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Helter Skelter - La folie de Charles Manson

Original title: Helter Skelter
  • TV Movie
  • 2004
  • Not Rated
  • 2h 16m
IMDb RATING
6.4/10
3.8K
YOUR RATING
Helter Skelter - La folie de Charles Manson (2004)
BiographyCrimeDramaHistoryHorrorThriller

A new take on the Manson Family murders, with a keen focus on Charles Manson himself.A new take on the Manson Family murders, with a keen focus on Charles Manson himself.A new take on the Manson Family murders, with a keen focus on Charles Manson himself.

  • Director
    • John Gray
  • Writers
    • Vincent Bugliosi
    • Curt Gentry
    • John Gray
  • Stars
    • Jeremy Davies
    • Clea DuVall
    • Allison Smith
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    6.4/10
    3.8K
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • John Gray
    • Writers
      • Vincent Bugliosi
      • Curt Gentry
      • John Gray
    • Stars
      • Jeremy Davies
      • Clea DuVall
      • Allison Smith
    • 68User reviews
    • 12Critic reviews
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • See production info at IMDbPro
    • Nominated for 1 Primetime Emmy
      • 6 nominations total

    Photos14

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    Top cast74

    Edit
    Jeremy Davies
    Jeremy Davies
    • Charles Manson
    Clea DuVall
    Clea DuVall
    • Linda Kasabian
    Allison Smith
    Allison Smith
    • Patricia 'Katie' Krenwinkel
    Eric Dane
    Eric Dane
    • Charles "Tex" Watson
    Mary Lynn Rajskub
    Mary Lynn Rajskub
    • Lynette 'Squeaky' Fromme
    Michael Weston
    Michael Weston
    • Bobby Beausoleil
    Hal Ozsan
    Hal Ozsan
    • Joey Dimarco
    Rick Gomez
    Rick Gomez
    • Milio
    Robert Joy
    Robert Joy
    • Detective Morrisy
    Graham Beckel
    Graham Beckel
    • Jerry
    Chris Ellis
    Chris Ellis
    • Sgt. Whiteley
    Isabella Hofmann
    Isabella Hofmann
    • Rosemary LaBianca
    Robert Costanzo
    Robert Costanzo
    • Leno LaBianca
    Yvonne Delarosa
    Yvonne Delarosa
    • Catherine 'Gypsy' Share
    • (as Yvonne De La Rosa)
    Cheselka Leigh
    Cheselka Leigh
    • Kathryn 'Kitty' Lutesinger
    Keith Szarabajka
    Keith Szarabajka
    John Pleshette
    John Pleshette
    • Mr. Krenwikle
    Whitney Dylan
    • Sharon Tate
    • Director
      • John Gray
    • Writers
      • Vincent Bugliosi
      • Curt Gentry
      • John Gray
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews68

    6.43.7K
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    Featured reviews

    9Anonymous_Maxine

    We're the low art gloominati, And we aim to depress. The scabaret sacri-legends, this is the Golden Age of Grotesque.

    It is with mixed emotions that I give this outstanding documentary such a high rating, because it doesn't exactly know where the line between glorification of a murderous madman and objective re-telling of a truly horrible tale is (and often crosses it), but the movie is so effective at telling the tale of Charles Manson and his followers that it deserves to be seen. Before I go on, it should also be noted that the movie takes a great many creative liberties with its source material, which is perfectly fine with me. What I don't like is when movies are marketed as based on true events or inspired by true events or something and then take some story and do whatever they want with it. This movie is so honest that it starts with nearly a solid minute of full-screen titles explaining that the story has been fictionalized, that certain characters and events have been dramatized for effect.

    That being said, it clearly is not a history lesson of what Manson did, which I almost think that it should have been because of the horrific nature of his crimes (if I can be excused a gag-inducing legal-thriller cliché). The one problem that I have with the movie is that, since so much was dramatized, it was made almost as a fictional thriller rather than a documentary about the Manson family. I saw a documentary about the standoff in Waco that went into great detail about the ATF's involvement (and endless screwups) that resulted in the deaths of so many people, and I think something similar would have been the best way to approach this movie.

    The murder scenes in this movie are extremely difficult to watch because you know they really happened. If nothing else, great attention was paid to making sure that the murders were as close to real life as possible. Many of the victims were even in the same position and locations in and around their houses as they really were when they were found. And this is what made me dislike the level of glorification in the movie. Charles Manson is so deeply insane and the murders committed by his followers, no matter how brainwashed they were, were so heinous and so disgusting that it made me wish they had thrown him in prison and barred all reporters from talking to him or anyone who knew anything about him.

    His punishment should have been disappearance.

    On the other hand, I guess I have to admit that I am fascinated by stories like his, which is why I watch documentaries about the standoff at Waco and movies about Ed Gein or John Wayne Gacy. But I like to think that I look at them almost like extended news clips (despite being fictionalized to whatever extent, in this case), and that I can watch something like this and maintain a level of disgust at what really happened. I see a line, for example, between being impressed with a fictional murderer like Hannibal Lecter and a non-fictional murderer (whether he killed anyone with his own hands or not) like Charles Manson. It made me think twice about what I should really think of the fact that I own 22 Marilyn Manson CDs (see my summary line).

    Another thing that I found interesting was that all of this took place in Topanga Canyon, near where I live. In fact, after I finish writing this review I am going on the same bike ride that I do two or three times a week. I go west on Venice Blvd. to Sepulveda, then head north over the Sepulveda pass to Ventura Blvd. I go left on Ventura, through Woodland Hills to Topanga Canyon road, then I follow that all the way to the coast, which takes me directly through the middle of the town where the Manson family lived. I've been through there probably a hundred times and I never knew that was where this all happened. Scary.

    Jeremy Davies gives a spectacular performance in the movie, and I like that most of it focuses on him and his followers and how he communicated with them to get them to believe that he was their personal savior when in reality he was the exact opposite, and relatively little time is spent showing the murders (which is good because if it was the other way around the movie would have been literally unwatchable). This case is a textbook study for psychologists about the impressionable young minds of the lost young.

    Another element that the movie is not very concerned with is the actual trial itself, although I see no problem with this because it is not a courtroom drama, it is a TV thriller about a murderous cult leader. The movie is already over two hours long, we don't need another hour showing the convictions of a lot of people that we already know were convicted. The movie is more concerned with what events led up to their arrest and prosecution, and in that sense it does very well. Dramatized for effect, but the heart of the meaning of it all is still there.
    6SnoopyStyle

    compelling true story

    A pregnant Linda Kasabian (Clea DuVall) arrives at George Spahn's old western movie set ranch with her daughter Tanya. The group is led by the charismatic Charles Manson (Jeremy Davies). Manson is obsessed making his song with producer Terry Melcher and Beachboys' Dennis Wilson. Linda steals $5000 from her husband's friend for Manson. The Manson family continues their crime spree. Manson goes looking for Terry Melcher but is received coolly by the new leasee Roman Polanski's wife Sharon Tate's friend. Melcher is giving Manson the cold shoulder. Manson tells the family of an impending race war Helter Skelter. Linda is the driver as Manson directs members of the family to massacre Sharon Tate and her friends.

    Jeremy Davies has always been great playing crazy. It's odd to say but he may be playing Manson as too crazy. Some of the early outbursts feel a little over the top. I buy his crazy rants when he's in prison. No matter what, he is able to command the screen. Clea DuVall is suppose to be the lead. She gets a bit overshadowed. The one thing I do like a lot is that it lays out the reason why Manson kills Sharon Tate. The story flows well which is a difficult task for such a messy real story.
    8wjfickling

    Complements the 1976 original

    If you are really interested enough in the whole Manson affair to

    devote 7 hours to it, it would probably be best to see this together

    with the 1976 original, because the two fascinatingly complement

    each other like yin and yang, or two pieces of a jigsaw puzzle.

    Moreover, in spite of the chronology of their release, it would

    probably be better to see the 2004 version first, then the 1976

    version. The 1976 version begins with the murders already having

    occured, whereas the 2004 version focuses mainly on the events

    leading up to the murders, and hardly at all on the legal aspects. It

    could be summed up: 1976 version, mostly detective and legal

    work, 2004 version, mostly a psychological study.

    The 2004 version succeeds quite well in showing how Manson

    had the power that he did. Nothing that Manson says makes

    much sense; he exhibits what shrinks call tangentiality, i.e., the

    inability to focus on a point. While this leads most people to avoid

    Manson in the outside world, in the cloistered environment of

    Manson's commune, it forces the listener to listen all the more

    closely. In Jeremy Davies' riveting performance, Manson seems

    almost oracular; the very obscurity of what he was saying can

    make him seem, to the young naifs with whom he surrounded

    himself, profound. It is easy to see how they found him hypnotic.

    Davies makes Manson seem scarier than ever.
    frankiex13

    Not bad, but some crucial details missing...

    Although I liked this remake of the '76 version, the original still surpassed it by miles. Jeremy Davies gave a very good performance as Manson, yet didn't send chills down my spine like Steve Railsback did in the original. Although I understand that the focus of this remake was more on Manson and the family and less on the investigation and trial, I felt some key details were, maybe purposely, left out. One that really bothered me was the fact that on both nights, the killers wore dark clothing and brought changes of clothing with them, though in this version they wore whatever they happened to have on at the ranch. Tossing the bloody clothing and weapons over an embankment, they had discarded what eventually became some of the first physical pieces of evidence found linking them directly to the crimes, other than actual prints found at the crime scene. For a film that supposedly paid such close attention to detail, this was a big one to omit. All in all, worth seeing. Do see the original, though, and I think you'll agree that Steve Railsback gave an almost effortless performance as Manson, seeming to be looking at you right through your TV screen.
    sagebrush5

    The new "Helter Skelter" shows the other side of the story.

    Helter Skelter 2004 really brought back all those events of August 1969. The new updated version made no attempt to out-do the 1976 television movie. Instead, it really showed more of the evil-persona of Charlie Manson and how he manipulated the members of his "family" to do his evil bidding.

    Jeremy Davis was excellent as Manson. He had big shoes to fill over Steve Railsback's performance in 1976. Alison Smith's, Catherine Wadkins', and Margerite Moreau's performances really made my hair stand on end. The visuals of this film were well shown, right down to the reversed "negative" images when the killings were done. Who needs to see the actual blood and gore as there is to much of that detached violence portrayal.

    You had to live in the era to really understand the impact of these disgusting crimes. The 1976 telefilm version was only seven years after the fact and it was frightening to watch back then. This new version was also frightening as it showed how an evil individual could have so much influence over certain people.

    May Charlie Manson never get out of prison. If so, he could do this all again.

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    Related interests

    Ben Kingsley, Rohini Hattangadi, and Geraldine James in Gandhi (1982)
    Biography
    James Gandolfini, Edie Falco, Sharon Angela, Max Casella, Dan Grimaldi, Joe Perrino, Donna Pescow, Jamie-Lynn Sigler, Tony Sirico, and Michael Drayer in Les Soprano (1999)
    Crime
    Mahershala Ali and Alex R. Hibbert in Moonlight (2016)
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    History
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    Thriller

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      In 2001, Jeremy Davies was in preparations for a different independent film about Charles Manson. He made a tape for the filmmakers of himself playing Manson and the tape became a popular bootleg in the industry. CBS cast Davies and allowed him to rewrite his lines due to his performance in the tape.
    • Goofs
      As Linda is going through Rosemary Labianca's wallet, VISA and Master Cards can be seen. In 1969 Visa was called Bank AmeriCard and Master Card was called Master Charge.
    • Quotes

      Charles Manson: How can I be a hippie when I hate hippies?

    • Alternate versions
      A Director's Cut was released on DVD including uncensored scenes, with frames exposing nudes and violence. Explicit material was not shown on the TV presentation as it was highly inappropriate for minors. A considerable number of scenes were re-framed to be showed on television. Although, this version runs only 1 minute longer.
    • Connections
      References La Vallée des poupées (1967)
    • Soundtracks
      Whatever Will Be, Will Be
      Written by Jay Livingston and Ray Evans

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    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • May 16, 2004 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Official site
      • CBS
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Helter Skelter
    • Filming locations
      • Visitor Center, Hunt House, Malibu Creek State Park - 1925 Las Virgenes Road, Calabasas, California, USA
    • Production companies
      • Lakeside Productions
      • Wolper Organization
      • Warner Bros. Television
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      • 2h 16m(136 min)
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Stereo
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.78 : 1

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