‘The Beast Hand’ (2024) Blu-ray Review: A Better Character Study Than Horror Film

Body horror films come in different forms and tend to hit differently than others in the genre. The Cronenberg family has perfected it, so it’s refreshing to see others tackle it through their own lens. The Substance (2024) flipped the genre on its head, with Coralie Fargeat having her own unique and modern take. Then there’s the Japanese take with greats like Shinya Tsukamoto’s Tetsuo: The Iron Man (1989). Filmmaker Taichiro Natsume (Love Shark) delivers his own take on the genre with The Beast Hand (2024). Cleopatra Entertainment has brought the Japanese-language film to standard edition DVD and Blu-ray.

Osamu (Takahiro Fukuya), an ex-con barely getting by as a day laborer, lives in a crumbling shack. His struggle is shattered when Akira (Yota Kawase), a fugitive on the run from his parole officer, ropes him into one last job, and a scheme to find his ex, Koyuki (Misa Wada). Osamu reluctantly kidnaps her, an act that reignites their shared past.

When the plan goes disastrously wrong, Osamu loses his arm in a violent clash with a sword-wielding gangster. Koyuki takes him to a secretive surgeon, played by Taichiro Natsume, who replaces the arm with one made using regenerative medicine. But the new limb has a sinister mind of its own, turning Osamu into a raging monster.

The thing about The Beast Hand is that it’s more of a melodrama than it is a horror film. It’s a bit of a weird transition when it goes from drama to horror, but what works is the relationship between the two lead characters. You start to root for them until it devolves into a grindhouse scene, and the blood begins to spill.

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It’s a gory film, though not as gory as expected. Not all the effects work, but there are a couple of gnarly bits that splatter fans will enjoy. There are depictions of sexual violence that I found to be tough to sit through. That aside, the film offers an interesting take on the genre, for better or worse.

Aside from the misleading artwork, Cleopatra’s release is solid. The HD transfer is unrated and looks great. There’s a Dolby Digital 5.1 Japanese audio track, two alternate promo clips, a slideshow trailer, and a handful of trailers of other films released by Cleopatra.

For all its faults, The Beast Hand is an interesting film that works better as a character study than a horror film. However, it still delivers a deadly punch that may leave you pondering it long after it’s over.

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