The Hand(1981)
1981 · Oliver Stone · 104 min
Jon Lansdale is a comic book artist who loses his right hand in a car accident. The hand was not found at the scene of the accident, but it soon returns by itself to follow Jon around, and murder those who anger him.
Horror · Thriller
5.8176 votes
TMDB score
3/5
Intensity
2/5
Gore
2/5
Stays with you
How scary is The Hand?
The Hand spends most of its time inside one man's crumbling mind rather than chasing cheap scares, building unease through his growing anger, jealousy, and sense of losing control. It plays more like a slow psychological unraveling than a monster movie, with the killer hand often left ambiguous — is it really moving on its own, or is this all in his head? There are a handful of nasty, sudden bursts of violence, but they're spaced out rather than constant. It's a strange, moody, slightly campy watch for people who like older, weirder horror-thrillers more than modern jump-scare rides.
On The Horror Database's 0–5 scare profile, The Hand rates psychological 4/5, visceral 3/5, gore 2/5, lingering effect 2/5, and overall intensity 3/5.
- Psychological: 4 of 5
- Visceral: 3 of 5
- Gore: 2 of 5
- Lingering: 2 of 5
- Intensity: 3 of 5
Slow burn vs Jump scares: 25 of 100 — leans Slow burn
Supernatural vs Real-world: 40 of 100 — leans Supernatural
Fun-scary vs Disturbing: 45 of 100 — balanced
Intensity over runtime
Shape only — no eventsReveal pacing shapeHide pacing shapeHidden by default — shows where the tension peaks and lets up.
A slow, moody character study that only occasionally simmers before tightening into a tense, unsettling finish.
Intensity across the runtime, 0 to 100: 1, 1, 2, 1, 1, 2, 2, 3, 2, 3, 4, 5.
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