Fated for Scoffing: 'MST3K Presents Manos: The Hands of Fate -- By S.Parker
Mystery Science Theater 3000 made its name making fun of bad movies—from ‘50s sci-fi flicks to the ‘80s experiments in mullet-haired fantasy. But few of the B-rated movies the cast of MST3K lambasted comes close to the dreadful incompetence of “Manos”: The Hands of Fate.
For those not in the know, Mystery Science Theater 3000 (MST3K) was originally a Minnesotan public-access show on KTMA-TV when it premiered in 1988. It was immediately picked up by the then-fledgling Comedy Channel for its first two seasons before the channel became the still-fledgling Comedy Central in 1991. After five additional seasons as a cult hit for the network, it was eventually canceled, only to be picked up by the Sci-Fi Channel for three more seasons between 1997 through 1999. Despite a somewhat successful underground film (1996’s Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Movie), the show was finally dropped, much to the dismay of a decades’ worth diehard fans. Since then, those fans have clamored for its return, but after a decade of being off the air, the chances seem slim.
Thankfully, Shout! Factory, the self-proclaimed home for the “best music, movies, and video for the discerning Pop Culture Geek”, has taken on re-distribution of the DVD versions of MST3K’s copious catalogue from previous distributor Rhino. Its latest release is among the favorites of MST3K’s fans: Officially MST3K Episode 424, “Manos”: The Hands of Fate.
This Special Edition contains the original episode of the show—the premise of which is that in an undisclosed future (presumably 3000 C.E.), a mad scientist (Dr. Forrester [Trace Beaulieu]) and his lackey (TV’s Frank [Frank Conniff]) inflict “experiments” on a hapless human (Joel Robinson [Joel Hodgson]) and his robot sidekicks (Tom Servo [voiced by Kevin Murphy] and Crow T. Robot [voiced by Trace Beaulieu]) by forcing them to watch terrible movies and observe their reactions. The show comprises its usual format of an opening exchange between those imprisoned on the “Satellite of Love” (SoL) and the “Mads,” stationed in “Deep Thirteen,” a screening of a “short,” usually culled from thousands of semi-instructional public-domain educational and corporate films from the past (in this case the second part of Hired!—a car-salesman instructional video), and ultimately a viewing of the entirety of the day’s “experiment”: 1966’s “Manos”: The Hands of Fate.
In usual fashion, the unequivocally terrible movie is viewed from its extendedly drawn-out and unsubtle start (basically five minutes of a man’s hands operating a steering wheel) to its inexplicable conclusion, with three short breaks in-between in which Joel and his robot pals make fun of the film’s ineptitudes, including its poor cinematography and acting, repetitive dialogue (almost every line in Manos is repeated, probably to extend it running time), and silly characters and interactions. Manos, in a nutshell, tells the story of a family (Father [and director/producer/writer] Hal Warren, Mother [Diane Mahree], young daughter [Jacki Jones], and their poodle) who unwittingly drive to the headquarters of some sort of cult, which worships a being called “Manos,” keeps a harem of “brides” chained in the basement, is ordered about by a semi-divine, mustached “Master” (Tom Neyman), and watched over by a Pan-like creep called Torgo (John Reynolds).
More Under Part 2 (Released as its own DVD on 11 September 2011).Read full review
