job, and that is something that I couldn’t resist.
Jonathan (Caine) is a cartoonist with a failing marriage to Anne (Andrea Marcovicci) and a young daughter. The bickering between Jonathan and Anne is constant and then they go at it inside the car as they drive. As Anne drives, some old bitch behind her is riding her ass and honking. During this time, Anne tells Jonathan that she needs some time apart from him and that sends him into a rage and makes Anne drive erratically and get into a car accident. The accident leaves Jonathan without a hand.
As Jonathan recovers physically and mentally, Anne is getting close and personal with her yoga instructor, Bill (Nicholas Hormann). Without being able to earn a living through his cartoons and with his family imploding, Jonathan moved away to California to pursue a teaching career, which leads to a fling with a student. Stella (Annie McEnroe) is young and woos her professor, but he is not the only one and when that is discovered that drives Jonathan further into madness.
The people around Jonathan begin to die and he keeps seeing his severed hand committing the crime. Stella and a fellow professor both disappear and things keep getting stranger. When Anne and his daughter come to visit him, the severed hand nearly kills his estranged wife. He saves her, but his daughter witnessed the entire thing and didn’t see a severed hand at all.
THE HAND is a very stylish horror movie and you really can’t go wrong with Michael Caine. The film is rather predictable, but it is also very interesting and the performance of the entire cast is very good. It is a horror movie but it is more of a horror/drama that is tame by today’s standards, but it is a quality film and good watch. I recommend it.
Rating: 7/10 – Caine’s Hand Job was a winner!
