The Banana Splits Horror Movie Coming to SYFY

Be careful what you wish for, because you may just get it.

Almost three years ago, in my review of The Pit, I jokingly mentioned that I would watch a horror movie of The Banana Splits, since a character in that film calls the creatures "tra-la-logs", reminding me of the Tra-La-La theme song from the kids TV show. It's the same song that can be heard at the beginning and middle of the trailer.

Reptilicus Day

Reptilicus for the Rest of Us!

 

Happy Reptilicus Day!

If you haven't heard of this holiday it's because I just made it up, much like Frank Costanza made up Festivus on an episode of Seinfeld.

The idea came to me when I grew bored of the endless string of bloated, boring, blockbuster movies that have saturated theaters in recent years. I wanted something that celebrates the joy of watching a cheesy, B-movie no matter how bad it may be.

A New Holiday is Born

Reptilicus Day is a celebration of all B-movies, not just for its namesake.

Reptilicus Trailer

The Pit (aka Teddy) movie review

I watched The Pit for the first time many years ago after purchasing a used VHS copy from a video store when those two things were still the norm. Back then, DVDs were just starting to take over as the favoured format to watch a movie and video stores would often sell used VHS copies in their inventory to make room on their shelves. Out with the old, in with the new.

As I was browsing through the selections that were for sale, one in particular, caught my attention. The art on the cover is what attracted me to it. It's a different version than the official movie poster but it still grabbed me.

The original poster depicts a young boy with a bowl style haircut, clutching a teddy bear with glowing eyes and he's kneeling in front of a large pit. A pair of hands are shown belonging to someone apparently trying desperately to claw their way out from whatever horror awaits them at the bottom. We get a hint with the image of a creature's hand hauling down the potential victim and three sets of glowing, ominous eyes. Fittingly, it was titled The Pit but it was also known as Teddy. The latter was obviously in reference to the teddy bear but could also be a nod to the sheer teddy that the babysitter immodestly wears in view of a curious boy.

The cover alone was enough to make me buy it. It is said to never judge a book by its cover but I never paid attention to that when it came to VHS box art. Some of the best horror movies I've ever watched were the ones I rented solely based on the cover art. When I say best, I mean that in the obscure, low-budget, so-bad-it's-good b-movie sense.

If the art wasn't enough, reading the synopsis on the back of the cover would seal the deal and convince me that I had to have this horror movie.

Barry J. Gillis Talks About THINGS and Other Things

The following is an interview I conducted via email with Barry J. Gillis, who was generous enough to answer some of my questions about THINGS and other things. If you're unaware, Barry was the co-writer - along with director Andrew Jordan - and star of the 1989 Canadian horror movie THINGS. It was a low budget, independent, horror exploitation film that was transferred and released straight-to-video. Despite having a reputation as a very bad movie, it has gained a cult following among the horrorphiles and B-movie fanatics.
 
The interview focuses heavily on THINGS but Barry does talk a bit about some movies he himself has directed.
 
Here then is that interview. I hope you find it interesting.

Barry J. Gillis

In a nutshell, what is THINGS about?
 
Barry J Gillis: THINGS at its heart is about a man and woman who cannot have children, and the man has his wife undergo an experiment by Dr. Lucas... Lucas artificially impregnates his wife... We don't actually see this taking place, however, we do see other sick experiments that Dr. Lucas conducts in his dungeon...
 
What do you attribute to the cult popularity of THINGS and are you surprised by its notoriety?
 
BJG: I attribute a tonne of factors to THINGS having a cult following... The number one thing that I attribute is a universal energy of the universe... I believe that anybody can set out to make a movie that they hope will be a cult film, however, for it to actual happen is a million to one... The stars in the sky have to be aligned a certain way, and everything has to somehow fall in place by some crazy, and/or lucky spin of the wheel... We always hoped that THINGS would become a cult movie, but we were surprised... When the internet first came out, people started e-mailing and asking about the movie, and some people were requesting interviews... We also heard that it was on the Internet Movie Database. Whatever that was, lol... Over time we started to realize that THINGS had some real stamina. Mel Lieberman was the first person to release THINGS, and we are forever grateful that his company, Lettuce Entertain You Inc. under the Triworld/Interamerican label released the movie... I will tell you this... making THINGS was not an easy task... We were learning as we went, and shooting on film is not as easy as shooting digitally these days... Anyway, to answer your question, for whatever reason, THINGS has stamina, and we are still surprised by all of the acclaim good, and bad that the movie gets... It will be released in Japan soon on DVD...

Instruments of Evil (review)

Instruments of Evil movie poster

Instruments of Evil (IoE) is a low-budget, horror/comedy, anthology movie shot in Saskatchewan without the aid of that province's film tax credit, which was cancelled in 2012.

In other words, don't expect great special effects or elaborate, detailed sets. The cast and crew had to make do with limited resources.

However, that does not mean that Instruments of Evil is without charm.

I've always said that a movie can be bad but it should never be boring. Bad movies can still be entertaining and IoE passes that test mainly on the strength of its humour, music, and amusing characters. The budget may have been limited but the humour was not.

The plot revolves around a viking warrior known as the Dark Viking (Huw Evans) who must track down and destroy some musical demons that were created by the god Loki. Who the hell needs The Avengers when you have the Dark Viking with a forkin' sweet sword? Sorry Thor, but your hammer just won't cut it.

Here's how the movie is officially described:

Created in the ancient mists of time by the Viking god Loki, four musical demons have left carnage and horror in their wake as they’ve travelled through the centuries, using the vibrations of music as a conduit across time and space. Now, as the harmonic horrors attempt to reunite and bring about the end of the world, can a cop, a hooker, and a warrior from the past defeat these evil spirits before the music stops ... forever

The hub of IoE takes place in a small police station, where Sgt. Savage (Rich Belhumeur) and his  constables are busy taking inventory of their evidence items, some of which are possessed by evil, unbeknownst to them. As they sort through each item, one of them recounts the grisly tale in which it was involved. Three of them involve musical instruments and are featured in its own story.

Did "Rubber" Rip Off "The Killer Hula Hoop"?

In 1985, Weird Paul created a homemade horror movie called The Killer Hula Hoop which he himself described as the worst horror movie of all time.

In 2010, a horror movie about a killer rubber tire was released with many viewers claiming it to be one of the worst horror movies of all time.  You can see the similarities between the two movies, can't you?

Could it be possible that Quentin Dupieux's Rubber was actually inspired by The Killer Hula Hoop? Watch the trailer and decide for yourselves.

Teenagers Battle The Thing

Teenagers Battle The Thing (TBTT) was an obscure, low-budget, monster movie released in 1959. It was also used for an extended version under the title Curse of Bigfoot in 1978. The plot of the film involves five high school students and their teacher who are enlisted by an archeologist/museum curator and travel to the small town of Ivanpah to help him excavate the ruins of an ancient Indian camp site. While doing so, part of the group stumbles across an ancient mummy's burial site. Thrilled with their discovery, they decide to bring it back with them. It turns out however, that they're in for more than they bargained for.

One of the teenagers in the film was Jan Swihart who played Sharon, the blonde girlfriend of Johnny (Bob Clymire). Nowadays she is known as Jan Hart and is a talented artist living in Costa Rica.

When I found a copy of this film on Internet Archive, I noticed a comment by Jan from January 14, 2014 stating that she was Sharon in the movie. She also included her website address. With information on this film being scarce and wanting to know more about it, I decided to contact Jan through her website and ask for an interview. To my delight, she agreed.

What follows is my correspondence with Jan via email over a 2-3 week period, approximately. She was nice enough to answer many of my questions and filled in a lot of missing info a well as correcting some of the misinformation listed on IMDb.

ThanksKilling

ThanksKilling

If you like your movies with tongue-in-beak humour, then ThanksKilling is the one for you. If you are not a fan of intentionally-bad movies or ones that are self-aware, you might want to skip this dinner.

The star of this movie is a fowl-mouthed, homicidal, hand puppet turkey with a penchant for bad puns that rival Arnold Schwarzenegger's lines as Mr. Freeze in Batman & Robin. That should give you some indication of where to set the bar for your expectations.

Despite the fact that Turkie (voiced by writer/director Jordan Downey) is made of rubber, it gives one of the better performances in the movie when you compare it to the wooden acting of the two actresses/non actresses playing the college girls, Ali and Kristen. The guys do a slightly better job with one of them overdoing it as Ryan Francis overacts the hell out of his character, Darren the nerd.

What makes this movie really worth the watch is the interaction between Turkie and Sheriff Roud, who is played by Chuck Lamb aka Dead Body Guy. One scene that takes place in the kitchen of the sheriff's house will have you laughing at the ridiculousness of the situation as Sheriff Roud is fooled by Turkie's cheap disguise. The banter between Turkie and the sheriff is priceless. Lamb steals the movie in my opinion. This scenario is repeated when Turkie "borrows" the sheriff's face-mask and unconvincingly impersonates him yet fools Kristen and her friends into believing he's Sheriff Roud. It's so preposterous, I couldn't help but laugh.

This movie was made with an extremely low budget ($3,500) and it shows. Don't expect any great special effects, elaborate sets or even adequate lighting or makeup. I don't even think any of the actors got paid. Despite its minuscule budget, it does manage to succeed in some areas and was able to make me laugh several times. For what its worth, I enjoyed it for the most part.

So if you're looking for something different to watch during the Thanksgiving holiday, skip your umpteeth viewing of Planes, Trains and Automobiles and have yourself a nice big helping of Turkie in ThanksKilling. Watch it on Hulu or popcornflix.com

Night of the Living Dead

Night of the Living Dead poster

Night of the Living Dead is one of my favourite movies of all time. I can't recall how old I was the first time I watched it but I do know it was on TV. I loved it instantly. Since then I have made it an annual Halloween tradition to watch it during the holiday. I hope some of you who've never seen it and stumble onto this page will take this opportunity as your inaugural viewing. I'm always happy when I can introduce a classic horror film to a new audience.

This is the film that is pretty much the Bible of zombie movies and set the standard for all imitators to follow. Since then, others have added their own twist to zombie lore such as running zombies which has become a controversial topic amongst zombie fans. You're either a fan of slow zombies or fast zombies. There's usually no middle ground. In NOTLD there are only slow, shambling zombies. The closest we get to a fast zombie is when the first one that appears (Bill Hinzman) in the film chases Barbra (Judith O'Dea) through a cemetery. He doesn't so much run as he does a swift but awkward, stiff-limbed stumble.

I almost forgot to tell you that the word "zombie" is never mentioned in NOTLD. The living dead in this movie are referred to as "ghouls". Also, the zombies in this movie do not have a preference for brains. They're perfectly content with gnawing on a juicy thigh or meaty arm. That was something that originated in Return of The Living Dead, which while not considered a sequel, does make indirect reference to the events of NOTLD but is more of a parody.

One of the things about NOTLD that impresses me the most is how authentic the TV and radio news reports look and sound. Unlike many other movies which feature news reports, the actors in this movie act like real life news reporters actually would and sound credible. Too many times in other films, the actors as newsreaders are trying too hard and sound like they're acting. Nobody buys it. When you hear the news reports in NOTLD, you get the sense that the horrific events unfolding are real and the audience is more easily able to suspend disbelief. It probably helps that one of the reporters in the movie is "Chilly Billy".

Bill "Chilly Billy" Cardille is a broadcaster from Pittsburgh who also hosted a late night horror TV show called Chiller Theater from 1963 to 1983.

So if you're looking for something spooky or creepy to watch for Halloween, make some popcorn, turn off all the lights and let George Romero's Night of The Living Dead feast on your fears.

They're coming to get you!

Happy Halloween!

Teenage Werewolf

I Was A Teenage Werewolf movie poster

Before MTV's Teen Wolf series, there was the 1985 movie by the same name it was loosely based on. It starred someone named Michael J. Fox. You might have heard of him. He's kind of a big deal. That was not however, the fist time an actor played a teen werewolf and then went on to do bigger and better things. That distinction belongs coincidentally to another actor by the name of Michael, in this case, Landon.

Michael Landon, who is probably best known for his role as "Charles Ingalls" on the TV series Little House on the Prairie, once was a teenage werewolf in what else but the aptly-named I Was A Teenage Werewolf. Landon played the role of Ingalls for eight seasons. He was also "Little Joe" on Bonanza for 14 seasons and "Jonathan Smith" on Highway To Heaven for five.

You may roll your eyes at the thought of these movies but young actors have to start somewhere and it's always interesting to see them before they were stars.

Even special makeup effects artist Rick Baker enjoyed Landon's performance and the werewolf makeup.

Trailers From Hell with Rick Baker

Phantasm 5 is Alive!

Phantasm V: Ravager poster

After years of rumours of another Phantasm sequel happening, many fans, including myself, had lost hope when nothing materialized.

Surprise! Phantasm V is alive! Not only alive but completed.

Phantasm: Ravager, the new sequel to the cult horror franchise was shot in secrecy, apparently, as there was no word of it even being in production.

Plot details have not been revealed but it seems that Angus Scrimm and Reggie Bannister are back as the Tall Man and Reggie, the ice cream vendor. Oh, let's not forget about the killer, silver spheres! Those are obviously back too.

I'm really glad that Scrimm is back. He's not a young man anymore. Hell, he wasn't even a young man in the original 1979 film. He's like Abe Vigoda, who you'd swear was born old. If Vigoda were a few inches taller he might have been in the running for the role of the creepy undertaker.

I'm really looking forward to seeing this and hope that the long period between movies does not hurt it in any way.

I wonder if Reggie will have his four-barrelled, sawed-off shotgun?

Get your first look at the teaser for  Phantasm: Ravager

Psycho Pike Sighting!

behind-the-scenes fish food

Psycho Pike has been spotted!

OK, this clip could already be seen on the Where is Psycho Pike?? Facebook group but somebody was nice enough to post it on YouTube along with three other clips from the film. You may recall that I previously wrote about the long-lost Canadian b-movie.

I'm not giving up on the fight to get this obscure film a proper DVD release so the fact that there are others out there who know about it is a good sign.

Still, we need more people getting the word out. Let's find that fish!

Won't You B-Movie My Valentine?

www.jarhumor.com

Leave it to a killer clown from outer space to know just what to say on such a romantic day.

This is just one of several virtual and printable valentines from JARHUMOR that you can send to that special victim person in your life. Other B-movie inspired cards to choose from include Critters, Friday the 13th, Invasion of the Saucermen and Sharknado. So as they say, "show them you scare".

If you've never seen any of those movies I would urge you to do so because it's time well wasted. Killer Klowns From Outer Space is my personal favourite of the bunch because clowns are creepy enough as it is but when they're seven feet tall and from another world, the creep factor is multiplied. Kreepy Klowns! The old-school makeup and effects from the Chiodo Brothers are superb. The title song rocks and is very catchy. It also stars the great Canadian actor, John Vernon, who is probably best-known as Dean Wormer in Animal House.

Apparently there is a sequel planned which will be called The Return of the Killer Klowns from Outer Space in 3D.

JARHUMOUR is the creation of James A. Roberson (you see what he did there?) whom I've interviewed for this blog and is very creative. I suggest reading it to get the whole story.

MANCLAM, The Shell From Hell!

MANCLAM movie poster by Huw Evans (purchase here)

If you enjoy a good pun or even a bad one for that matter, then you might enjoy this "lost" movie. From writer, producer and director Huw Evans, comes MANCLAM, The Shell From Hell!

According to the official Man Clam website, the 1962 monster movie was presumed lost until a damaged copy was discovered from an old theater. Salvaged footage was cut together to produce this trailer.

Verdict: MANCLAM is filled with delicious puns that will have you roaring with laughter or reeling in horror. I am part of the former. It's also a great spoof of old black & white movies that had almost all of their characters smoking cigarettes. I can think of worse ways to spend five minutes.

Note: Evans makes an appearance as the doctor

Treevenge (2008 short film)

"Ever thought about how bad it would suck to be a tree during the Christmas season? This wildly bloody and ingeniously insane short from HOBO WITH A SHOTGUN filmmakers Jason Eisener and Rob Cotterill shines light on the forgotten victims of the holidays. Prepare to have your Yuletides yacked!"

-Mitch Davis

AWARDS:

-Honorable Mention (for Shorts) @ Sundance Film Festival
-2008 International Watch List
-Audience Award for Best Short Film @ New York City Horror Film Fest
-Best Local Film @ The Coast Magazine (Halifax)
-Audience Award for Best Short Film @ Toronto After Dark Festival
-Audience Award for Best Short Film @ Fantasia Film Festival (Montreal, QC)
-Best Editing @ Atlantic Film Festival (Halifax, NS)
-Best Short Film @ Fantastic Fest Online (Austin, TX)
-Audience Award for Best Short Film @ San Francisco Independent Film Festival
-Rue Morgue Magazine - Best Short Film
-Boston Underground Film Festival - Best of the Fest Short Film
-A Night of Horror Film Fest - Best SPFX (Sydney, Oz)
-RINCON Film Fest - Best Fright Night Film (Puerto Rico)

http://jasoneisener.tumblr.com/

Treevenge gif courtesy of  www.treevenge.com

Treevenge is a dish best served cold, preferably on a snowy Christmas morning. At least, that's what the trees in this short film seem to think.

From Hobo With a Shotgun director, Jason Eisner, comes this yuletide tale of an x-mas tree killing spree.  Apparently they don't take too kindly to being chopped down every holiday season and ultimately ending up in a wood chipper. With a major woodchip on their shoulders, the trees look to put an end to this tree torture by launching a surprise attack on the humans that ends in a bloody massacre. Warning: Even babies aren't safe from the carnage.

You might want to consider getting an artificial tree after watching this.

Fans of the Trailer Park Boys will recognize Jonathan Torrens & Sarah Dunsworth who play a married couple with two children.

Verdict: This horror/comedy is just treemendous fun without the tree sap that usually drips from holiday movies.

This movie is part of my Ho Ho Horror! Advent Calendar movie list. To see the whole list, click on the link.

Help Thirteen Year Old Emily Make A Horror Movie

Now that Zombie Girl has entered adulthood, it's time for a new young female filmmaker to carry the torch, or in this case, perhaps a cleaver is more fitting.

Thirteen year old Emily DiPrimio is attempting to shoot a slasher movie called Carver. She needs a little help so she launched a Kickstarter campaign. There are lots of cool rewards so check them out to see if any interest you. If the production values of the campaign video are any indication, it looks like it will, at the very least, be visually appealing.

"Curse of Bigfoot" (abridged with commentary)

His curse was that he had a fried egg for an eye

Here's a video I took the liberty of putting together using an interview from Talk to the Hand: The MANOS Talk Show. It's several clips of the movie Curse of Bigfoot cut together to illustrate what host Keith McCaffety and guest Jackey Raye Neyman are talking about. Jackey was an extra in the film as one of the classroom students. This was her second time being in a horrible movie. The first was the now infamous Manos: The Hands of Fate. This might be the closest we get to a commentary track from someone who was actually part of the film.

How bad is Curse of Bigfoot? Take a gander at that image. It looks like a Teddy bear that was dragged through the mud, punched in the left eye and hit in the right eye with a fried egg. Use that as a gauge.

It should be noted that this movie started out as a completely different film known as Teenagers Battle the Thing in 1958. In 1976, a director decided to use it along with newly-shot scenes and re-titled it, Curse of Bigfoot. Thus, it has the distinction of having been filmed both before and after Manos: The Hands of Fate.

Thank you, Keith and Jackey, for giving us a great interview!

Save Psycho Pike!

Paddle vs. Pike (from Cottage Life magazine)

If you've never heard of the movie Psycho Pike, you can hardly be blamed. That's because the film has been lost for twenty years. How's that for obscure? Were it not for the excellent Canuxploitation, I would never have known about this "Canadian cottage cult classic" as its director once described it.

The film was shot in Wiarton, Ontario, Canada in 1992 with Sky Lake portraying the fictional Lake Shippagew. Wiarton is most famous for hosting the annual Wiarton Willie Festival, celebrating Groundhog Day, similar to Punxsutawney Phil. For reasons not entirely clear, the movie disappeared from public view almost without a trace. The only evidence of its existence seemed to be an old article in Cottage Life magazine on the making of the movie which is spelled as Psychopike. After that, it was the one that got away.

Psycho Pike is about a group of cottagers that are terrorized by a vicious fish which has gone mad as a result of toxic waste being dumped in the local lake.

While I'll admit that the plot sounds like a cliché, run-of-the-mill mutant monster movie, the film's mysterious history has aroused my curiosity. Yes, it's a low-budget horror flick. Yes, we've seen killer fish before, namely Jaws and Piranha. However, being denied the opportunity of seeing this film is similar to being told you can't have something. Even if it's something you don't desire, once someone tells you that you can't have it, you want it all the more. Not that no one would desire Psycho Pike but you get my point, don't you? What I mean to say is, I would have loved the opportunity to see it and judge for myself. If it's no better than a B-movie, so be it. Who doesn't love a campy B-movie, anyway?

All is not lost though, even though I said it was. Remember when I said the movie disappeared without a trace? That's not entirely true.

It is possible to watch Psycho Pike by way of a screener copy if you're resourceful enough. Even though any kind of copy would be better than nothing, what I'm more interested in is an official DVD release of the film. Aren't you? If you answered yes, quit talking to yourself and read on.

The Running Tunnel

Film Junk Presents...'The Running Tunnel' from Jay Cheel on Vimeo.

'The Running Tunnel' tells the tale of a sad group of friends whose lack luster Halloween party forces them to entertain themselves by retelling the tale of the running tunnel. Little did they know, IT WOULD CHANGE THEM FOREVER. Visit www.filmjunk.com for more videos.

The Running Tunnel

The Culprits
Jay Cheel...director
Reed Farrington...Gerry
Greg Gaspari... Greg
Sean Dwyer...Danny Richmond
Roman Pizzacalla...Roman
Matt Riamondo...Matt
Angela Klassen...Party Girl #1

Gerry: The Star Trek fan

What happens when a group of friends has some time to kill and one of them happens to be a movie director? They make a silly short video, of course!


Director Jay Cheel and a few of his friends decided that shooting a short, spooky story would make a great Halloween treat to the regular listeners of the Film Junk podcast which Cheel, Sean Dwyer and Greg Gaspari co-host.

Matt: The Giggler

The Running Tunnel is an homage to movies like The Ring where something evil happens to someone seven days after a particular experience. In The Ring, it was watching a videotape. In this case, a person is cursed when running through a short tunnel whereupon the victim is visited by a ghoulish harbinger after seven days, who delivers him to his or her fate.

Roman: The Runner

This is an enjoyable little Halloween video and not meant to be taken seriously. Heck, even some of the bloopers are left in. For that reason, it's hard to beat these guys up for their efforts since none of them are pros with the exception of Cheel and this was intended simply to be a "weekend" project.

Cheel's talents as a director are evident, even here. The choices for lighting, camera angles and closeups all look great. Reed Farrington (aka Gerry) who is a familiar face in several of Cheel's projects, once again makes an appearance here and doesn't disappoint with his quirky nature and Shatner-like delivery.

Greg: The Starship fan

Greg turns out to be the best actor of the bunch showing he's perfectly willing to commit to his role and character. His singing along to a Starship song when we don't actually hear the band, is priceless.

I'm not sure what became of Angela Klassen, who's listed in the opening and closing credits as Party Girl #1. Whether her scenes were cut from the movie or even shot at all, there's no sign of any girl in this video, which is a shame because the party is a real sausage fest! You'd think this was John Carpenter's The Thing.

Sean: The Mask

Also note that Roman Pizzacalla's last name is misspelled in the closing credits and Sean Dwyer is credited as playing Danny Richmond even though his character's name is never mentioned. Inside joke, I guess.


Happy Halloween!

Manos: The Hands of Fate

1966 newspaper ad for Manos: The Hands of Fate

Considered to be among the worst movies ever made, Manos was a film reportedly made by its writer, producer, director and star, Harrold P. Warren, because of a bet. The bet in question involved Warren (an insurance and later on, fertilizer salesman) stating that making a horror movie wasn't that hard and claiming he could make one all on his own. He placed a bet with screenwriter Stirling Silliphant. You can see the end result below and judge for yourself.

I'm not going to lie. This movie will test your patience even if you are a dedicated B movie fan. That's because in addition to the amateur production, acting, and editing, the sound is terrible and the film clarity is very dark.

Another obvious bad movie trademark is evidenced by the opening scene, which shows a couple driving along a highway for what seems like an eternity, presumably where opening credits were supposed to be inserted or an effort on the filmmaker's part to pad the movie's running time.

Despite all this, the story is not that bad. It would have been interesting to see what a bigger budget would have done for it, provided the money went towards a professional production crew and actors. As it was, Warren could not afford to pay any of his actors, who agreed to take a share of the film's profits in lieu of a wage. Well, you know what they say. You get what you pay for.

The plot revolves around a young couple on a vacation with their daughter and the family dog. On a road trip, driving around Texas, the family searches for "Valley Lodge" but become lost. Eventually they come upon a house and stop for directions. They are greeted by a strange man who calls himself Torgo and appears to be part satyr. Torgo mentions that he takes care of the place while The Master is away. As for directions to Valley Lodge, he states that there is no way out, yet the family can't stay at the house since The Master wouldn't approve. It's like some alternate Hotel California. After some persuading, the family is allowed to stay. Later, we find out that The Master is the leader of a polygamous pagan cult and intends to make Margaret his latest of many wives, while sacrificing Michael and Debbie. The family spends the rest of the time trying to escape.  

Feature Presentation: Manos: The Hands of Fate 



Read the rest of the review and see the trailer