I’ve always found the story of the “Manson family” fascinating. I read Helter Skelter and Manson in his Own Words. I have seen the major TV movies, and countless documentaries on the subject. But I have never seen anything quite like writer/director Jim Van Bebber’s take on the whole sordid summer of 1969. (The movie was completed in 2003, and makes its debut in a double-disc DVD set on April 26, 2005.)

With an almost fiendish obsession, Van Bebber (who also acts in the movie) chooses to focus firmly on the sex, drugs, rock n’ roll… and murders. There is little-to-nothing about the legal aspects of the case, no views from any other angle, and basically no perspective. Living even for a couple of hours so claustrophobically close to the Manson Family is mighty uncomfortable.

I’ve got mixed feelings about the movie. I have to hand it to Van Bebber for having a distinct vision and sticking with it so resolutely throughout the film. It is an interesting movie, and it goes into a lot of aspects that have only been given the once-over in other films (like Charlie’s failed music career, how the Girls used to dumpster dive for the Family’s vittles, etc.). But The Manson Family is also just a little too self-indulgent; it lingers long and loving on scenes that would have been more effective with some tighter editing. We are shown drawn-out acid trips, orgies (blood and otherwise), and brutal murders to such prolonged, unflinching detail that they seem almost endless — which may well have been the filmmaker’s intent. In The Manson Family, death is definitely not something out of a Keats or Shelley poem.

While The Manson Family is certainly an exploitation film, it does not glorify any aspects of the people or events. It doesn’t even deify Manson — for a man who was supposed to be a charismatic cult leader, we are never really shown why. Still, the actor who plays him (Marcelo Games) does a better job than some other players I’ve seen in the role (caveat: there’s no topping the 1976 Steve Railsback portrayal). The other casting doesn’t even try to come close to looking like the real “Manson Girls”, Bobby (played by Van Bebber), or even the unforgettable Tex Watson (Marc Pittman). When looking over his credits, it’s clear than Van Bebber just went ahead and cast his friends in all the roles but it turned out OK; the flavor of the characters is there.

Looking and feeling something like an experimental boxing match between Kenneth Anger and Oliver Stone with Joe Coleman refereeing, The Manson Family is obviously a low-budget affair populated by amateur actors. Modern-day breast implants and bad wigs prevail, but there is an undeniable, gritty realism to the film that will surely send chills down some spines. The storyline is all over the place — from over-done, damaged “lost footage” interview clips with the murderers to flash backs to present-day, then once-in-a-while infusions from a superfluous subplot — but it works on its own nebulous level. It’s the kind of movie that, even if you’re not sure you liked it, sticks with you for days after having seen it.

If you’re interested in the Manson Family or true crime in general — and you have an extremely high tolerance for unremitting violence — give the DVD a shot (or a stab).

As for the second disc, the one that contains all the supplements, you’re in for a long sitting. Disc two has a nearly hour-and-a-half documentary on the making of the film (it was a long, arduous journey over several years); a look at the real Charles Manson; production information, and the obligatory trailers and still galleries. The VanBebber Family goes into the detail how and why the film was made, and what it means (and has meant, over the years) to Van Bebber. Another mini-doc, The Belly of the Beast, showcases the 1997 FanTasia Film Festival in Montreal, and gets several critical takes on the movie and independent film in general.

Be sure and read our exclusive interview with the actors here [1].

Reviewed by Staci Layne Wilson