Going to the bottom of the barrel for this one.
The work?[]
Manos: The Hands of Fate is a 1966 cult horror film by writer/producer/director/fertilizer salesman Harold P. Warren, who made it on a bet to see if he could make an entire film by himself (despite the film being regarded as one of the worst ever made, he technically won the bet). The film is about a family who gets lost and falls victim to a sinister cult, and was later made famous when it was riffed in a 1993 episode of Mystery Science Theater 3000, and can be viewed here.
Who is he and what has he done?[]
The Master is the leader of an undead cult that worships Manos, who is evidently a “god of primal darkness.” He has captured and enslaved numerous women, who he’s forced to become his “wives” and has no problem disposing of them if they displease him in any way. He also forces a physically disabled man named Torgo to serve him (the sequel also indicates that he had a previous servant who he killed) but treats him badly and won’t let him have any of the wives, despite Torgo being attracted to them.
As the film starts, a family (consisting of a man named Michael, his wife Margaret, their daughter Debbie, and their dog) gets lost looking for their hotel, and after an interminably long sequence of them driving around aimlessly, they come across the Master’s residence. Torgo greets them, telling them the Master would not approve of their presence as he dislikes dogs and children. When Michael asks where their hotel is, Torgo cryptically answers “There is no way out of here. It will be dark soon. There is no way out of here.” With that cleared up, Michael decides they will spend the night there, despite both Torgo and Margaret objecting.
Things go wrong fairly quickly, as the Master’s vicious hellhound chases and kills the family dog. Having noticed a sinister picture of the Master, the family gets the feeling they should leave, but their car won’t start, and Torgo informs them there is no telephone as the Master disapproves of “such devices.” They reluctantly decide to stay the night, but stumble across the room where the Master and his wives are currently asleep. Michael is knocked out by Torgo, and the Master awakes and tells his wives of the family's presence, prompting a lengthy argument over Debbie's fate, as some of the wives want her spared as she's just a child, while the Master claims she must die. The other wives are displeased with this, but the Master silences their “stupid bickering” and demands that the one responsible for the family’s presence be dealt with. He inexplicably claims that his first wife is responsible for “this nonsense” despite this being untrue, and says he’ll dispose of her later.
He then goes to confront Torgo, revealing he knows Torgo has been visiting and molesting his wives as they sleep. He tells Torgo that the wives are his alone and Torgo cannot have one, but at this Torgo decides to rebel against the Master, and says he will stop the Master from harming the family, but the Master tells him that he’s “failed” and must die. The Master appears to put Torgo under a spell, before laughing and stating that Torgo will be sacrificed. The wives place Torgo on a table and attempt to (in a contemporary reviewer’s words) “massage him to death.” However this fails, so the Master sets Torgo’s hand ablaze, laughing maniacally as the limb is burned off and Torgo runs offscreen. The Master then has his first wife tied to a pillar, viciously beating her when she defies him, before sacrificing her to Manos.
As the family tries to run to safety, Margaret falls and claims she can’t go on, so they decide to return to the hotel, thinking it will be safe there. This turns out to be a mistake, as the Master finds them. Michael fires several shots at the Master but this has no effect, as guns are evidently on the list of devices the Master does not approve of. The final scene reveals that the family has been captured and Margaret and Debbie have been enslaved as the new wives. A new family is shown arriving and are greeted by Michael, who has now become the new Torgo.
Heinous standard?[]
He’s presiding over a cult in which he routinely enslaves women and forces them to serve him, and it’s implied that he molests them as well, with it being confirmed that at least six women have suffered this fate. He also has the family’s dog killed before eventually capturing and enslaving them all, including a child (which was cited by the MST3K crew as one of the most disgusting things they had seen). He also treats Torgo and the wives horribly, withholding the wives for himself and gleefully sacrificing anyone who he decides has “failed” him. While he doesn’t kill the family as some of the wives wanted, this is only because they’re more useful to him as slaves which is likely a fate worse than death, and he clearly didn’t spare them out of kindness.
Redeeming traits?[]
He shows no redeeming traits. His worship of Manos is never portrayed as anything but fanaticism and his anger at Torgo for molesting his wives isn’t because he cares for them but because he considers them his alone. He shows no redeeming traits.
Verdict?[]
I think yes.