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14[[quoteright:350:[[Film/TheHouseByTheCemetery https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/hand_of_death.jpg]]]]
15[[caption-width-right:350:Definitely not a friendly way to approach someone!]]
16
17A particular shot commonly used in action flicks, gangster movies, horror movies, and murder mysteries. All that is shown is AnInsert of a hand or a pair of hands, and possibly the murder weapon itself. This gives a sense of building tension without revealing the murderer's identity. [[ConspicuousGloves Sinister black gloves]] are optional.
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19Often, the character is [[TheSlowWalk walking slowly]] -- one might say... [[OminousWalk ominously]] -- with a gun in his hand, held down by his side. [[BadassLongcoat He may well be wearing a trenchcoat.]]
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21Common in slasher films. Even more common in {{Giallo}}. Compare TheseGlovesAreMadeForKillin.
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23Not to be confused with the TouchOfDeath or FingerPokeOfDoom. Or the [[Film/HandOfDeath 70s kung-fu film]].
24
25----
26!!Examples:
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28[[foldercontrol]]
29
30[[folder:Film -- Live-Action]]
31* Not only did Creator/DarioArgento use this trope a lot, he frequently [[InsertCameo donned the killer's black gloves himself for the inserts]]. In Germany, his ''Film/TheBirdWithTheCrystalPlumage'' was even [[MarketBasedTitle retitled]] ''The Secret of the Black Gloves''.
32* During Cropsy's murders in ''Film/TheBurning'', often the only part of him shown is his hands holding the [[ShearMenace gardening shears]].
33* Subverted in the opening scene of ''Film/{{Charade}}'', where a gun pointed at the heroine by a black gloved hand turns out to be a child's water pistol.
34* For most of ''Film/CircusOfFear'', the killer is only seen as a gloved hand.
35* ''Film/{{Clue}}'' is full of these. Everyone seems to wear black gloves at one point or another.
36* ''Film/TheHoundOfTheBaskervilles1983'': When the killer sneaks into the Lyons' home, the camera focuses on the gloves being drawn on to his hands, and then on the gloved hands closing around Laura's throat and strangling her before planting evidence in her hand. His face is not shown.
37* Until the closing scenes of ''Film/TheInitiation'', the killer only appears as a gloved hand holding a weapon.
38* Used in ''Film/IronMan3'': Tony leans over, trying to reach Pepper, and the villain's hand bursts up out of the floor and tears the arc reactor right out of his suit.
39* Combined with MurdererPOV to conceal the killer's identity in ''Film/KillerWorkout''.
40* The Ripper is only seen as a pair of boots and a hand holding a knife until their true identity is revealed in ''Film/KnifeForTheLadies''.
41* For much of ''Film/Madhouse1974'', the murderer is shown as a pair of hands in black leather gloves.
42* ''Film/PrivateDetective62'': Bandor is chortling about tricking Janet into thinking she shot him (her gun was loaded with blanks), when a hand extends out from the curtain with a gun, and shoots and kills him for real. It's revealed later that the hand belongs to Whitey, the cocaine addict who was acting on Hogan's orders.
43* Used in ''Film/{{Psycho}}'''s infamous shower scene. Creator/AnthonyPerkins wasn't on the set while it was filmed; he had an engagement elsewhere.
44* Gloved in proper classic black in ''Film/TheRadiolandMurders'' before some (but not all) of the titular hits. Appropriate since this was a homage to the radio era.
45* Modernized in ''Film/RedDragon'' gloved in latex. Traces of talcum powder imply the murderer removed the gloves at the crime scene. Sure enough, a partial print is found.
46* ''Film/AShotInTheDark'' does this with several botched attempts at killing Clouseau.
47* Subverted masterfully in ''Film/TheSting''. The audience knows that an assassin named "Salino" has been assigned to kill Johnny Hooker (Robert Redford). From that point on, there are numerous shots of a pair of hands in purple gloves doing various things. In the final shot they are loading a revolver. It turns out that they ''aren't'' Salino's hands at all. [[spoiler:They are the hands of the bodyguard that Henry Gondorff (Paul Newman) hired to keep an eye on Hooker. He shoots Salino.]]
48* Used in ''Film/StrangeDays'', since we see the murders through a recording of the killer's perspective.
49* Used for all the murders in the slasher parody ''Film/StudentBodies''.
50* ''Film/TheUsualSuspects'' does a fair amount of this.
51[[/folder]]
52
53[[folder:Literature]]
54* ''Literature/TheGraveyardBook'': "There was a hand in the darkness, and it held a knife."
55[[/folder]]
56
57[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
58* Frequently used in the first season of ''Series/TheBridge2011'', with many shots of the killer's gloved hands driving a car or committing acts of violence. The later seasons used it much less.
59* ''Series/TheDoctorBlakeMysteries'': In "Lucky Numbers", the kidnapper is only shown as a gloved hand until the reveal of his identity.
60* ''Series/DoctorWho'':
61** The hand of the robot operator in "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS12E3TheSontaranExperiment The Sontaran Experiment]]" is handled this way, to save his reveal for a cliffhanger.
62** "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS13E5TheBrainOfMorbius The Brain of Morbius]]" introduces Solon with a shot of his hands as they cover the sculpture he's making of Morbius's face.
63** This how the killer is depicted in the first episode of "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS19E5BlackOrchid Black Orchid]]", allowing for a dramatic reveal of his face in the second.
64** Heavily used in "[[Recap/DoctorWho20thASTheFiveDoctors The Five Doctors]]" for the person responsible for bringing everyone to the Death Zone, until their identity is revealed.
65* ''Series/FrontierCircus'': This technique is used in "Calamity Circus" to conceal the identity of the saboteur.
66* ''Series/JonathanCreek'': How the killer is portrayed in "The Clue of Savant's Thumb": first stalking Joey and later [[DeathByLookingUp toppling a statue off the roof]].
67* Used frequently in ''Series/MidsomerMurders''.
68* ''Series/MissFishersMurderMysteries'': A gloved hand is shown drawing a knife and advancing on Osman Efendi in "Death Do Us Part". A spray of blood informs the viewer of his fate.
69* A frequent occurrence in the BBC ''Literature/MissMarple'' adaptations.
70* Parodied by ''Series/PoliceSquad''. We repeatedly see the killer's shoes as he walks, and we see his gloves and business suit sleeves as he sets up the bombs. When Drebin finally confronts the bomber, it turns out to be [[spoiler:the suspect's wife, still wearing the glove, sleeve and shoes... and otherwise dressed like a housewife]].
71* ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'': In "[[Recap/StarTrekDeepSpaceNineS01E04AManAlone A Man Alone]]", the victim is relaxing in the holosuite when a black-gauntleted hand plunges a knife into his back. The investigating officer Constable Odo becomes the prime suspect for the crime, as he had a grudge against the victim. [[spoiler:However, this trope is not to conceal the fact that Odo is the killer, but that the 'victim' had cloned himself and then killed his clone to fake his death and frame Odo for it.]]
72* ''Series/{{Stranger}}'': In episode 1-7 a mysterious woman enters the ICU in an attempt to murder Ga-young via VorpalPillow. The only thing visible onscreen is the woman's high heels clicking along the floor, and then her leather-gloved hands as she puts the pillow over Ga-young's face. (The EKG alarm draws the nurse's attention and the mystery woman has to flee.)
73* Also used frequently when showing the set-up to the murder in ''Series/WhodunnitUK''.
74[[/folder]]
75
76[[folder:Theatre]]
77* In ''Theatre/TheCatAndTheCanary'', a hand twice emerges from a hidden panel, first to [[spoiler:throttle Mr. Crosby]] and then later to [[spoiler:steal the necklace from around Annabelle's throat]].
78[[/folder]]
79
80[[folder: Web Video]]
81* ''WebVideo/UnwantedHouseguest'': the hand hasn't actually killed anyone, but instead has [[CutPhoneLines cut the phone lines]] and pulled a RoadSignReversal on the Houseguest.
82[[/folder]]

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