short takes (1)

The Hand is a movie divided against itself. The shocks are lowbrow -- a disembodied hand sneaking around and clutching people by the neck. But the screenplay is highbrow, with an affluent hero who tries to analyze his situation in lots of talky scenes. Oliver Stone, who wrote and directed the thriller, hardly resolves the situation with his leisurely, wordy style, punctuated with bursts of graphic gore and vague ly kinky sex. Total it up, and you have another loser in the overcrowded horror market.