''Demonoid'' (also known as ''Demonoid: Messenger of Death'', and ''Macabra: La mano del diablo''), is a 1981 Mexican
supernatural horror film
Supernatural horror film is a film genre that combines aspects of horror film and supernatural film. Supernatural occurrences in such films often include ghosts and demons, and many supernatural horror films have elements of religion. Common them ...
written, produced, and directed by
Alfredo Zacarías and based on a story by Zacarías. The plot centres on a group of
explorers
Exploration refers to the historical practice of discovering remote lands. It is studied by geographers and historians.
Two major eras of exploration occurred in human history: one of convergence, and one of divergence. The first, covering most ...
, who find a mysterious hand in
Mexico
Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
that causes madness and death to whoever owns it. The film, an English-language Mexican production, was released theatrically in the U.S. in June 1981 to predominantly negative reviews, however, over the years it has achieved cult movie status.
Plot
300 years ago, in a mine located in
Guanajuato, Mexico. A
satanic cult
Satanism is a group of Ideology, ideological and Philosophy, philosophical beliefs based on Satan. Contemporary religious practice of Satanism began with the founding of the atheistic Church of Satan by Anton LaVey in the United States in 19 ...
built a temple where they
sacrificed humans to the
Devil
A devil is the personification of evil as it is conceived in various cultures and religious traditions. It is seen as the objectification of a hostile and destructive force. Jeffrey Burton Russell states that the different conceptions of t ...
by cutting off the left hand of their victims. In the present day, couple Mark and Jennifer Baines explore the temple where they find a small casket containing a severed hand which they take back to their hotel room. Later that night Mark opens the casket and is attacked and possessed by the hand. Fleeing to
Las Vegas
Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...
, he wins a fortune by gambling. Hating being possessed, Mark attempts to sever his left hand but is burned to death by his possessed hand. Mark's body is shipped to
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
for burial. Jennifer arrives at Father Cunningham's church where her husband is to be buried and warns the priest that her husband might still be possessed and requests that an autopsy be performed on the body.
As they talk on the matter, Mark's severely charred corpse reanimates and bursts from his coffin and escapes. When Police Sergeant Leo Matson arrives to investigate the turn of events he is attacked by Mark who then severs his left hand by slamming it in a door, after which Mark falls dead and the hand immediately possesses Matson. Disturbed by his new left hand, Matson arrests Jennifer under false pretences and heads to a plastic surgery office. Matson forces
plastic surgeon
Plastic surgery is a surgical specialty involving the restoration, reconstruction or alteration of the human body. It can be divided into two main categories: reconstructive surgery and cosmetic surgery. Reconstructive surgery includes craniof ...
Dr. Julian Rivkin to sever the hand at gunpoint after which the hand shoots a nurse with Matson's discarded handgun, and murders Matson by brutally ripping the Sergeant's face off. The hand then possesses Rivken who severs his hand on a train track. Later, the hand finds and corners Jennifer at her motel and attempts to possess her as well but is saved by Father Cunningham and they both flee to the church. Father Cunningham leaves and is asked to administer last rites to a car accident victim who no longer has a left hand. Returning to the church and Jennifer, the two flee the hand which has also made its way to the church. There the hand cuts the power and phone lines and stalks the group, the hand manages to possess Cunningham who then attacks Jennifer with a knife. However he is eventually able to overcome the hand's influence and stabs his own hand and has Jennifer burn his hand off with a
blowtorch
A blowtorch, also referred to as a blowlamp, is an ambient air fuel-burning gas lamp used for applying flame and heat to various applications, usually metalworking.
Early blowtorches used liquid fuel, carried in a refillable reservoir attache ...
and scatter the hands ashes in the harbor. Later, Jennifer is back home, but the hand, which somehow survived, attacks and kills her.
Cast
*
Samantha Eggar
Victoria Louise Samantha Marie Elizabeth Therese Eggar (born 5 March 1939) is a retired British-American actress. After beginning her career in Shakespearean theatre she rose to fame for her performance in William Wyler's thriller '' The Collec ...
as Jennifer Baines
*
Stuart Whitman
Stuart Maxwell Whitman (February 1, 1928 – March 16, 2020) was an American actor, known for his lengthy career in film and television. Whitman was born in San Francisco and raised in New York until the age of 12, when his family relocated to ...
as Father Cunningham
*
Roy Jenson
Roy Cameron Jenson, also known and credited as Roy Jensen, (February 9, 1927 – April 24, 2007) was a Canadian American football player, stuntman, and actor.
Early years
Born in Calgary, Alberta, Jenson moved to Los Angeles with his family as ...
as Mark Baines
*
Lew Saunders as Sergeant Leo Matson
*
Narciso Busquets
Narciso Busquets Zárate (8 September 1931 – 14 December 1988) was a Mexican actor of theater, film, television, radio and voice-over. He also directed a film, ''Sin fortuna'', in 1980. He began his acting career in 1937, as a child actor, and ...
as Dr. Julian Rivkin
*
José Chávez as Pepe
Production
''Demonoid'' was directed by Mexican filmmaker
Alfredo Zacarías, who also came up with the film's story.
Principal photography
Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production.
Personnel
Besides the main film personnel, such as actor ...
began in
Mexico
Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
on October 22, 1979, with a total of four weeks spent on location in various parts of
Mexico City
Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley o ...
and
Guanajuato
Guanajuato (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Guanajuato ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Guanajuato), is one of the 32 states that make up the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 46 municipalities and its capital city i ...
. Other locations were shot in various locations in
California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
before filming officially wrapped on December 19 that same year.
Release
''Demonoid'' was released theatrically in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
in June 1981.
Home media
''Demonoid'' was released on
VHS by
Media Home Entertainment
Media Home Entertainment Inc. was a home video company headquartered in Culver City, California, originally established in 1978 by filmmaker Charles Band.
Media Home Entertainment also distributed video product under three additional labels — ...
on July 15, 1988.
It was released for the first time on
DVD
The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kind ...
by Laguna Films on September 28, 2005. It was later released on DVD and
Blu-ray
The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of sto ...
combo pack by Vinegar Syndrome on February 23, 2016.
Reception
Critical reception for ''Demoniod'' has been predominantly negative.
Leonard Maltin
Leonard Michael Maltin (born December 18, 1950) is an American film critic and film historian, as well as an author of several mainstream books on cinema, focusing on nostalgic, celebratory narratives. He is perhaps best known for his book of fil ...
gave the film 1.5 out of 4 stars, criticizing the script, direction, and special effects as "getting in the way of any suspense". Caitlin Huggins from ''HorrorNews.net'' gave the film a negative review, criticizing its plot as 'confusing and hurried', as well as its dumb and unlikable characters.
Allmovie
AllMovie (previously All Movie Guide) is an online database with information about films, television programs, and screen actors. , AllMovie.com and the AllMovie consumer brand are owned by RhythmOne.
History
AllMovie was founded by popular-cult ...
gave the film 1.5/5, calling it "inept" and summarized by stating, "Even in its best moments, however, this film can only approximate a particularly weak episode of ''
Fantasy Island
''Fantasy Island'' is an American fantasy drama television series created by Gene Levitt. It aired on ABC from 1977 to 1984. The series starred Ricardo Montalbán as the mysterious Mr. Roarke and Hervé Villechaize as his assistant, Tattoo. Gu ...
''".
TV Guide
TV Guide is an American digital media company that provides television program
Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or t ...
panned the film, awarding it 1.5 out of 5 stars, calling it "awful" and "ridiculous", and criticized the film's acting and plot. Dan Budnik from ''The Bleeding Skull'' called it "a rather tedious demon possession movie with a great title and lots of killer hands running around".
However, in reviewing the film over 40 years later, on "The Video Archives Podcast with Quentin Tarantino and Roger Avary," the two filmmakers gave the film a rave review.
See also
* ''
The Beast with Five Fingers
''The Beast with Five Fingers'' is a 1946 mystery horror film directed by Robert Florey from a screenplay by Curt Siodmak, based on a short story written by W. F. Harvey and first published in 1919 in ''The New Decameron''. The film stars Robe ...
''
* ''
The Crawling Hand
''The Crawling Hand'' is a 1963 American science fiction horror film directed by Herbert L. Strock, and starring Peter Breck, Kent Taylor, Rod Lauren, Alan Hale and Allison Hayes. It was later featured on the television shows ''Mystery Science ...
''
* ''
The Hand (1981 film)''
References
External links
*
*
*
* {{Rotten-tomatoes, demonoid, Demonoid: Messenger of Death
1981 films
1981 horror films
Mexican supernatural horror films
Body horror films
English-language Mexican films
Films set in Mexico
Films set in Los Angeles County, California
Films shot in California
Films shot in Mexico City
Films about Satanism
1980s supernatural horror films
1980s English-language films
1980s Mexican films