| The Hand of Night | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical poster; | |
| Directed by | Frederic Goode |
| Written by | Bruce Stewart |
| Produced by | Harry Field |
| Starring | |
| Cinematography | William Jordan |
| Edited by | John Blair (supervising) |
| Music by | John Shakespeare |
Production company | |
Release date |
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| Country | UK |
| Language | English |
The Hand of Night (also known as Beast of Morocco [1] ) is a 1968 British horror film directed by Frederic Goode and starring William Sylvester, Diane Clare and Aliza Gur. [2] [3] It was written by Bruce Stewart.
Paul Carver is an Englishman who has recently lost his wife and children in a car accident. Waking from a nightmare, we find Carver on a plane traveling to Morocco, where he attempts to meet with a doctor, only to discover that the doctor has died. In despair, Carver ends up at the home of a German archaeologist, Otto Gunther, whom he met on the plane. It is here, in the midst of a party, that Carver first encounters the two women who will determine his destiny: Gunther's assistant, Chantal, and the mysterious Marissa. Grieving the loss of his loved ones and crippled by survivor's guilt, Carver must choose between life, represented by Chantal, and death, represented by Marissa. [4] [5]
The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote: "The pink mist that billows from the eye socket of a skull throughout the opening credits augurs both the pretensions and the weaknesses of this rather dull exercise in the macabre. Despite some sterling decomposition work by the make-up department, the film relies heavily on old Hammer production tricks without contributing any original variations of its own; and the story is not helped by the portentous rhetoric of lines like "I too have lived in the shadows". William Sylvester leads the group of sweat-streaked humans battling indomitably against the unknown – in this case a species of lily-livered vampirism that would make Dracula turn in his shallow grave." [6]
The Radio Times Guide to Films gave the film 1/5 stars, writing: "Awkwardly combining the Dracula myth with middle-eastern mummy motifs, but bringing nothing of its own to the terror table except exotic locations, this tedious sub-Hammer horror filler is further eroded by bland performances." [7]