With its unseen killer, prowling POV shots, and the use of a distinctive murder weapon, it seems clear to me that The Severed Arm was heavily inspired by the prolific giallo genre, but writer/director Tom Alderman has a few tricks of his own up his sleeve, including one scene that would be famously imitated by classic slashers Black Christmas and When A Stranger Calls (you know the scene I mean...).The film opens with six men exploring an old mine, only to become trapped underground by a cave-in. After two weeks with no sign of rescue, the starving men decide to draw straws, with the loser to have his arm cut off for food. Ted (Ray Dannis) is the unlucky donor of the tasty limb, but no sooner have the other men performed the amputation than help arrives. Years later, a maniac with a hatchet stalks the five friends who chopped off Ted's arm. For much of the running time, The Severed arm is a fairly routine 'killer on the loose' horror, with perhaps a bit too much chit-chat, but the aforementioned scene (you know the one I mean) makes this an interesting precursor to the slasher craze of the '70s, while a couple of fun deaths (including a man having his arm wrenched off by a rope as he falls to his death) and a cool ending help make this more entertaining than one might imagine given its obscurity.

I am given this an 8 because for a low budget film made in 1973 it shows skill and deserves an extra point for being the first out of the American gate with a few slasher movie plot points and sequences.I expected this film to be totally amateurish but was pleasantly surprised when familiar names of 60s movies and TV showed up in the cast. One of them even fought a Ray Harryhausen skeleton! Another reviewer described it as an American giallo film and I can see the relationship, but what struck me was how so many familiar giallo/slasher elements are present in this US film released before Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Black Christmas, Halloween, Happy Birthday to Me, Saw, Body Parts. There's even a closeup in a door that reminds one of the Shining.The cast is unfairly criticized by other reviews. With the exception of the male star, the others are veterans to 1960s-70s TV and film. Not big stars but competent enough to have long resumes.Maybe it was the fading of the print I watched but the deep blacks made the story all the more creepy, as well as the synthesizer score.For those interested in horror movie history--I recommend it.

This is far better than some make out and certainly more worthy of attention than it's low average score would suggest. However appropriate the title, I guess it does give the impression that there may be more blood and guts than there is and some may be disappointed in that respect. The direction is certainly uneven and the acting perhaps more so and maybe there could have been less driving about in the dark but I still enjoyed it. There are some standout scenes including two excellent lift sequences and the early scenes down the cave are pretty grim. I thought the crazy DJ was going to irritate but in the end I found his antics quite endearing, especially as we (and he) are anticipating the inevitable. Admittedly the film slows now and again but never for long and the great ending is worth the wait.

Over all, if you take into account the year it was made, this movie wasn't too bad. I have seen movies much newer that were much, much worse. I mean, it's not nasty gory, or heart-in-your-throat scary, but it has it's moments. There's plotting, a bit of blood, and some hack-and-slash. And as avid a horror movie watcher I am, I STILL didn't see the 'brother' angle coming. The only part I didn't like, was the ending. I mean, they got the last guy, he's locked in a room with a knife. For poetic justice, his options are either cut off his own arm or starve to death. And THAT'S where they end it!! Blasted cliffhangers!! I hate it when movies do that.. It's just...wrong!!