Framed to Perfection XXXV

MANOS: THE HANDS OF FATE (1966)

Director: Harold P Warren

Cinematographer: Robert Guidry

I swear, if Manos: The Hands of Fate had been produced half a century earlier as a silent film in black & white, then it’d still be studied in film schools to this day as one of the greatest motion pictures of all-time. Sadly, however, it was made in the 1960s, when sleeker production values, even for low-budget efforts, and more complex themes, had become the norm.

It’s a strangely cosy horror film, probably due to its soft jazz soundtrack, warm locations and visual palette, gentle pace, and the fact that nothing scary happens at all. There’s also a campy vibe to the whole thing, which aids my enjoyment immensely. From the father character’s lovely cardigan and fey handling of a pistol, to the diva quality of the mother’s fits of despair. Not to mention the bitching wives of The Master and their childish catfights.

The star of the whole affair, in terms of actor as well as character, is John Reynolds AKA Torgo.

Reynolds’ performance was very much dictated by his real-life use of illicit drugs, which adds a tragic quality to what you see. You are witnessing a man literally losing his mind onscreen. If this turned out to be footage from the deplorable MKUltra human experimentations, in which the American government did more damage to its own citizens in the name of anti-Communism that actual Communists could or would even want to do, then I wouldn’t be surprised one bit.

Torgo’s unfair treatment at the hands of entitled yuppy-dad Michael makes Torgo even more sympathetic. Torgo is allowing the family to stay at The Master’s compound out of pure generosity. Money does not change hands and no contracts are signed, so quite why Michael believes he has the right to bully Torgo around like a slave is horrible. I guess some people are just arseholes like that.

I’ve met one or two.

Released only a few years before the Manson Family murders, Manos: The Hands of Fate, about a cult leader coercing his followers into committing violent crimes, is tragically prophetic. What small audience Manos had at the time must have thought its plot ludicrous. How unprepared they were for what was to come over the following 60 years! The twist ending is also delightfully dark, which would certainly sit well in a modern horror film.

Certain notoriously “bad” horror movies are so unintentionally-surreal, due to the filmmakers’ apparent-incompetence, that they come back round to being genuinely terrifying. Robot Monster and Troll 2 are cases in point. These are not movies I would watch if my mental state was a little on the weak side.

Oh and “manos” can mean both “hand” and “power” in Latin, so “Power: The Hands of Fate, actually makes perfect sense.

Do stay in touch, darlings.

Toodles!