Creature with the Blue Hand

Now that terms like kaiju and giallo have become common in film culture, it’s about time we add krimi to the ever-expanding foreign film dictionary.  Shorthand for the German mystery-thrillers mostly based on the work of Edgar Wallace in the ‘60s, it’s a sub-genre that combines the complex plots of Agatha Christie with a liberal amount of eyebrow-raising sex and violence.  And 1967’s Creature with the Blue Hand is a doozy of a place to start, with identical twins, a mysterious asylum, family secrets and a vicious piece of medieval weaponry (the titular “blue hand”) that gets its fair share of use before the credits roll.

 

Klaus Kinski plays the dual role of Richard and Dave Emerson, the latter of whom has been institutionalized for the murder of the family gardener.  But Dave has always pleaded his innocence, and upon escaping from the asylum he promptly assumes the role of Richard to gather information on his accusers.  It all comes down to a challenged inheritance, but will any of the family members survive long enough to see a dime?

 

At a brisk 70-some minutes, Creature with the Blue Hand doesn’t waste any time getting to the good stuff.  From sadistic doctors to rodent-filled torture chambers, director Alfred Vohrer’s film races from one cliffhanger to the next, filled with Bava-style camerawork and colorful sets.  It might be pulp entertainment but every second of it achieves maximum impact.  Kinski puts on a dramatic show but the supporting players add a surprising dash of comedy that puts the film over the top.  Suffice to say, this one is going to wow a lot of first-time viewers!

 

And the second feature on Film Masters’ two-disc set is no slouch either.  Web of the Spider (1971), directed by Antonio Margheriti, is a remake of his own Castle of Blood from 1964, starring the inimitable Barbara Steele.  The story remains the same: a journalist is challenged to spend the night in a haunted castle where he is seduced by one female resident…but hunted for his blood by all the rest. A memorably elegant ghost/vampire story that captures the feel of a Victorian short story in all the best ways, this time Margheriti shoots in color, which robs it of some of its gothic atmosphere.  Still, it’s an exceedingly well-crafted and acted film with a cameo from none other than Klaus Kinski…and goes great as a double-feature with the original which was just released by Severin Films.

 

Film Masters is going to win its own share of fans with this terrific special edition, featuring newly restored versions of both films scanned in 4K, two documentaries (one about Kinski, the other author Edgar Wallace), commentary track by Stephen Jones and Kim Newman, full-color booklet and a bonus version of Creaturecalled The Bloody Dead (1987) which inserts a new corny plotline about cannibalistic inmates.  It’s their best release to date!

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