Don't ring the bell, don't read the book and don't light the candles. This ultra cheap precursor to "Rosemary's Baby" has a few genuine scares, but mainly contains unintentional laughs. After playing George Gershwin on "Rhapsody in Blue" and the original Sky Masrerson in the original Broadway production of "Guys and Dolls"' Robert Alda was reduced to this low grade supernatural horror film where he is haunted in dreams by the presence of a beautiful woman he's never met. Destiny takes him and his sweet girlfriend into a strange doll shop where he meets the strange Neil Hamilton as well as the gorgeous dream doll. This doll house is the front for a group of satanists who seem somewhat normal. Hamilton chews the scenery more than any "Batman" villain, eventually turning into a cartoon character. Among the chilling moments are a sequence where Hamilton reveals that a traitor amongst them will die and the truly violent follow up. Yet, the structure is presented with such silliness that the film ends up becoming melodramatic and totally over the top. When you look at the more well made supernatural films yet to follow, the result here is a midnight movie where you have to wonder just how much popcorn ended up being thrown at the screen.
Review of The Devil's Hand
