elicopperman Back in the mid 1960s, a Texas fertilizer and insurance salesman named Harold P. Warren made a bet with screenwriter Stirling Silliphant (writer of In the Heat of the Night) that anyone can make a horror movie. Soon afterwards, Warren created his own horror movie on a budget of $19,000, with random people cast to play the characters, and a 16mm camera that could not record sound, causing the film to be dubbed in post. The result was Manos: The Hands of Fate (literally translated to Hands: The Hands of Fate), which despite going largely unnoticed for many years due to only playing in drive-ins and one Texas theater, it soon developed a cult following after MST3K lampooned it and turned it into a famously bad film. Me personally, I wish this film would remain obscure, for it's not even so bad it's funny, it's just pathetic.The film revolves around a vacationing family who end up getting trapped at a lodge run by a pagan cult, and they try to flee them as the cult's members decide what to do to them. Now this plot may seem really basic on paper, but with the right amount of pacing and momentum, this film could elevate its thin narrative into something with lots of substance....that is not what happened. Really, the whole movie could be cut down into 10 minutes, not only because of several insignificant scenes, but also because it drags certain moments on for no reason. There are many times when characters just stand around doing nothing even after they're done talking, and it becomes very awkward and even frustrating to watch. In addition, a whole mini plot with a couple making out in a car feels like it belongs in a completely different movie. Even an out of place catfight breaks lose with the cult master's wives, showing off pure incompetent storytelling as far as the eyes can see.Now I'm well aware that Warren could only use nobodies to play the characters, but ho'boy does nobody look like they have any idea what they're doing. Warren plays the main character Mike, and it looks like he's trying to figure out what to do on set rather than giving a performance. Same can be said about the rest, especially Mike's wife Margaret, the daughter, and the infamous Torgo. Speaking of Torgo, he's probably the most interesting character in the film from his design alone, mainly because his actor John Reynolds was high when he played the character, making his scenes hysterical but also questionable. The only other actor who seems to be having some resemblance of fun is the one playing the cult master, but he feels like a hammy cartoon villain with all the wackiness sucked out. Also, it is painfully obvious that the movie was dubbed in post, down to the young daughter clearly being voiced by a grown woman, but they had to work with what they were given, so I'm sure they tried in that aspect.Lastly, in spite of the shoe string budget, there's way too many infamous technical deficiencies to behold. Probably the biggest sin is the editing and continuity flaws, showcasing the never ending scenes and confusing side narratives that have nothing to do with anything. There's even a moment where you can clearly see the clapperboard right when the film cuts to the makeout couple. In terms of story errors, Torgo is supposed to be a satyr, so John Reynolds wore metallic rigging, but he accidentally wore it backwards which made him look more like a man with oversized knees. Also, it is never once mentioned in the film that Torgo is a satyr, so anyone watching this film will forever see him as some weird deformity. Not to mention, the soundtrack is poorly synchronized, and they even repeat the same tracks and voice recordings multiple times just to pad things out. Lastly, the whole opening showing the family driving feels like it was meant to have opening credits that were never added in, proving that the best solution would have been to trim the scene down, like the rest of the movie.Overall, Manos is a painfully incompetent and abysmal watch that can only be admired by Mystery Science Theater and RiffTrax fans for its disastrous technical failures and horrendous writing and acting. It's true what they say, nobody ever sets out to make a bad movie, and I admittedly do respect Harold P. Warren for actually making this film out of a bet, no matter how incomplete it is. Besides, plenty of filmmakers have proven to make their own successful horror movies on shoe string budgets, such as George Romero with The Living Dead series, John Carpenter with Halloween, Peter Jackson with Bad Taste, Sam Raimi with The Evil Dead, and more. However, given that those people have talent and experience in film-making, Manos is an example of why films need to be made by people who actually have some background in the techniques of crafting films, not fertilizer salesmen who make bets with Hollywood writers with a rich profile. Unless you're a cynic who adores riffing on the worst of the worst, I think Manos is better off left deep in the heart of Texas where nobody will ever seen it again.

SnoopyStyle Michael, his wife Margaret, their daughter Debbie, and their dog Peppy are on a road trip vacation. They take a wrong turn onto a dirt road and get lost in a maze of dead end paths. They find an isolated home and its caretaker Torgo. They decide to stay. Torgo keeps mentioning The Master. Peppy disappears and Debbie finds The Master's dog. The Master and his bickering wives awaken.This is horrible filmmaking. Filmmaker Harold P. Warren is also the star playing Michael. He's not an actual filmmaker but rather a fertilizer salesman. Supposedly, he made this on a bet. Warren is impossibly incompetent in his filmmaking. The list is too long. The acting is bad but it's made infinitely worst with terrible voice dubbing. It's something one has to see to believe. All of it is horrible. The worst and possibly the best is John Reynolds who plays Torgo. Again seeing is believing although he is also rumored to be constantly on acid. The whole thing is a mess but some of it is so unbelievably bad that it's actually funny. The catfighting wives is so stupid that I cannot stop shaking my head in disbelief and I hope they kept that handy cape. After its disastrous release, it quickly fell into anonymity until Mystery Science Theater 3000 did a show on it. This is one for the record books.

rivanis I can't agree more with other reviews, just to add I understood "Plan 9 From Outer Space" to be the worst movie ever made but Manos makes it look like an Academy award winner.I'm sorry but I couldn't even make it to the end. What a waste of film! Why was it even made? Even mst3k couldn't help it.

ohmap-977-664810 I must say that I have seen many stupid movies in my life, but Manos the Hands of Fate is by FAR the worst movie I have ever seen. I once thought Invasion of the Neptune Men was the worst, but no...this is IT! About halfway thru the movie most normal people would break out in a cold sweat and laugh uncontrollable at the stupidity they are witnessing. I also give Troll 2 a notable tip of the hat for being downright stupid (but it was so stupid it was somewhat entertaining). However, if you really want the bottom of the barrel, look no further than this movie. This has to be the crown jewels of bad movies! Good luck!