We begin in a birthing room. 6 girls are being born on the 6th day of the 6th month. This is very bad. There is talk of a prophecy and Satan and how one will emerge. Upon first glance, it also seems like we are watching something set in the 19th century, but that is not the case. The setting is New Bethlehem, a small and conservative religious community that shuns the modern world because it is evil.
Flash forward nearly 18 years. The girls, close friends, are about to turn 18. This greatly concerns the leader of the town, Elder Beacon (Colm Meaney). He believes the strongest girl will become the devils hand and work alongside Satan. One of the girls, Mary (Alycia Debnam Carey), is having episodes and appears most likely to be the one Beacon fears. However, her kindly father Jacob (Rufus Sewell) doesnt believe any of this devils hand talk. He believes Beacon uses it to rule by fear and control the town.
Before long, a figure in a dark hood is killing off the girls. This results in the local sheriff visiting New Bethlehem, which doesnt make Beacon happy. The movie completely fails to address the tension that is probably a daily reality when you have a community like New Bethlehem living, as the sheriff puts it, right in the middle of my county.
With a running time of about 80 minutes sans credits, it feels like a lot was left on the cutting room floor. Theres the sheriffs investigation, which is an afterthought, and also a subplot involving a local teens fondness for Mary. It pops up randomly but receives very little screen time. Also receiving little screen time is Jennifer Carpenter, who plays Marys disapproving stepmother. Carpenter seems totally uncomfortable in religious garb and more or less sleepwalks in her few scenes.
Its not surprising that the director of The Devils Hand is Christian E. Christiansen, who is also responsible for The Roommate. This is one of those watered down, generic, uninspired efforts aimed at undiscerning teenagers. The blood and carnage is implied and off screen. Theres a lot of melodrama and boo scares. It also looks like a cheap TV show. Any episode of Sleepy Hollow features far better effects and production values.
The hooded killer aspect has elements of a slasher flick, and its presence is awkward here. Its also hard to care about whether or not it is Beacon killing the girls or if something supernatural is at work in New Bethlehem. Theres really no sense of mystery present, or much of an effort to generate suspense. This is a lazy, dull mess, something that might have sounded promising on paper, but, over time, dissolved into befuddled nonsense.
