The Hand That Feeds the Dead Blu Ray Review (Full Moon Features)
The Hand That Feeds the Dead (aKa La mano che nutre la morte, Ölümün Nefesi, and Bread of Death) is a 1974 gothic horror film written and directed by Sergio Garrone (Lover of the Monster, SS Experiment Love Camp, SS Camp 5: Women’s Hell, Django the Bastard, and Kill Django… Kill First). It has additional direction from Yilmaz Duru (Men Don’t Cry, Kara dogan, and Ince Cumali). It was produced by Amedeo Mellone (Night of the Sharks, Desert Raiders, King of Kong Island, Lover of the Monster, and A… For Assassin). It was filmed at the same time as Lover of the Monster which features the same cast and crew.
Professor Nijinski (played by: Klaus Kinski from Nosferatu the Vampyre, Vampire in Venice, Crawlspace, Creature, Venom, Schizoid, Count Dracula, and Lover of the Monster) whose work with experimental skin grafts has been aborted by a lab fire that has left his wife Tania (played by: Katia Christine from Spirits of the Dead, Halleluja for Django, Lover of the Monster, Riot in a Women’s Prison, and Five Women for the Killer) 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 (played by: Erol Tas from Lover of the Monster, Blood Money, The Little Cowboy, and The Deathless Devil) 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????
The Hand That Feeds the Dead starts off really slow and it does take awhile to get somewhere but it’s definitely worth the wait. Patience gets rewarded with this slow burn horror. Klaus Kinski is great as always here and he’s the highlight for this one. This is actually one of his more chill performances which is rare for him. He doesn’t go too over the top here. This has some excellent eye candy and the ladies are not shy in this one. The production design and special fx are very low budget here but it kinda adds to the charm of this feature so it works. There’s a few familiar faces in the supporting vast that includes Katia Christine, Erol Tas, Marzia Damon (Lover of the Monster), Carmen Silva (The House of Exorcism), and Ayhan Isik (Lover of the Monster). This is a very fun and entertaining mad scientist movie once everything starts to pick up. Horror fans get enough gore and sleaze to satisfy their fix.
Let’s talk about the high definition presentation and special features from Full Moon Features! This 1080p (1.85:1) transfer is a big improvement compared to all those low quality VHS, DVD, and bootleg home video releases over the years. This forgotten 70’s European horror flick has had some disappointing restorations in the past and this is the best it’s ever looked in it’s cinematic history. It has a few different audio options which includes Italian Dolby Digital 2.0 and 5.1 tracks with English subtitles. These are also a big upgrade compared to past releases. All of the dialogue is clean, all the action is elevated, and the music has a nice boost to it. The only extras it has is a few “Euro-Cult Trailers” which includes Barbed Wire Dolls, Blue Rita, Love Letters To A Portuguese Nun, Sexy Sisters, Voodoo Passion, and Women In Cell Block 9. This release is fully uncut and all region. It’s available everywhere right now, CHECK IT OUT!!!!
