Helter Skelter - Die Nacht der langen Messer

A quarter century after it was made, and over thirty years since the actual crimes took place, Helter Skelter is still a very chilling movie to watch. As stated in the on-screen introduction, the crimes would not have been believable if they were not true, and having them be the focus of a film inherently makes for a frightening tale. Told mainly from the perspective of the prosecutor, it covers events from the discovery of the victims through Manson heading off to prison. Railsback is absolutely faultless in his portrayal of Manson; the scene where he recreates Manson's speech to the courtroom is very chilling and will stay with you after the movie ends. The storyline spends perhaps a little too much time in the courtroom and maybe should have built up the events leading to the murders more, but it is still well written. Railsback is the obvious star of the film, but everyone else also does a lot better job than you'd expect for a TV-movie from 1976. Watch Helter Skelter anytime you can find it; it's a movie that teaches the lesson that truth is stranger than fiction and reality is more frightening than any Hollywood horror film.

I found this to be one of the more interesting made-for-TV films I'ever watched, thanks to the sensationalism of the true-life story and the mesmerizing performances of the lead villain (Steve Railsback) and his followers. Railsback's eyes alone are frighteningly haunting to this viewer, 30 years after first seeing it. By the way, my VHS tape has one f-word in the film, which would never be allowed on TV. What gives with that?

Actually, the most frightening people, as a whole, were the women who did Manson's killing for him. I was creeped out more by Nancy Wolfe's chilling performance of Susan Atkins than I did was by anyone else, including the famous "Charlie."

The film has turned out to be a pretty good piece of American history, the kind of crime history we'd like to forget.

This movie tells the story of the Tate-LaBianca murders in Los Angeles in August 1969 of 7 people by Charles Manson and his "family".Sharon Tate and 6 other people were horribly slaughtered in two nights of senseless killing by Manson and some of his devotees.Much of the movie deals with the prosecutor,Vincent Bugliosi,and his courtroom quest to convict the heartless butchers.Bugliosi also wrote the definitive book about the killings that you should also be sure to read.It will scare you like no work of fiction ever could.

Steve Railsback plays Manson,no,Railsback BECOMES Manson in this film.Railsback is perfect in every way in his portrayal of Manson.He has the voice and mannerisms down and it would be hard for a casual viewer to tell the difference between clips of Manson and Railsback,he is that good.Marylin Burns plays Linda Kasabian,one of the family members.But she will forever be best known for playing screaming Sally Hardesty in the original "Texas Chainsaw Massacre".

Being a TV movie of course the gore is pretty tame but even without the graphic gore this movie still makes the horror and awfulness of these murders crystal clear.Railsback shows you the inside of Manson's mind and that is a twisted nasty grubby little thing.Despite attempts by some rock bands and others to make Manson seem cool he is nothing but a runty little sadistic loser who continues to show no remorse to this day.He will end his senseless little life locked up like the slobbering animal he is.

This movie is even better than other later movies made for theater release.It is pretty much faithful to Bugliosi's book and trial transcripts and gives you the best film account of the murders that set Los Angeles and the nation on edge and ended the 1960's with a big bloody

exclamation point.

I am appalled to read that there are imdb.com members who actually think that Charles Manson and his "Family" were prosecuted because he was a hippie or a flower-child. He was neither. He is neither to this day. Have any of these idiots seen the TV interviews with Manson (by Diane Sawyer, I think) a while back? It would creep you out, as it shows how completely mad he is, to this very day. And his anger is creepy, too, and I thought he was going to physically harm the female interviewer at one point. When told of some of the things that the now older and wiser "family members" said of him (that he asked them to kill for him, that he instructed them in detail, and that they no longer have any regard for him), he just laughed and derided them as getting to be "old broads". This is a flower child?

I've done enough reading of various books and articles about Manson. He was the product of our institutions -- the one point on which he is correct. From childhood on, he never lived a normal life, always an institutionalized life. Then he took on this Messiah persona to impress the only people who were impressed by him -- young teenaged girls or other young women from homes where they felt unwanted. He literally rented them out as sexual favors to his biker pals, whom he was trying to impress and keep on his side. This was a flower child? Hardly! He has, and still has, a twisted but skillful mind.

As for the stupid premise that Buguliosi "framed him", have these people who write such nonsense read his book? Buguliosi documented, and this was affirmed in such books as "The Family", that Manson actually liked his prosecutor and respected him, and said so, even though there is good evidence that he wanted him dead. Like I say, Manson is a twisted person.

This TV movie is good drama, and totally accurate. Unlike others, I would like to see it redone for the big screen. I think the entire story of Manson's life and of his "family" and what they did to others at the Spahn Ranch before the murders of Sharon Tate and the others, needs to be told. Maybe bring people up to date with interviews with this monster on TV. No, not Oliver Stone! But to tell it somewhat in the way "In Cold Blood" was transferred from book to movie.

I expect to get nasty, threatening replies from Charlie's idiot disciples. That's right, you are all whacked-out idiots for thinking that he is anything but a monster.

I saw Helter Skelter as a kid and was terrified yet intrigued. The actors that portrayed Charles Manson and the Manson family did a terrific job of portraying it right. I was horrified at how one man could manipulate people to do murders for him and horrific murders at that, but also was intrigued at how intelligent Charles Manson really was as a person, but a pyschopathic, cold hearted murder too. The 1976 TV series was by far the best portrayal I have seen of this heinous crime.And I was glad justice was served on Charles Manson and the Manson family. The book was also a very good read and the movie a good purchase to have.