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The Hand That Feeds the Dead – Full Moon Features (Blu-ray)

Theatrical Release Date: Italy, 1974
Director: Sergio Garrone
Writer: Sergio Garrone
Cast: Klaus Kinski, Katia Christine, Marzia Damon, Erol Tas, Carmen Silva

Release Date: February 19th, 2021
Approximate Running Time: 89 Minutes 49 Seconds
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Widescreen / 1080 Progressive / MPEG-4 AVC
Rating: NR
Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1 Italian, Dolby Digital Mono Italian
Subtitles: English (Non-Removable)
Region Coding: Region Free
Retail Price: $21.95

"Kinski plays Professor Nijinski, whose work with experimental skin grafts has been aborted by a lab fire that has left his wife Tania (Katia Christine) now hideously burned, her face a bloody mass of flayed flesh and tissue. Nijinski vows to continue his research, venturing into the village with his hypnotized henchman (Erol Tas) to kidnap and murder local young woman and remove their skin, transplanting it onto his tortured wife's ruined skull. Will Nijinski get away with his hideous crimes and bring his beloved back to her previous luscious luster? Or will the long arm of the law put an end to his tirade of murder and mad science?" - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 3.5/5

Here’s the information provided about this release's transfer, "remastered from the original 35mm negative!"

The Hand That Feeds the Dead comes on a 25 GB single layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 20.1 GB

Feature: 19.7 GB

Though the source used for this transfer is in very good shape, the result is a transfer that leaves plenty of room for improvement due to an excessive use of digital noise reduction that gives this transfer a waxy look.

Audio: 3.5/5

This release comes with two audio options, a Dolby Digital 5.1 mix in Italian and a Dolby Digital mono mix in Italian. Both audio mixes are in very good shape, dialog always comes through clearly and ambient sounds are well-represented. It should-be noted that I noticed a few minor instances where the audio sounds distorted. Included with this release are non-removable English subtitles.

Extras:

Extras for this release are limited to trailers Barb Wire Dolls, Blue Rita, Love Letters of a Portuguese Nun, Sexy Sisters, Voodoo Passion and Women in Cellblock 9.

Summary:

Shot back to back with Lover of The Monster, The Hand That Feeds the Dead not only features most of the same cast, locations/sets and crew. Both films was written and directed by Sergio Garrone who’s other notable films include Django the Bastard, SS Experiment Love Camp and SS Camp: Women’s Hell.

Though The Hand That Feeds the Dead’s premise has many similarities to Georges Franju’s Eyes Without a Face. The result is best described as Eyes Without a Face distilled through the lens of Italian genre cinema.

That said, there's a simplicity to the narrative works in The Hand That Feeds the Dead’s favor. And nowhere is this clearer, than how the narrative quickly establishes Professor Nijinski’s motivations. From there the narrative than is able to focus on Nijinski’s fiendish experiments.

Also, to keep things interesting there’s a subplot that introduces a character whose sister gets kidnapped by Professor Nijinsk. Trying to find proof of Professor Nijinski’s diabolical deeds is not an easy feat since the local law enforcement walks lightly around the accusations because he comes from one of the most respected families in the community. And though the narrative throws out a few twists along the way, the biggest surprise saved for it’s climax.

When it comes to special effects this is one area where The Hand That Feeds the Dead excels the most. The special effects was created by Carlo Rambaldi whose diverse filmography includes The Frightened Woman, Lizard in a Woman’s Skin, Deep Red, Alien, Possession and E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial. The skin grafting scenes are effective and gory. With the bulk of the blood/gore in The Hand That Feeds the Dead occurring in these skin grafting sequences.

It is not the amount of screen time that ultimately defines a performance, it is what you do with said screen time, and once again Klaus Kinski delivers another superb performance that in lesser hands would have been forgettable. In fact the single reason The Hand That Feeds the Dead works as well as it does is because of Klaus Kinski’s performance. That said, though the rest of the cast tend to get overshadowed by Klaus Kinski. Another performance of note is Katia Christine in the dual role of Masha/Tanja Nijinski.

Though The Hand That Feeds the Dead has many elements that have become synonymous with Italian Gothic cinema. The result is a film that’s closer to other Italian Gothic horror films like Web of The Spider and Death Smiles on a Murderer, then it is to its black and white counterparts from the 1960’s.

The Hand That Feeds the Dead makes its way to Blu-ray via a serviceable release that leaves room for improvement.