Falls City Fright
FALLS CITY -- Rupert Talbot Munch Sr., the director of "Manos: The Search for Valley Lodge," said his obsession with the "Manos" story started in the mid-1990s.

Director Rupert Talbot Numch Sr. explains his vision for a scene to his crew before filming a scene from :Manos: The Search for Valley Lodge." The film is a dequel to 1966's "Manos: The Hands of Fate," considered by some to be the worst movie ever made.

Jolene Guzman

May 25, 2011

FALLS CITY -- Rupert Talbot Munch Sr., the director of "Manos: The Search for Valley Lodge," said his obsession with the "Manos" story started in the mid-1990s.

Always a fan of "Mystery Science Theater 3000," Munch was invited to watch a 1993 episode featuring "Manos: The Hands of Fate," a film many argue is the worst of all time.

"This friend of mine said `You've got to see this. It's something special,'" Munch said last week on the second day of filming for his sequel to the original.

From that point, he was hooked.

"Once you get into 'Manos,' you will never forget it," Munch said. "It has a profound affect."

Years later, in 2008, it was the movie's character "Torgo" Munch thought of when he had the opportunity to go to Comic-Con in San Diego and needed a costume. His "bargain basement" Torgo get-up attracted attention from other fans of the film at the convention.

The last-minute invitation to Comic-Con started the three-year journey that put Munch in touch with Falls City resident Jackey Raye Jones, who starred in the original film as a child, and brought him to Falls City to make a sequel.

Filming -- and the movie's storyline -- begins in Oregon with Jones' character, Debbie, at the center. She's an artist suffering from mental illness.

Jones said the "Hands of Fate" conclusion had her family kidnapped by a polygamous cult that worships the deity "Manos." It appeared from the ending that she became one of the many wives of the "The Master."

"It raised a lot of creepy questions for people," she said.

The sequel will answer those questions as it picks up with Debbie as an adult searching for her past. She is joined on her quest by former WWE star Gene Snitsky's character, who also lost family members to the cult, and a character played by Joe Warren, the son of Harold Warren, the first "Manos" director.

Torgo will be played by Munch and Jones' father, Tom Neyman, will be reprising his role as "The Master."

Munch was tickled to have Neyman in his film. He said, at first, Neyman didn't want to be part of the sequel, but eventually was persuaded to join filming in Falls City.

Munch's attention to casting is equaled by his perfectionist attitude about every scene, Jones said.

"He's got a very clear vision," Jones said. "He'll spend an hour (in rehearsal) on one page. He knows exactly what he wants."

Munch's excitement for this film is almost palpable. After one scene is finished, he's frantically planning every detail of the next. With Munch having little film experience, he's relying on Jay Lee, his director of photography, to bring his vision to life.

The focus of the filming in Falls City was the scenes with "The Master." Neyman, cloaked in a black robe with two giant red hands, looks ominous and outerworldly in his scenes.

Munch's respect for Neyman, who was in part responsible for casting the first film, shows.

Munch worked with his star explaining the Master's perspective on the action in the scene. However, Munch deferred to Neyman's experience with the role when performing the one-way conversation with Manos.

"No one does that better than you," he said.

Neyman had revive the role he last played in the mid-1960s. He channels "The Master" perfectly in one pivotal solo scene in which he has to connect with the deity he worships.

A creepy statue of a hand -- a model of Falls City resident Rick Zunck's hand made by Jones -- represents Manos in the film. Neyman carefully contemplates the statue and then tentatively reaches for it. Once he grabs hold, he screams and writhes in pain. This goes on for what seems like an excruciating long time before Neyman unleashes a chillingly desperate shout.

The performance receives applause from the entire crew.

"The man's got skills," Munch said to Jones, shaking his head.

Like the first "Manos," the sequel is a family affair, with Jones and Neyman taking on their roles for the second time and Warren honoring his father's work.

Andy Cope, one-half of a documentary crew producing a film about the sequel, has another family connection. Bill Jennings, who played the sheriff in the first film, is his grandfather. A filmmaker, Cope offered to help Munch in any way he could. But the story behind the sequel was so intriguing, Cope decided to turn it into a documentary. He made up his mind during his first conversation with Munch.

"I couldn't get off the phone," Cope said. "At the end of the conservation, I knew we had to do it."

Cope's filmmaking partner, Eric Hueber, wasn't hard to convince.

"I'm a fan of bad movies -- B-movies, exploitation films," he said. "'Manos' was the holy grail of bad movies."

This, like the first "Manos," is running on a small budget -- and the sheer determination of its director.

Once the scenes in Falls City are finished, the rest of the filming will take place in Texas -- on the same ranch the original was shot. Landing the location was once again due to Munch's powers of persuasion.

Jones said she has learned to trust Munch's drive and vision, even volunteering to cut her hair for the film.

"It's OK," Jones said, still sounding slightly apprehensive.

"It's all for the art."

"Manos" reputation as the worst movie ever hangs heavy over the sequel, but Munch said that isn't affecting his vision for his film. Warren, the "Hands of Fate" director, said he believed if redubbed the 1966 movie could have been a passable comedy. Munch is not attempting to make the sequel "bad" like the first or a comedy, but the best film he can make.

"I'm swinging for the fences," he said.

BrassScorpion wrote:Check this out, the recent comedy staging of Manos Hands of Fate is on YouTube, the whole thing in multiple parts. Part I is at this link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4hzk-wtTHLo&feature=share




The dialog is the same as the original film, but the staging gets huge deliberate laughs from the audience throughout.