Customer Reviews

Hands of Orlac [VHS]

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This third remake of "le Mains d'Orlac" is not classic, but extremely watchable. There's some very stylish cinematography and some fun period music here. Christopher Lee's evil character sinks more deeply into a cackling, violent insanity as the story draws to its conclusion and Dany Carel, as Li-Ling, is a treat with her alluring presence and cabaret act. Just as in "Mad Love", this film is not supposed to make sense or be plausible, but is an effective retelling of the 'Orlac myth.' "The Hands of Orlac" is also an important addition to Mel Ferrar's body of fantasy roles ("Blood & Roses", "Lili", etc.) Strong cult status potential: don't 'think' - ENJOY!

This film is sometimes mistaken for a Hammer release due to Christopher Lee's portrayal of the villain. Believe me, Hammer this ain't. A stupifyingly boring and turgid film, this movie is nowhere as inventive or creepy as the classic 1934 version of the story, "Mad Love." This version has Ferrer injuring his famous musician's hands in a plane crash, then assuming that a killer's hands have been grafted on his stumps, even though he has no cause to believe such an outlandish thing. Lee is one of the few strong points, although how his evil magician character plans to get Orlac's money by driving him crazy (and forcing his assistant to seduce Orlac at the same time) is never made clear. The film also includes not one but two ghastly performances of an irritating french song and some lousy stage magic. A must-avoid.