Platicsco Good story, Not enough for a whole film

Moustroll Good movie but grossly overrated

Pacionsbo Absolutely Fantastic

Kaelan Mccaffrey Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.

Alain English I feel like a somewhat cossetted movie reviewer in that I have never, at least up until this point, seen or reviewed what I would call a "video nasty", that is a film or DVD with frequent and/or unnecessarily detailed acts of violence. "The Manson Family" fits this description like a glove. Indeed the acts of sex AND violence in this movie bring it into the realms of pornography sometimes but this is both it's power as well as it's weakness.Oddly, the film evokes the power and influence of Charles Manson, not only over his followers of the time but also present-day fans who worship and sometimes mimic his appalling actions, but features very little input from Manson himself and thus little actual insight into HOW he managed to persuade these people to do what they did. He is seen largely as a fellow participant, as caught up in events as the members of his 'family'.We are given plenty to look at, the killings themselves are realistically depicted, as well as the buildup to them as Manson's family and his hippie dream begin in a commune-like heaven of constant sex. But when Manson, an aspiring musician, gets his record deal rejected the whole party quite literally goes to hell. It's very grisly, yet the bravery of such a depiction is undeniably compelling.The story is told in flashbacks from members of Manson's family who are now older - some of them have redeemed themselves, others are still in his thrall. When the film cuts to them, much of what else we see is given some kind of context and sense. Yet, in an interesting twist, even these on screen narrators are shown by the movie to lie, if not wholly at least in part, about their role in events. I was looking forward to seeing Manson tried and convicted in a confrontation with him and his killers facing the wrath of civilised society as represented by the law. This contrast, as shown in prosecutor Vincent Bugliosi's book "Helter Skelter", would have been wonderful to watch.The film's heavy subject matter and unabashed sex, drugs and violence makes it highly unsuitable for younger teenagers. But it's an interesting, if sometimes unwatchable, curiosity for film fans and Manson history buffs in general.

christopher-underwood Many years in the making this is, if ultimately rather sad and depressing with a confused ending, an involving documentary style depiction of what life may well have been like within the notorious 'family'. At the beginning there is a fair mix of youngsters held together largely by sex and quasi religion. Largely it's the girls that talk of Jesus whilst disrobing and the men of, f***ing. Fuelled by dope and acid they go their merry way for a while but then interestingly Charlie reckons a mix of blood and death will keep the group alive. And so it does but always of course spiralling hell bent towards the inevitable, 'helter skelter'. The best and worst of the hippie movement is depicted here in what was essentially it's death throws. Bebber makes considerable play on the racist slant to the 'family' belief structure and their fear of a black takeover, none of which have I been aware of before. Very interesting with lots of gore and bare flesh with much emphasis on the meaning/meaningless of words, gullibility and the mighty power of the promise of sex and violence.

FilmFlaneur Directed by Jim van Bebber, also responsible for related items such as the disturbing Necrophagia: Through the Eyes of the Dead (2002) a collection of gruesome music videos, as well as the violent cult classic Deadbeat at Dawn (1988). The Manson family is similarly disturbing, more so in fact as it is based on true events. The film is very well edited construction of supposed interviews with Family members, news footage and dramatic reconstruction, much of which is more convincing than one might expect through its careful mimicking of 70's shooting colours and style - process enhanced by the 15 years it took in production. None of the principals are well known, which adds to the documentary feel. Oddly enough Marcelo Games (who also appeared in Deadbeat), playing Manson himself, has little charisma, although he manages a fair enough resemblance to Charlie. This is no real disadvantage however as, for the most part the film concentrates on the Family members, rather than their bloody messiah, showing their increasing acquiescence to both cult and violence. The notorious Tate killings are convincingly and chillingly re staged, looking reasonably accurate in their portrayal of a frenzied event which effectively ended the peace & love generation's 60's dream.Van Bebber's film is notable in the way in which it uses jump cuts, short scenes, mixed shooting media and the like to recreate the stoned, psychotic experience of events, very impressive in a low budget film of this type. Less effective is the modern day framing device, in which TV men plan a documentary around the 25th anniversary of the horrific events (perhaps providing the 'source' of the main film, although this is never made entirely clear), face a band of modern day druggie anarchists, as well as final killing due this strand which, in the light of a just seen massacre, is something of an anti climax. Some of the several sex scenes at the Family's farm seem gratuitous, which suggest the exploitation background of the makers but there is no reason not to take this as, overall, a serious work. Strong stuff, uncut in the UK by the BBFC too, as taken from the unrated US edition and available in a well filled 2 disc edition at a very reasonable price.

sith-lover I compare the style of this movie to Rob Zombie's "House of 1000 Corpses" or "The Devil's Reject's". There's plenty of blood and gore to go around. It's also gets two thumbs up for the nudity and strong sexual content. The movie was very coherent and clearly expressed the mood of The Manson Family at the time from their perspective. A group of young adults got caught up in acid-induced orgies and created their own religion and reality during the hippie movement. Over time, Charlie brain-washed them into thinking he was a deity and they (the family) his disciples. The documentary style of the movie may be a deterrent for main-stream movie goers.