Helter Skelter

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.

My favourite part of this movie was when one of Charlie's former henchmen was being interviewed by Bugliosi. The young man candidly and reasonably answered every question put to him, and gave some startling insights into Manson's psyche, explaining Charlie's obsession with the Beatles and how it all related to the imminent race war. At the end of the interview, when the prosecutor asks him how such a reasonable and clear-headed young man could fall in with such a crowd, he turns and says, just as calmly and candidly, "Because Charlie is Jesus Christ."

Despite some truly over-the-top performances of Manson and his hollow-eyed harem of evil, this is a fascinating look at one of the more sensational crimes of the last century. Anyone interested in the case or in true crime in general should see this picture at least once.

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 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.

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.