10 Absolutely Terrible B-Movies That Have Become Cult Classics

A film with a truly incredible backstory, Manos: The Hands of Fate was actually made as the result of a bet. Harold P. Warren, the writer, director, and leading actor of the film, bet a friend that he could make a movie all by himself, despite having no filmmaking experience and working as a fertiliser salesman at the time.

He started work immediately, amassing a small budget of around $19,000 and hiring local amateur actors and models to appear in his production. The cast and crew were given no pay for their efforts, but were promised a percentage of any profits (profits that never actually existed because the film was beyond awful).

The production was plagued with issues and Warren's amateurish direction and acting led to a final film that never fails to make any list of the worst movies ever made, featuring tons of technical errors and ridiculous moments that seem to have no relation to the rest of the plot.

Manos is a bit of a slog to watch, with some extremely tedious scenes, but an appearance on Mystery Science Theater 3000 back in the early 90s helped elevate the film to cult status. Several sequels have since been made and the movie has been referenced on shows like How I Met Your Mother and Elementary.