"Manos." "The Hands of Fate?" "Yes."
The buzz is true: this is a classic MST3K episode, mostly owing to the fact that the movie Joel, Crow, and Servo are riffing this time is so dull and ill-constructed that, if it weren't for the humorous commentary, would have bored me to sleep. Hell, the movie was directed by a fertilizer salesman, if that tells you anything.
Although I'm not so fond of the live segments on the show, I enjoyed the opening inventions, specifically Dr. Forrester and Frank's "chocolate bunny guillotine" ("His only crime was being born DELICIOUS!" Crow wails). Later, both of the Mads apologize for sending the train wreck which is "Manos: The Hands of Fate".
The show also opens with the second part of a short film, "Hired!", a '50s-era training film for new Chevrolet employees - although when a company movie takes the time to show an old dude swatting at invisible flies and putting a rag on his head, you know there's something wrong.
Meanwhile, "Manos" is rife with amateur cinematography, dubbed voices, and repetitive music. The opening scenes are full of drive-by countryside shots, and we're also treated to a scene of a young couple making out in a car - a scene which has absolutely no relevance to the plot at all.
A family arrives at an old mansion run by the Frank Zappa lookalike Master and his crooked-legged servant Torgo (the latter of whom is accompanied by a goofy piece of music). From there, your typical horror hijinks ensue: the family's daughter goes missing, the doors get locked, a dog gets killed, and one door leads to the Master's hellish headquarters. Oh, yeah, and the Master's wives get into a pointlessly silly wrestling match.
Despite the fact that this "film" is a cure for insomnia, there are lots of jokes to be heard from our pals at MST3K. It's currently coupled with "Santa Claus Conquers the Martians" on the "MST3K: The Essentials" DVD set.
The buzz is true: this is a classic MST3K episode, mostly owing to the fact that the movie Joel, Crow, and Servo are riffing this time is so dull and ill-constructed that, if it weren't for the humorous commentary, would have bored me to sleep. Hell, the movie was directed by a fertilizer salesman, if that tells you anything.
Although I'm not so fond of the live segments on the show, I enjoyed the opening inventions, specifically Dr. Forrester and Frank's "chocolate bunny guillotine" ("His only crime was being born DELICIOUS!" Crow wails). Later, both of the Mads apologize for sending the train wreck which is "Manos: The Hands of Fate".
The show also opens with the second part of a short film, "Hired!", a '50s-era training film for new Chevrolet employees - although when a company movie takes the time to show an old dude swatting at invisible flies and putting a rag on his head, you know there's something wrong.
Meanwhile, "Manos" is rife with amateur cinematography, dubbed voices, and repetitive music. The opening scenes are full of drive-by countryside shots, and we're also treated to a scene of a young couple making out in a car - a scene which has absolutely no relevance to the plot at all.
A family arrives at an old mansion run by the Frank Zappa lookalike Master and his crooked-legged servant Torgo (the latter of whom is accompanied by a goofy piece of music). From there, your typical horror hijinks ensue: the family's daughter goes missing, the doors get locked, a dog gets killed, and one door leads to the Master's hellish headquarters. Oh, yeah, and the Master's wives get into a pointlessly silly wrestling match.
Despite the fact that this "film" is a cure for insomnia, there are lots of jokes to be heard from our pals at MST3K. It's currently coupled with "Santa Claus Conquers the Martians" on the "MST3K: The Essentials" DVD set.
