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Biography

Manos: The Hands of Fate is a 1966 American independent horror film written, directed, and produced by Harold P. Warren, who also starred in the film. The film's plot revolves primarily around a vacationing family who lose their way on a road trip. After a long drive in the Texas desert, the family find themselves trapped at a lodge maintained by a polygynous pagan cult led by a man known only as The Master, and they attempt to escape as the cult's members decide what to do with them. Warren was an insurance and fertilizer salesman from El Paso, Texas, who produced the film as the result of a bet with screenwriter Stirling Silliphant. He also starred in it, alongside El Paso theater actors Tom Neyman and John Reynolds. Manos was made by a crew with little or no background or experience in filmmaking and a very limited budget at its disposal. Upon its theatrical debut, the film was poorly received, playing only at the Capri Theater in El Paso and some drive-ins around West Texas and New Mexico. Manos remained obscure until 1993, when the television series Mystery Science Theater 3000 (MST3K), a show based on the premise of comedically mocking B movies, featured the film in an episode, helping it develop a cult reputation as one of the worst films ever made.[3] The film is notable for its technical deficiencies, especially its editing and continuity flaws; poorly-synchronized soundtrack and visuals; tedious pacing; abysmal acting; and several scenes that are seemingly inexplicable or disconnected from the overall plot, such as a couple making out in a car and The Master's wives breaking into catfights.[4] Its MST3K appearance resulted in several DVD releases of the original film and three separate DVDs featuring the MST3K episode of the film.[5] The original 16 mm workprint was discovered in California in 2011, from which a new copy of the film, of vastly superior visual quality, was released on Blu-ray by Synapse Films on October 13, 2015.[6][7][8] The film was followed by a prequel, Manos: The Rise of Torgo, and a sequel, Manos Returns, both of which were released in 2018