"Hand of Death" isn't that bad of a wannabe 50s Drive-In Creature Feature.**SPOILERS**While doing some government work on a mysterious gas, scientist Alex Marsh, (John Agar) finally is able to experience a breakthrough, but a freak accident envelops him in a cloud of smoke. Not sure what it will do to him, as he lives through the night, he goes to a friends house for help but kills him only by touch. Everyone he comes into contact with ends up that way. Becoming more and more paranoid about what's happening to him, Alex tries to solve the problem while keeping away from his friends.The Good News: This really should've been made in the 50s, as there's an inherent feel to it that just screams "50s Drive-In fare" all over this. From the plot-line to the action to the abrupt ending, this is a 50s film through and through. The monster design and his mode of killing are perfect examples, the look is right there with the best of the scene at the time, and the scenes with the creature wandering around are prime cheese. The ending assault on the house is pretty tense and features some nice stalking moments. It's just a typical mad scientist movie from the time.The Bad News: The film does have some fundamental problems with it. The biggest is that it's really, really short and is over before you know it. That's really a same as it looks like it could keep going on for a while more, and it could've kept on going a little more. There are some scenes that could've been stretched out a little more to expand the time, but then it just stops as the movie's over. The make-up effects for the monster, though, are just humorous and are nowhere near threatening. It could've worked back then, but now it just inspires laughs when it's on-screen.The Final Verdict: Had this been stretched out a little more, it wouldn't have been as bad as it was, but it's still a pretty decent film anyway. It's still enormously cheesy, so take it from there. If you enjoy this kind of movie, give it a chance, but if not, then take caution with it.Today's Rating-PG: Violence

First of all the only reason I watched this movie all the way through was because it was short (about 90 min with commercials, on AMC). If it had been any longer, I wouldn't have bothered.This movie is bad in so many ways, it's hard to know where to begin. The script is awful. The acting is bad, even for a B movie. The pacing is REALLY slow, especially in the first twenty minutes or so. The stupid banter of the girlfriend complaining that she doesn't get enough attention from her scientist boyfriend seems to be padding out this non-existent story.That's really my biggest complaint: NO STORY! A story requires a beginning, middle and an end. But once the "scientist" (Agar) turns into the blackened Thing (from Fantastic Four), there are no further developments; he simply runs around like an idiot. This movie has an ending about as bad as "Jurassic Park," where everyone just runs away. Here, the Agar character is just killed.This movie is not even enjoyable on a "guilty pleasure" Ed Wood type of level. I don't understand how this ever got released by a studio. Don't they usually demand re-shoots on something this bad? Film students ought to be required to see Hand of Death, as a lesson in how not to make a movie: Don't start filming without a finished script, and make sure to tell a whole story! And don't pad out the first act with stupid banter -- just get on with the story!If you're not a film student, don't waste your time with this one. If you want really good B movies, look at the works of Val Lewton. The original "Cat People" is atmospheric and excellently noir-ish, and "The Curse of the Cat People" is a fantasy disguised as a horror film, and is magical and poetic. And "Bedlam" is a downright classic about the famous insane asylum in England. Check those out if you want to be entertained and touched, not this piece of drek, which left me wondering why I bothered. The best thing to say about Hand of Death is that it's short.

I have long been a fan of cheesy 50s-60s horror / sci-fi, and when I saw John Agar's name on this one, I knew I was in for something. Maybe it would even be as good as "Tarantula"...but alas, no. This movie makes "The Mole People" look like "Casablanca". For me, the only enjoyable moments were seeing a '61 Plymouth Fury wagon peel out, & a '61 Fury and Dodge Dart in police dress.

"Hand of Death" is a really generic, forgettable late 50's/early 60's Z-grade monster movie. John Agar plays a scientist working on some sort of experimental nerve gas and other top-secret government stuff. He exposes himself to too much of it, gains a nice tan (along with the touch of death) and eventually mutates into a sort of a dumpy, lumpy, clumsy, black-faced monster. He's basically a half-human half-charcoal briquette. His head looks like the Toxic Avenger only painted black. A good portion of the movie is him in monster form wandering around aimlessly. This is a pretty bad movie, there's absolutely nothing that sets it apart from other similar movies, and I can't think of anything in it that I hadn't seen in an older movie. Even the music is generic. In spite if this, I kind of enjoyed watching it, maybe due to the fast pace. Just when you're getting tired of it, it's over. It might be a good movie for Mystery Science Theater.