Manos: The Hand of Fate....A Movie Review

Good morning, good afternoon, good evening, whenever it is you happen to be reading this.  I am back once again on my quest to see the Bottom 100 movies on IMDB (English speaking).  This time I'm checking out the 1966 flick Manos: The Hands of Fate .  "A family gets lost on the road and stumbles upon a hidden, underground, devil-worshiping cult led by the fearsome Master and his servant Torgo." As of 5/5/16 this flick has a 1.9 on IMDB.  It stars Tom Neyman, John Reynolds and Diane Adelson.  I usually try to stay away from older flicks because it is hard to judge them on todays standards but my question drives me and this will put me 1/5 of the way through these flicks! Enough of the prelims lets get onto the main event.  Here are my thoughts as I watched Manos: The Hands of Fate:

• Wait...this is the start of the flick?  I assume youtube cut off the start
• What is with Row Row Your Boat showing up in these bottom 100 movies?  This flick, Troll 2.  Never put this in flick
• Oh there we go, there is the title
• Well that was random scene with the cop.  Wonder if the tail light thing will do something later on
• I'm only five minutes in and I'm confused as to what is going on.  Now a random necking scene with random people

• I found this while looking at the trivia on IMDB:  The film was popularized by a 1993 episode of Mystery Science Theater 3000 (1988), in which Joel and the Bots, Tom Servo and Crow T. Robot, go mad while suffering through the film's endless boredom. The creators of the show called this the worst film that had been featured.
• This cop gets around...what is wrong with that girl who was necking.  Was she wasted?
• Yeah I don't think I'd go ask that guy for anything, directions or otherwise.  I sure wouldn't take my wife and little girl up with me!
• IMDB says that Torgo was high the entire filming which might make sense why he is twitching like a maniac.
• Wait, they are randomly going to stay with this twitching fool with a staff with a hand on top?  Yeah that makes sense

• Really weird filming in this.  Lots of random reaction shots that make no sense
• This dude really likes hands
• That painting is awesome!

• Wait, you don't want to run into them in the light yet you're randomly staying at his house?!
• Thankfully he has a flashlight and a gun like all travelers in the 60's!
• Bye Bye doggie
• What was the purpose of that scene?  Randomly showing him walk into the desert with the dead dog?
• Well these scene is making me uncomfortable!

• I didn't understand a word that kid just said
• How did the dog get chained up again?
• Yeah Torgo puts the creep factor up to a ten!
• GOOD GOD HE IS PEEPING IN ON HERE!  And the look on his face...

• This is bad and weird...and not in good ways thus far!
• Oh the random neckers are back, I was wondering what happened to them..and the cop stops them again?!
• I do kind of want a Master robe however...

• And immediately after waking the wives they are loud and arguing!
• Was this scene repeated twice with different takes of the wives arguing?
• CAT FIGHT!
• This jazz soundtrack is awful
• Even the dog looks bored being in this movie
• Is Torgo dying or going into a drug induced coma?
• So she makes out with him then slaps him around?  Usually I have to pay extra for that!
• I thought Torgo was dead
• Oh now is going to be killed...then what was that thing in the corner?
• He still isn't dead?  The ceremony was done, wasn't it to kill him?!?
• Is that the Monkey's Paw he is holding?
• Good grief they fall down a lot
• Why put in several out of focus shots?
• Now I know where the Birdemic filmmaker got his ideas.  So much driving in both flicks!
• THE NECKERS ARE BACK!  Necking in the rain with the top down...

That was 70 minutes of my life I won't get back.  I will give it a 2/10 because the Torgo and Master characters were so over the top!  That is the only reason.  I honestly have no idea what I just watched. One of the worst shot films I've ever seen.  There were seriously several shots at the end that were out of focus!  

There were several shots of just the actors making weird faces...or I think they were suppose to be reaction shots but they were just weird and random faces.  On top of that you could tell some if not all of the flick was dubbed as sound was off and the voices just didn't seem to always fit.

The story was decent enough.  Family runs into random "Manos" worshipers but beyond that very little of it made sense.  Were they sent there on purpose and if they were why was Torgo so against it at first?  Because of the child?  I am probably putting more thought into the flick then the writer and director did.

I can't say much for the acting, it was the 60's after all.  Go back and watch some of the old Dragnet TV show and other things from the era.  It was just different.

However from storytelling and visually it was bad.  I haven't seen the Rifftrax or the MST3K versions of this but I might have to hunt them down.  

Up next on my trip to the bottom is the 2004 classic Superbabies: Baby Geniuses 2.  May Manos have mercy on my soul!