Manos: The Hands of Fate (1966) Movie Review
Manos: The Hands of Fate (1966) Movie Review
Manos: the Hands of Fate, made back in 1966, isn’t considered one of the worst movies ever made for no reason. I always find it fascinating to watch movies everybody seems to hate (I’ve willingly watched Howard the Duck, Little Nicky, and Batman & Robin). As of a few hours ago, if you had asked me what the worst movie I’d ever seen was, I would say confidently, Hell Comes to Frogtown. But now I’m not sure. Is Manos worse? From a technical standpoint, yes, definitely. Personally I hate Frogtown, and I wouldn’t necessarily say I hate Manos, but it is very, very poorly made. If you’ve never heard of this film before, you might be wondering, what’s so awful about it? Is it really that bad? I’ll tell you why this movie is so critically despised: it’s terrible for several different reasons. The editing is ridiculously bad, even for 1966. The second half of the movie is painstakingly boring. The dialogue is choppy, awkward, and redundant. All of the acting is either loudly overdramatic or uncomfortably stiff. They use the exact same shots, lines, and sound effects more than once. There is almost zero creativity apparent in the film. I could go on, but I won’t. Naming all the reasons why Manos is bad would be pointing out basically everything in it.
Look, I know making a movie can be difficult. Even making a five-minute film with only two cast members can take hours. But if you’re gonna take the time and money to make a movie, you should probably make sure it has a genre (seriously, this movie barely even has a genre – it’s like a gross mixture of horror, comedy, experimental, and adventure), and also make sure there aren’t just random scenes that add literally nothing to the story or effect. This movie gives off the vibe that nobody involved cares at all. I understand that the budget was only $19,000 (about $123,500 in today’s money), but still. It doesn’t cost any money at all to put effort into acting or writing. That being said, it’s very possible to enjoy at least the first half of Manos, partly because of its sheer weirdness and mostly because it is preposterously low-quality. It’s the definition of a B-movie. So if you enjoy the spectacle of extraordinarily subpar art, then maybe you’ll find Manos fun to watch.
There isn’t much to say about this film that hasn’t already been said. It comes up in every single conversation about the worst movies ever. Its fame and cult following, I would believe, are mostly due to Mystery Science Theater 3000 critiquing it. The thing is, there are probably SO many more movies out there that are easily as bad as Manos, but they just haven’t been discovered by a wide audience. This hilariously bad film has had either the blessing or the misfortune, whichever way you see it, of being known by so many people as one of the finest examples of what not to do when it comes to making a movie. As a grade, I’m gonna give Manos: The Hands of Fate a D-. I’m not giving it an F because you can’t help but be in utter awe of it. I’ve never seen anything quite like it. Maybe someday I will, but for now, it stands alone.
