Hotel Torgo (2004)

Good story, Not enough for a whole film

The acting is good, and the firecracker script has some excellent ideas.

A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

A clunky actioner with a handful of cool moments.

"Hotel Torgo" is sort of a making-of to "Manos: The Hands Of Fate", one of the most fascinatingly awful movies ever made. The makers meet up with Bernie Rosenblum, the last surviving member of the cast/crew. Together they go visit some of the filming locations, meanwhile Rosenblum tells various anecdotes about the filming process. We also get some background about what happened to the rest of the cast.And there you have the problem: pretty much every fact they give about the other actors is wrong. Rosenblum was NOT the last survivor, Jackey Neyman (Debbie), Diane Mahree (Margaret) and Tom Neyman (The Master) are still alive and kicking in 2016. The history of "Manos" is murky and difficult to research, but Jackey Neyman stated that she actually called up the makers while they were filming this. Apparently, other surviving cast members didn't fit their narrative, so they just ignored them. I guess this was done to add to the mystique, but you can interview every single cast member of this movie and you probably still don't know what's going on. Claiming Diane Mahree died in a car crash with no evidence whatsoever seems very unprofessional.With that said: I enjoy the bits with Bernie Rosenblum, who passed away last year. Rosenblum played a very minor part in the movie, but he's a decent storyteller and genuinely seems like a nice guy. He certainly saves this 'documentary'. Particularly the part where he goes back to the Valley Lodge and shows us what's left of it is worth your time. It's pretty much the only thing that keeps "Hotel Torgo" from being totally useless, because the research (or lack thereof) is downright horrendous.

This is a documentary regarding the infamous "Manos". It does a fine job of both telling the viewer what it is, in case they haven't seen it(I have the feeling it's something you don't forget once you have, though I suppose it's a little early for me to say), and examining why it was and got to be the way it was. I'm not sure I'd claim that this left me with a lot of answers, but the process wasn't bad, and it never lost my interest. It's nicely paced, moves at basically the speed it should. This consists of clips of the flick itself, it even holds a brief spoof of it(some of which relate to the subject or such, and all of them aiding in informing those in doubt of the sheer awfulness of the quality of it) and a few interviews, including one with the person that worked on the piece that they could find, and another with what appears to be a historian on it, both of whom are well worth listening to, and have good things to say. Bernie's got a mouth on him, though, which is really the only language in this, but in spite of the amount being fairly low, it gets pretty rough(apart from strong words, there are a few detailing... male anatomy). He reveals a great many things about the production as well as the crew and cast. This also has footage of the filming locations, and comparisons between how they look, now and then. I recommend this to anyone wondering how the thing got made, and those that are curious about it, in general. 7/10

Like most people, I found out about Manos when I saw the MST3K episode. It was funny, I had been on a personal hunt for the worst film of all time for quite a while. And when I saw that MST3K episode, I knew my search was over. I own this film both with MST3K and without. I believe that there's a special place in heaven for those who are able to sit through the film without Joel and the Bots cracking wise.So I digress. I first heard of this short documentary a few years back, constantly keeping an eye for it. Finally, the director/s were generous enough to post it for free online just to get some visibility. I was glad I got the opportunity and there was some good stuff in there, but it had it's problems too.First the positive: Bernie Rosenblum tells a damn good story. Playing the guy making out in the car, he (according to him) also helped with nearly every aspect of the film. He even claims to have directed the wives' big brawl. He's very willing to talk about the film and it's creator Hal Warren. The film even finds the filming spots in El Paso and re-visits them with Bernie. Truly a cool moment for lovers of the B Cinema.However, there are two strong problems with the film. First, it's factually inaccurate. It claims that Bernie is the only man involved still living. That's not true, and anyone that knows about Manos could tell you that. Jackey Neyman, just to name one, is still alive and well. I don't know if it was because they just couldn't find them or they refused, but instead they're just counted as dead. Kind of disrespectful if you ask me.Secondly, it leaves you wanting more. I would love to see this on a slightly bigger budget with more interviews, better film quality and just flat out longer. Sadly the audience, while dedicated, is small. So this is probably all we're going to get.And you know what? I was glad to get it.

I have known Tom and Jackey for over thirty years. Neither are dead, I assure you. Tom is retired and lives in Oregon, as does Jackey, who is a successful painter and single parent.I haven't seen this documentary yet, so I'm giving it an arbitrary vote of 5, based on the communications Jackey has shared with me (I'm the one who hooked her up with the Producers).At least, I'm hoping it's a good documentary, because it would have to be on a par with Citizen Kane to make "Manos" rise to the level of "terrible." I loved MST3K's version of "Manos," though the original version exemplified the qualities of being (to paraphrase Mark Twain); "chloroform on film."