Whilte I wasn't actually very impressed (or entertained) by "The Devil's Hand", I tend to give it the benefit of the doubt. The voodoo and witchcraft plot elements were probably fresh and new to the audiences at the time, there are at least three pretty good actors giving their roles their best professional effort, and the black and white photography is clear and easy on the eyes.
On the other hand, the "hero" is an unlikeable cad whose character is barely redeemed by his reluctance to abandon his former girlfriend to her fate. Neil Harrison is certainly distinguished looking and he has a certain hammy, patrician bearing that serves him well on camera...but he doesn't have the firepower to make his role as the chief cult leader work. (All too often he comes across like a junior high principal threatening wayward students with detention.) Of course,no one short of Michael Gough or Vincent Price would.
The depiction of the "cult" also wasn't thought through very well.For a devil worshiping cult imported from Darkest Africa (or wherever), there seems to be a paucity of actual black people (the three black performers don't have any speaking lines) or, you know, pagan ritual. The costumes especially are embarrassingly ordinary - the only white people in costume are the "witch" and the leader. Everyone else shows up in sack suits and sensible dining wear. It's as if a bunch of JayCees and their wives all sat on the ground to watch a mildly entertaining floor show. And the ending is very unsatisfying - the cult is supposed to have all this dreadful occult supernatural power, but one guy tipping over a ceremonial torch wipes them out in a conflagration after punching out their leader.
It's as if they wanted to make a "shocking" film, but also wanted to make sure that no one got too upset by it. Of course, for all I know, that may have been the case.
On the other hand, the "hero" is an unlikeable cad whose character is barely redeemed by his reluctance to abandon his former girlfriend to her fate. Neil Harrison is certainly distinguished looking and he has a certain hammy, patrician bearing that serves him well on camera...but he doesn't have the firepower to make his role as the chief cult leader work. (All too often he comes across like a junior high principal threatening wayward students with detention.) Of course,no one short of Michael Gough or Vincent Price would.
The depiction of the "cult" also wasn't thought through very well.For a devil worshiping cult imported from Darkest Africa (or wherever), there seems to be a paucity of actual black people (the three black performers don't have any speaking lines) or, you know, pagan ritual. The costumes especially are embarrassingly ordinary - the only white people in costume are the "witch" and the leader. Everyone else shows up in sack suits and sensible dining wear. It's as if a bunch of JayCees and their wives all sat on the ground to watch a mildly entertaining floor show. And the ending is very unsatisfying - the cult is supposed to have all this dreadful occult supernatural power, but one guy tipping over a ceremonial torch wipes them out in a conflagration after punching out their leader.
It's as if they wanted to make a "shocking" film, but also wanted to make sure that no one got too upset by it. Of course, for all I know, that may have been the case.