Polk County News
Polk County Itemizer-Observer • February 3, 2016 5A
Falls City residents work to bring Manos back
Child star Jackey Raye Neyman Jones works to tell the story of her character, Debbie, and family 50 years later
By Jolene Guzman
The Itemizer-Observer
FALLS CITY — OK B-
movie fans, want to find out
what happened to Debbie,
the little girl from “Manos:
The Hands of Fate?”
The wait could be over
soon.
“The Hands of Fate” has
the reputation as a famously
awful B-movie of the horror
variety. Some even grace it
with the title of “worst movie
ever made,” which comes
with the upside of attracting
a sizeable fan base of bad
movie lovers.
Falls City resident Jackey
Raye Neyman Jones and her
father Tom Neyman starred
in “The Hands of Fate,”
Jones as Debbie, and Ney-
man as
“The Mas-
ter.”
The film
has Deb-
bie’s family
heading to
a vacation
spot called
Jones
“ Valley
Lodge.”
A twist common to many
a horror film, they take a
wrong turn leading them to
a compound occupied by a
polygamous cult worship-
ping a god named “Manos.”
The family is helped by
the compound’s caretaker
Torgo, but when “The Mas-
ter” comes back, things do
not go well for Torgo or the
family.
The ending is a little un-
settling and unsettled, leav-
ing the film ripe for a sequel.
It’s been attempted, un-
successfully, once before in
2011 and 2012.
In that go around, Jones
starred as a grown-up Deb-
bie decades later trying to
piece together what hap-
pened to her family — and
take a little revenge.
The project, directed by
Rupert Talbot Munch Sr., fell
apart before it was finished.
But it reintroduced Jones
to the world of cult stardom.
She’s been surprised by
fan reaction and has written
a soon-to-be released book
“Growing up with Manos:
The Hands of Fate” about
being the child star of one of
the worst movies ever made.
“It’s amazing,” Jones said.
“I’ve always done it for the
love of it.”
In November, it will be 50
years since the original was
released, so Jones, Neyman,
others involved in the origi-
nal and new-found fans de-
cided it was time to reveal
what happened to young
Debbie and her family.
“Manos Returns,” starring
Jones and Neyman in their
original roles will tell that
story.
A script is already written
and the scenes including
Neyman have been filmed,
but the project needs help to
get off the ground.
A Kickstarter campaign
was launched on Saturday
to raise at least $24,000 to
cover the remaining expens-
es of filming.
The project is on a tight
time frame because the goal
is to release it on Nov. 15, the
50th anniversary of “Hands
of Fate.”
The script this time isn’t
revenge-based and will be
set in Oregon rather than
The history (and
fate) of Manos:
• Nov. 15, 1966 —
“Manos: The Hands of Fate”
premiers.
• Jan. 30, 1993 — “Mys-
tery Science Theater 3000
airs an episode riing “The
Hands of Fate,” making the
ilm a cult classic.
• 2011 — Filming on an
unsuccessful sequel be-
gins, including a shoot in
Falls City.
• 2015 — A restored ver-
sion of “Manos: The Hands
of Fate” is released.
• September 2015 —
Jackey Raye Neyman Jones
and project supporters
launch a T-shirt fundraising
campaign after deciding to
try another run at produc-
ing a sequel: “Manos Re-
turns.”
• December 2015 —
Jones completes the book
“Growing up with Manos:
The Hands of Fate” about
her experience since star-
ring in Manos. It will be
available this spring.
• Jan. 30, 2016 — A
Kickstarter campaign is
launched to cover the re-
maining costs of “Manos
Returns.” The campaign
ends March 1.
• Nov. 15, 2016 — date
Jones would like to premier
the sequel, 50 years to the
day after “Hands of Fate.”
JACKEY RAYE NEYMAN JONES/ for Itemizer-Observer
“Manos Returns” artwork was featured on a T-shirt used in a fundraising campaign to
help pay the sequel’s star Tom Neyman, “The Master,” for his work on the film.
Texas where the first movie
was filmed.
Jones is producing the
project, which will be di-
rected by Seattle filmmaker
To n j i a A t o m i c ( “P l a i n
Devil,” “Hobo with a Trash-
can”).
“It’s based on the idea that
the original film was loosely
based on a true story,” Jones
said. “That helps explain the
different location.”
She said the film focuses
on a group of young film-
makers who are fans of
“Hands of Fate.” They go in
search of the “real” Valley
Lodge.
“It’s really fun, tongue in
cheek, and up to date,”
Jones said.
She said the filmmakers
are successful in their quest
to find Valley Lodge, and in
horror-movie fashion, they
encounter more than they
bargained for.
Jones added another plot-
revealing little tidbit for fans
who have wondered about
Debbie’s fate in the cult:
“After 50 years of hanging
out with these people, I may
be a little cranky. I’ve got to
pull out my dark side. It will
be fun.”
The rest, fans will just
have to wait to find out.
While “The Hands of Fate”
is considered cringe- worthy
is fun, Jones said this new
project isn’t trying to repli-
cate that.
“We are not trying to
make a bad movie,” Jones
said. “And not trying to do a
remake.”
She said the Kickstarter
goal would indicate a low-
budget, but that doesn’t in-
clude how many people are
volunteering for the project
and what has been donated.
Fa n s h a v e a l re a d y
demonstrated their support
through a successful T-shirt
campaign that helped pay
Neyman, now 80 years old,
for his work on the sequel,
something that didn’t hap-
pen with “The Hands of
Fate.”
“It was great,” Jones said.
“He had so much fun. He re-
ally did.”
To learn more about the
film or to contribute:
www.kickstarter.com.
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