Los crímenes del clan Manson

After almost 25 years, this is still the definitive movie about the Manson murders (the only one, really) and it's still an interesting and at times downright disturbing experience.

Those of us who've devoured just about every scrap of literature about the case may find minor factual points & omissions over which to quibble, but in the end, "Helter Skelter" nicely sums it up in one big lump.

Steve Railsback is letter-perfect as Charlie Manson, and there are moments here that make the viewer wonder if the actor descended just a bit too far into the psyche of the "hippie death cult" leader. No matter, he steals every scene he's in.

Most of the other actors are capable enough, although the actresses portraying Patricia Krenwinkel & Leslie Van Houten leave a lot to be desired. Nancy Wolfe (Susan Atkins) & Jason Ronard (Paul Watkins) both deserve kudos for their performances, & lead actor George DiCenzo (Vincent Bugliosi) throws himself into his role with gusto.

This being a TV-movie from 1976, things get a bit wooden at times, & the law-and-order angle is played to the hilt (the courtroom sequences are great), which may well leave you wondering how various contemporary directors might fare with this saga.

Sublime trivia note: Nancy Burns, who plays "little hippie girl" Linda Kasabian was the lead actress in "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" ... the girl that Leatherface chases off into the sunset. Amazing.

Despite a hokey opening prologue by a narrator who talks directly to viewers, this three hour made-for-TV docu-drama provides a generally good overview of the real-life Tate/LaBianca murders that occurred in the summer of 1969, and the subsequent trial of Charles Manson and his "family". Based on the book "Helter Skelter" by Manson Prosecutor Vincent Bugliosi, the film has a dragnet or prosecution tone to it, as it describes events from Bugliosi's point of view. That is okay, except that the script minimizes the crucial role of Tex Watson, one of the actual killers. After the murders, Watson fled to Texas, and was initially beyond Bugliosi's prosecution reach. Later, Watson was extradited back to California.

The film's first half is confusing because it presents so many Manson family names; this part of the film is somewhat hard to follow. The film's second half concentrates on the courtroom trial and is therefore more straightforward. The film's pace tends to be slow. There are several long speeches. And some scenes are either unnecessary or overly long. One scene in the second half goes on for some ten minutes. Overall, the film has a made-for-TV look and feel. Production design, costumes, and makeup are credible. As Manson, Steve Railsback's performance is ... intense.

What makes this film worth watching is that it is a true story ... and a powerful one. Manson had no qualms about killing innocent people. And he sought to sublease that evil to weaker personalities, like Susan Atkins, Linda Kasabian, Leslie Van Houten, and other members of his hippie clan. And that power over others in turn fed his megalomania.

Manson was a cultural scavenger, a junk man without conscience. He and his "family" subsisted on food from dumpsters behind supermarkets. And at one point in the film, he even says he wouldn't mind prison chow; "it's better than (eating) garbage". What a statement. It says a lot about him and about his followers.

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.

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.