VeteranLight I don't have all the words right now but this film is a work of art.

ShangLuda Admirable film.

Derrick Gibbons An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

Allison Davies The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

poe-48833 HAND OF DEATH opens with a sequence that might've come straight out of THE ANDROMEDA STRAIN (or VILLAGE OF THE DAMNED). It's an ominous beginning (thanks in no small part to the music) and the fact that the movie involves experiments with Nerve Gas makes it Topical no matter the decade. When Agar begins his Transformation, it's his MIND that goes first, and he ends up looking almost exactly like Ben Grimm ("The Thing" from THE FANTASTIC FOUR), at least as rendered in the beginning by Jack Kirby. And, like any good Monster, he Inadvertently (at least at first) wreaks Havoc wherever he goes. Decades ago, I created a super "hero" of sorts of my own, called The Leper. A homeless man subjected to the experiments of a mad scientist working for The Military Industrial Complex, his mere TOUCH became lethal. Like Agar in HAND OF DEATH, he used GLOVES to try to prevent infecting folks... A couple of years ago, I entered a Halloween costume contest. I made myself up as The Leper. The makeup took me three hours to apply and was convincing enough that my own niece didn't recognize me when I approached her. (One man who attended the contest- held at a local comic shop- couldn't take his eyes off of me.) It wasn't until I got in my car to leave and looked in the rear view mirror at myself that I realized just HOW convincing my makeup was: I didn't recognize myself. On my way home, people stared at me (one woman even rolled down her window and asked me if I was alright) until I explained that it was just a Halloween makeup. Yesterday, reading one of Tom Weaver's books of interviews, I discovered HAND OF DEATH in a John Agar interview. I've just watched it and it's EXACTLY the kind of movie I'd hoped to make about THE LEPER. Dammit.

MartianOctocretr5 A scientist (John Agar) fools around with some chemicals, looking for a formula that could be used by the military to paralyze their enemy. Like any scientist working with dangerous chemical reactions, the good doctor falls asleep on the job, and spills the toxic substance. Soon he is dreaming about flying beakers, while the poison turns him into a screaming brute with a serious complexion disorder. He looks like a very tan version of the Hulk, and his touch is lethal to anybody except some guy with bongo drums who seems to be just off-camera in every scene.This drive-in second feature had a premise that held some possibilities, but a budget of about five bucks didn't allow for much except a lot of dialog between characters. The actors all try, but there isn't much substance for anybody to work with. Just chase scenes, and a few chance encounters with the creature. After menacing Hollywood, he beach combs Malibu.Not enough is done to make the character sympathetic, and the movie just ends abruptly as the budget ran out. A nostalgic curiosity only.

ashew Reading through some of the IMDb reviews, I was truly bewildered by the responses. It was like bullies beating up on the weakling in school...not because he necessarily needed to be beat up, but just because the bullies could. Well, I'm the principal here to tell those folks to lighten up and leave the poor kid alone! My goodness, this movie had a budget of $1.95, yet everyone is expecting "Lawrence of Arabia"? Come on.John Agar is a government scientist out in the California desert who thinks he is a few steps away from creating a revolutionary nerve gas agent that will eliminate all wars. His mentor, the mentor's secretary, his scientist buddy, and even his own college intern think it's too dangerous and want him to stop, but John has noble and lofty goals and pushes on. Well, John has an accident, spills one of the liquefied variations on his hands, and slowly turns into a hideous, mutated creature whose touch can kill...and kill he does.Maybe I was just in the mood for a fun little film like this, but I must say the acting didn't bother me, nor did the production values, the music, the directing, or the monster make-up. Yes, the screenplay is dopey, has holes in the logic, and a rather abrupt and unsatisfying ending, but this is a Z-grade film aimed at kids at a drive-in theater looking for a fun time, not stuffy film critics or pretentious film snobs.Set your expectations at a reasonable level, have fun, and enjoy a great little throw-back to a bygone age of sci-fi/horror.

usaf8th Scientist John Agar gets himself into trouble with some nerve gas in an experiment. His experiment not only turns himself into a mutant freak (which reminds me of the Thing from Marvel Comic's "Fantastic Four), but it also gives him the touch of death. Watching this movie is pretty much the touch of death itself.