directed by alfredo zacharías

zach motion pictures inc./panorama films

Some – okay, most – reviewers are going to tell you this movie is terrible, but I must point out that Macabra: La mano del diablo and its similars just may be the raison d’être of this website (not to mention a significant contributing factor to its proprietor’s joie de vivre). Following a prefatory flashback scene, the story proper begins in an old mine complete with self-propelled skulls and tremulous native workers. Then it’s off to Vegas, baby! Before consulting a priest, of course, which naturally involves the police. Yes, the devil’s (left) hand has many functions, which does not prepare us for when it has been lopped off the arm of the cop whose arm it has commandeered, grabs his gun and shoots a nurse in an extremely tight and low-cut uniform. “The Hand will kill again!” intones our female lead. Can THE HAND be stopped? Will THE HAND be destroyed? Could I not stop giggling while enjoying this presentation? A must-see.

why did i watch this movie?

I discovered this gem via its poster when I was scouring some website or another for vintage horror ephemera. It looked … incredible.

should you watch this movie?

Aside from its obscurity and the possible difficulty of securing a good quality version, you have no excuse for not viewing this masterpiece.

highlight and low point

It’s been posited that certain things just cannot be made scary on the big (or small) screen, and that, say, a disembodied crawling hand may be one of these things, but watching what is clearly a rubber hand being thrown, dropped or otherwise propelled from or to various locations is a gratifying experience nonetheless. I cannot say any more lest I vitiate any of this picture’s manifold delights.

rating from outer space: B+