This year, Steve, Sarah, Hilary and I settled in to watch the Rifftrax Live version of Manos: Hands of Fate. Hilary and I had seen the original MST3K version many times and were excited to see this new take. The movie is crap. We all know this. But it's worth taking note of just how bad. It appears to be made up of completely unrelated outtakes of film with dubbed dialogue and a nonsensical aesthetic. Here's the thing though. The plot, which takes up about 10 minutes of the whole movie, is actually very dark, and even scary. Torgo wants to keep the wife as his love slave and Manos wants to keep the wife and daughter as his zombie brides. It ends on a deeply disturbing note. Of course it's hard to be effected by it since the movie is so laughably bad, but the darkness is there.
Now, the Riff. It's impossible not to compare it to the original MST3K version, so I'm going to lean in to that. I'm typically not a fan of the MST3K host segments, but in Manos they actually come in quite handy. You need a break from that movie. This is a Joel episode (though Mike Nelson is great as Torgo delivering pizzas), and I think that's for the best. Joel's nonchalant zingers play best in a movie like Manos. Overall, I'd say the original is better, but the Rifftrax version is a worthy follow-up. The conversational style of this crew helps get you through the monotony, but they also have to avoid making the same jokes as the earlier version. I think sometimes that leads them down some odd paths. There were certainly laugh out loud moments and I don't think we were bored, but if ever I have to rewatch Manos, I will reach for the MST3K version.
As is usual with Rifftrax Live events, this was preceded a by a few educational shorts. Norman was right up there with the best of them, but Cylinders was just okay.
I give it 3 Goat Legs.
Bonus! The following week Steve and I got together and watched What Lies Beneath. This has long been a favorite of mine and was actually Hilary's pick for Halloween Team 2016. Beat for beat this movie is just on it. It has some great red herrings and unexpected turns. Harrison Ford nails his only role of this kind and Michelle Pfeiffer plays the hot mess expertly. They have great chemistry too. I find the movie to be genuinely scary in all the right ways. Hats of to Clark Gregg for the great script and Robert Zemeckis for stylish direction. If you haven't seen it, check it out.
I give it 5 Braids.
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