So note the confused dates. I guess this was originally released in Germany in 1967 under the title "The Blue Hand," then was brought to the US in 1971 by Roger Corman and re-titled "Creature with the Blue Hand." (This despite the fact that *SPOILER* there is no Creature in the movie. Good old Corman.) Then, at some point in the mid-80's, someone bought the rights and added about 7 minutes super cheap gore bits to the asylum scenes - presumably to be able to market it as a gory zombie film. This new version is called "The Bloody Dead."
To be fair, I only bought my VHS copy 15 years ago because it was called "The Bloody Dead" and looked like a gory zombie film. So it's a win for them, I guess. The thing is, 15 years ago I would have been bummed that it wasn't as advertised (there's even what has to be a copyright infringing Freddy Glove on the cover!) Now that I'm more "mature," I really enjoyed this little tale of murder and madness - it's got a little comedy, a little intrigue, a little blood... a little something for everyone.
The new footage is completely terrible, of course. The poorer film quality sticks out, even on an old VHS tape. It is so ham-handedly cut into the original movie that you can tell right away that it doesn't belong. After about half-way through the movie none of the characters from the shitty asylum (that looks like an abandoned apartment) have interacted with the characters from the real asylum (which looks like, well, an asylum - at least a 60's movie one). Once you realize that the patient outfits and the orderly outfits totally don't match, you're spider sense should be at a full-tingle. Yes, these parts offer a little cheesy gore, but ultimately are just there to help market the thing. Like I said, it worked on me!
Luckily The Blue Hand works well enough on it's own, so you can just pretend the extra footage isn't there. (Think of it as a mystery movie with oddly placed, really shitty commercials.) Klaus Kinski plays twin brothers Dave and Richard. As it so often happens with twins, one (Richard) is an outstanding member of the community, and one (Dave) has been handed a life sentence at the local insane asylum for committing murder. At the beginning of the film, Dave escapes and retreats to his family estate. It comes to light that Dave may be innocent of the crime that put him in the institution. Richard mysteriously disappears, and Dave slyly takes his place.
Meanwhile, their family members are slowly being picked off one by one by a vicious murderer, who uses the titular blue hand... a little kind of armour/glove thing with a 4 short spikes sticking out of it. You could make an argument as it being a precursor to Freddy's famous Elm Street weapon, but it's way more stubby. It's a good little slashy/stabby thing though... while the film is never overtly gory, it's a bit rougher than your typical stabbing. Filling out the cast (and the list of suspects) are the doctor from the insane asylum, the family butler, and of course several inspectors from Scotland Yard attempting to solve the case. (Although I'm still trying to figure out - if this made in Germany and filmed in German, how are they involved?)
What I liked
This movie had just the right mix of old-movie camp for me. It's almost got an adult Scooby-Doo vibe to it (minus the talking dog) - the estate where most of the action takes place is full of secret passages and hidden alcoves for spying on other people. We get more than one scare out of someone hiding in knight's armor. Our inspector is some kind of super-hero - the type that can drop a bad-guy with one weak punch, and over-power a group of them with pretty dodgy moves. And the music is pretty amazing. Whereever you would normally expect some dramatic/spooky stuff, The Blue Hand gives you big-band Bond-esque chase music. The whole film is off-kilter enough to make it fun.
But it was never super-cartoonish - the production value is good, and the performances are reeled in enough to get you invested in the story. I was impressed in particular with Carl Lange, who played the evil Dr. Mangrove. He pulls off the sophisticated-psycho thing well, and has the gravitas to kind of class the whole thing up. Even when he's threatening people with snakes. And he's got a signature monocle drop that had me laughing every time.
And the ending is pretty awesome. You've got the big chase, and then four or five big reveals, where everything about the mystery is explained. All accompanied, one-after-the other, faster and faster, by obnoxious horn stabs. Then it just stops *super* abruptly. I love it when "The End" comes out of nowhere.
What I didn't like
Not a lot! The extra footage, as I said, was pretty terrible. But it was almost interesting as an exercise in seeing how old footage could be repurposed for making a quick buck. Plus, it didn't take away from the main story at all.
Also, after doing some research about this film, it sounds like it may be pretty par for the course for the krimi movement (a genre of mysteries filmed from the late 50'd-early 70's in Germany - I learned something today!). It sounds like the masked-villian/whodunnit/multiple twist at the *very* end are all hallmarks of these films. So maybe there are better krimis out there? Based on The Blue Hand, I would definitely be interested in seeing more.
Ultimately
I would warn a person that the title and box art are very misleading, and then recommend this film.
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