The Beast Hand – Cleopatra Entertainment (Blu-ray)

Theatrical Release Date: Japan, 2024
Director: Taichiro Natsume
Cast: Misa Wada, Takahiro Fukuya, Yota Kawase

Release Date: May 13th, 2025
Approximate Running Time: 77 Minutes 36 seconds
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Widescreen / 1080 Progressive / MPEG-4 AVC
Rating: NR
Sound: LPCM Stereo Japanese
Subtitles: English (Non-Removable)
Region Coding: Region Free
Retail Price: $24.95

"Osamu - a Japanese day laborer - is forced into a lifestyle of crime. Unfortunately, when he crosses the wrong gangsters, they punish him by Sword, amputating his left hand in the process. Osamu's ex-girlfriend Koyuki takes him to an underground Doctor deep in the dark bowels of the city to attempt a transplant. But the new hand has a mind of its own, much to the dismay of the gangsters responsible - as Osamu pursues his revenge." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 4.25/5

The Beast Hand comes on a 25 GB single layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 17.9 GB

Feature: 15 GB

The material used for this transfer is in excellent shape. Flesh tones and colors look correct, image clarity and black levels are strong, and compression is very good.

Audio: 4.5/5

This release comes with one audio option, a LPCM stereo mix in Japanese with non-removable English subtitles. The audio sounds excellent; dialog comes through clearly, and everything sounds balanced and robust when it should. 

Extras:

Extras for this release include alternate Japanese promotional clips take 1 (41 seconds, LPCM stereo Japanese, no subtitles), alternate Japanese promotional clips take 2 (49 seconds, LPCM stereo with text in Japanese, no subtitles), a slideshow with music from the film playing in the background, a trailer (1 minute 10 seconds, LPCM stereo Japanese with non-removable English subtitles), and seven unrelated trailers for films also released by Cleopatra Entertainment.

Summary:

A man committing a robbery has his hand chopped off by criminals he and his accomplice were stealing from. From there, doctors attach a mutant-like appendage where his hand once was. Unfortunately for him, his new appendage has a mind of its own, which makes him aggressive, and he seeks those who chopped his hand off.

Though billed as a horror film, The Beast Hand is actually a melodrama, a crime film, and a horror film rolled into one. The mutant arm and the way in which it allows the protagonists to rip through flesh are elements firmly rooted in horror. The melodrama stems from the protagonist and the woman he becomes involved with, both desiring a better life, yet trouble seems to find them wherever they go. And the crime elements come from the nefarious characters that populate this story that unfolds.

There is not much in the way of plot, just enough to move things forward. Though a few characters have a history, there is a lack of backstory to flesh it out. Many will find the opening setup before the hand is cut off tough to watch; there are a series of moments where a kidnapped woman is assaulted by the man forced to lead the protagonist into a life of crime. That said, things become increasingly cartoonish once the mutant appends it and becomes attached, leading to the carnage that follows as a result.

Though The Beast Hand is clearly a film that's working with limited resources, it does an impressive job maximizing them, especially when it comes to gory special effects. That said, these moments of carnage are extremely gory. Despite its relatively short running time of 78 minutes, there are numerous instances where the narrative drags, causing it to feel much longer than it actually is. Ultimately, The Beast Hand is all about its gory set pieces and nothing more.

The Beast Hand  gets a strong audio/video presentation from Cleopatra Entertainment.

Written by Michael Den Boer