Manos: The Hands of Fate (1966) - this movie is so bad it hurts

A teenage couple, a boy (Bernie Rosenblum) and girl (Joyce Molleur), are driving through the countryside in a convertible before the story shifts. Elsewhere, Michael (Harold P. Warren), his wife Margaret (Diane Mahree), their daughter Debbie (Jackey Neyman), and their dog Peppy travel near El Paso, Texas, searching for the Valley Lodge. After being stopped and released by local police officers (William Bryan Jennings and George Cavender), they continue into the desert until they reach a remote house where the strange caretaker Torgo (John Reynolds) serves the mysterious Master. When asked for directions, he denies knowing the Valley Lodge. Ignoring warnings, Michael insists they stay the night.

Inside, they notice unsettling details, including a painting of the Master with a dog resembling Debbie’s pet. When Peppy runs outside, Michael searches and finds the dog dead, burying him before returning. Torgo reveals an obsession with Margaret and hints the Master intends to make her one of his wives. When the car fails and no phone is available, the family is forced to remain.

During the night, Debbie wanders off and returns holding a leash resembling the dog from the painting, leading Michael and Margaret to a clearing where the Master (Tom Neyman) and his robed wives (Stephanie Nielson, Sherry Proctor, Robin Redd, Pat Coburn, Bettie Burns, and Pat Sullivan) lie around a fire. Realizing the danger, they flee, but Torgo knocks Michael unconscious. The Master awakens and declares Michael will be sacrificed to the deity Manos, while Margaret will become his bride and Debbie will be kept among them.

The wives argue over Debbie’s fate, descending into a violent struggle. The Master returns, halts the chaos. Michael escapes, regroups with Margaret and Debbie, and they flee into the desert. Meanwhile, the Master hypnotizes Torgo and orders the wives to kill him. After an attack, Torgo collapses but later rises again. The Master severs and burns Torgo’s hand, driving him into the darkness, while he sacrifices one of his wives.

Exhausted, the family attempts escape but is driven back toward the house. Michael fires at a rattlesnake, but the sound fails to bring help. Returning, they find the Master waiting. Michael shoots at him, but it has no effect. Later, two travelers arrive seeking shelter. Michael, now entranced, greets them as caretaker, while Margaret has become one of the Master’s wives and Debbie remains among them, as the cycle begins again.

A 1966 American independent folk horror film (aka "The Lodge of Sins" and "Fingers of Fate") written, produced & directed by Harold P. Warren, cinematography by Robert Guidry, starring Tom Neyman, John Reynolds, Diane Mahree, Harold P. Warren, Jackey Neyman, Stephanie Nielson, Sherry Proctor, Robin Redd, Pat Coburn, Bettie Burns, Pat Sullivan, Bernie Rosenblum, Joyce Molleur, William Bryan Jennings, Jared Jensen, and Lelaine Hansard. Released by Emerson Film Enterprises.

The family's car is a 1966 Ford Galaxie 500 convertible.

Cast and crew recall that John Reynolds was on LSD during filming. It explains his confused behavior and incessant twitching in virtually all of his scenes. Reynolds committed suicide by shooting himself in the head with a shotgun a month before the film's premiere. Reynolds was just 25 and this was his only film appearance.

Writer/director/producer/actor Harold P. Warren was an insurance salesman (later a fertilizer salesman) from El Paso. Warren was active in the theater scene in El Paso, Texas, and once appeared as a walk-on for the TV series "Route 66", where he met screenwriter Stirling Silliphant (later an award-winning screenwriter). While chatting with Silliphant in a local coffee shop, Warren claimed bet Silliphant that he could make an entire film on his own on an extremely small budget. After placing the bet, Warren began the first outline of his script on a napkin, right inside the coffee shop.

Warren did only two takes of each shot. If things didn't go well, he reassured the novice cast that the magic of Hollywood would fix any errors in post-production.

The entire film was shot with a hand-held camera that could only record 32 seconds of film at a time. It was also shot without sound. All the lines were dubbed later by three men - Warren, Jennings and Neyman (John Reynolds was part of the trip to Dallas for the dubbing but it is unclear if he did his own voice) and a professional Dallas voice-over actress.

Filming mainly took place on the ranch of Colbert Coldwell, a lawyer who shared an office floor with Harold P. Warren, and who later became a judge in El Paso County.

Like a train wreck, or a natural disaster, you'd never understand the full level of horror unless you witness it for yourself, The editing is what you would expect from a child learning the wonders of tape and markers. Actors were mostly cast from local community theater and a modeling school. Enjoyably bad. Recommended for connoisseurs of bad films.

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