Ask any film nerd with a penchant for B-movie tomfoolery about the worst movie they’ve ever seen and, chances are, they’ll fire back with “Manos: The Hands of Fate”. Written and directed by Harold P. Warren, the film follows a group of individuals who stumble across a group of devil-worshipping lunatics lead by a guy called The Master and his faithful sidekick, Togor. Shot for $19,000 in just under two months, it’s easy to see why the film is hated by so many people. It rarely makes sense, and when it does, you’re still left with tons of unanswered questions.
That being said, the film has its fans, and I am one of them. Director Quentin Tarantino says “Manos” is his favorite comedy, and actually owns one of the few 35mm prints thought to be in existence. The folks over at FreakZoneGames are apparently fans of the movie, as well. In fact, so devoted are they to this cinematic misfire that they’ve crafted their own 8-bit retro platformer, which is currently scheduled to arrive on iOS on July 26. If their endeavor is well-received, the designers intend to port the game to Android and Xbox Live, as well.
Here’s a synopsis for the flick, courtesy of IMDb:
A family driving through a small town gets lost and winds up at a backwoods shack managed by Torgo, who takes care of it while The Master is away. The Master worships Manos, an evil deity, and he also wears a neat cape. When Torgo lets the family stay, The Master awakens and does mean stuff like burning off Torgo’s hand and sicking his dog on the family pet. Meanwhile, The Master’s wives wrestle for his favor.
Now that you’re up to speed with what the movie is supposed to be about, you can enjoy the description of the game, which comes from the FreakZoneGames YouTube channel:
The Hands of Fate is an homage to the great games you remember from your childhood! Remember how every film and cartoon had it’s own platform game adaptation? When every man, woman, child, animal and inanimate object were out to get your character? When the streets were filled with bats, ghosts and Frankenstein monsters? MANOS will take you back to the fantastically absurd games of the past!
Lost on their vacation, Mike and his family have wandered the desert trying to find a place to stay, only to wind up in the haunted Valley Lodge. Maintained by Torgo, an unusual man/satyr who “takes care of the place while The Master is away”, the hotel is swimming with paranormal activity which Mike has to brave through to find his now missing family. Who is The Master, and what does he want with Mike’s family? Armed with his trusty revolver, Mike will have to wander the haunted halls, venture out into the desert, uncover a dark temple and battle the forces of darkness to find out!
When you’re ready to see the game in action, take a peek at the video embedded below. For those of you out there with roughly 70 minutes to waste on a poorly-constructed motion picture, the entire audio/visual experience known as “Manos: The Hands of Fate” has been included, as well. Unless you’re a diehard fan of cheap, low rent motion pictures crafted during the mid-60’s, I’d probably skip this one entirely.
