Manos: The Hands of Fate (DVD)

Everything that can go wrong does on a young couple's terrifying vacation. Lost and unable to find an inn, they stop at the door of a mysterious house. They are told by the disfigured Togar that the Master does not like visitors, but with no other shelter in sight they decide to spend the night. Their presence ignites the fury of a Devil cult that preys upon their innocence. The family is forced to suffer interminable psychotic rituals. Unrest within the cult provides a chance for escape, but the Master will not free them so easily.

Written, produced and directed by Hal Warren, it's less surprising that this is Warren's only picture and more astonishing that he was able to make it at all. Manos exists in a genre all its own, somehow combining the gravity of the silent horrors with the absurdity of a stag film. Widely regarded as one of the most inept movies ever made, Manos the Hands of Fate is a thoroughly puzzling story loaded with surreal characterizations and a gratuitous surprise ending.

• horror