A very slow moving and somewhat messy French version of the classic gothic story, overwhelming itself and the audience with multiple moods and themes, and not very successful in presenting any of them. I found this tough going, with English speaking actors Mel Ferrer and Chrisopher Lee sleepwalking through their French speaking roles as foes, not sure if this is supposed to be a sexual thriller or gothic melodrama, and mixing in some really embarrassingly bad laughable onstage moments, including a sexy song involving a very long feather boa that somehow attaches itself to a barely clad singer without problem.
The story deals with concert pianist Ferrer whose involvement in a plane crash smashes his much needed hands. The meat hooks of a recently deceased killer are used as replacements, and somehow they send messages to Ferrer's brain to give him the desire to kill. His wife (Lucile Saint-Simon) begins to see the difference in his personality. Lee plays an ugly blackmail prank and the melodrama gets stranger and stranger. His laugh is very creepy, basically forced and unrealistic. This worked better as a period piece, basically not very interesting in its modern day setting.
The story deals with concert pianist Ferrer whose involvement in a plane crash smashes his much needed hands. The meat hooks of a recently deceased killer are used as replacements, and somehow they send messages to Ferrer's brain to give him the desire to kill. His wife (Lucile Saint-Simon) begins to see the difference in his personality. Lee plays an ugly blackmail prank and the melodrama gets stranger and stranger. His laugh is very creepy, basically forced and unrealistic. This worked better as a period piece, basically not very interesting in its modern day setting.