SnoopyStyle 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.

a_baron This remake of the 1976 original takes a fresh approach to one of the most shocking series of crimes in the 20th Century, not shocking for the gratuitous and horrific murders of totally innocent people, but for the way the three female perpetrators - Susan Atkins, Patricia Krenwinkel and Leslie Van Houten – danced to the tune of the Devil, the one who called himself Jesus Christ.Of course, the idea that Manson "brainwashed" these women and his other followers is a pathetic excuse, as though there is no such thing as free will. The same can be said of the witchfinders, the Communists, the Nazis, the Khmer Rouge, the Provisional IRA, and today the Islamist terrorists who given the chance would murder us in our beds.Marguerite Moreau shines as the demonically evil Susan Atkins, who did not look quite so evil in 2002 when she was interviewed by Dianne Sawyer, and even less so seven years later when after having her left leg amputated and suffering from brain cancer she was denied compassionate release. Incredibly, Atkins married twice while serving her sentence, and for some time was even permitted conjugal visits. This film ends though with the trial and a brief mention of the conviction of the Manson "Family". Although this is a fictionalised account and contains some poetic licence, it is also an historical document. The horrific murder scenes are shown in this context rather than the usual one of entertainment/special effects. Also excellent is Jeremy Davies as Manson; the actor was born two months almost to the day after the murder of Sharon Tate. And in California.Although a film of this nature will inevitably attract some criticism, no one can in all sincerity accuse this of being either squalid sensationalism or the glamorisation of evil. It is important that films of this nature are made if only to remind us that there are monsters out there, and that all too often they look like us.

Fenris-5 The is a quite good remake of the 1976 movie, but Jeremy Davies is not as believable in the main role as Steve Railsback was, and he fails in showing the viewer Manson's magnetic personality which made him able to manipulate people around him into conducting these horrible crimes.To quote one of prosecutor Vincent Bugliosi's lines in the film: "How do these kids end up stabbing people with knives and forks 169 times?" The film does not succeed in explaining this, and as such it is a failure.Apart from that, it offers a different angle to what happened than the 1976 film, and shows more of the likely motivation Manson might have had for ordering the murders; the lack of progress in his musical career, and his connection to Beach Boy Dennis Wilson.

Alain English There have been numerous plays and films written about the notorious Manson murders of the 1960s and 1970s and this one is a fascinating but still not quite definitive look at Manson and his 'Family'. I did find it more enjoyable than the last film I saw on this subject, 'The Manson Family'. This one shows much more restraint and is better written, with a greater emphasis on the psychology of Manson and his followers.The film shows the Hinman murder and the Tate-LaBianca killings, and the leadup to the trial where Manson and five of his minions were eventually convicted of mass murder. In the interim there is some flashback detailing some of Manson's psychology and the bizarre philosophy behind the murders.There was enough good dialogue to make it watchable and the complex events the film portrays are covered very well. However, the film does not do all it could in this respect. First off, I am against actual re-enactments of the murders. It feels sensationalised, grotesque and unnecessary to do this, especially as since these murders actually happened and are not fictional.Secondly, I am unhappy with Jeremy Davies' portrayal of Manson as a one-note lunatic. Despite some good writing, his portrayal does not make Manson's domination of his followers seem remotely plausible and it would have been nice to see more of Manson's background, especially how he developed and gained power over his 'family'.Thirdly, the film cuts out before the actual trial takes place. Cutting out the trial is a knock to prosecutor Vincent Bugliosi, who stood up to Manson (who made numerous attempts to intimidate him) and worked his backside off to nail him. To see the lawyer in action, and more of his relationship with Manson, would have been very interesting.That said, there are some great performances here. Clea Duvall makes a fetching Linda Kasabian and her journey is movingly rendered. Marguerite Moreau makes a seductively sexy Susan Atkins and, although she is playing a cold-blooded killer, is very enjoyable to watch. Bruno Kirby is slightly miscast as Vincent Bugliosi. He is ten years too old and a tad top heavy, but he does capture the tenacity and compassion of the man and when he turns up he feels like a fresh breath of sanity in the midst of all the blood and madness.A good picture but there are still some areas of the Manson cult, asides from the murders themselves, that could still be explored on screen.