Helter Skelter (2004) (TV)

User Rating:

6.3/10   

Director:

John Gray

Writers (WGA):

Vincent Bugliosi (book) and
Curt Gentry (book) ...

Release Date:

16 May 2004 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Crime | Drama | Horror

Tagline:

Based on the true story of the Manson murders.

Plot:

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

Plot Keywords:

Charles Manson | Loss Of Loved One | Art Theft | Shot In The Head | Doctor

Awards:

Nominated for Primetime Emmy. Another 3 nominations

Cast

Jeremy Davies	...	Charles Manson
Clea DuVall	...	Linda Kasabian
Allison Smith	...	Patricia 'Katie' Krenwinkle
Frank Zieger	...	Clem Watkins
Eric Dane	...	Charles "Tex" Watson
Mary Lynn Rajskub	...	Lynette 'Squeaky' Fromme
Michael Weston	...	Bobby Beausoleil
Hal Ozsan	...	Joey Dimarco
Rick Gomez	...	Milio
Robert Joy	...	Detective Morrisy
Graham Beckel	...	Jerry
Chris Ellis	...	Sgt. Whiteley
Isabella Hofmann	...	Rosemary LaBianca
Robert Costanzo	...	Leno LaBianca
Yvonne Delarosa	...	Catherine 'Gypsy' Share (as Yvonne De La Rosa)

Runtime:

USA:180 min (including commercials) | 137 min (DVD)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Certification:

Finland:K-15 (director's cut) | New Zealand:R18 | UK:15 | Australia:MA

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles Center Studios - 450 S. Bixel Street, Downtown, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Lakeside Productions

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:

Anachronisms: The story takes place in 1969 but the phone Sharon Tate is talking on has an RJ10 connector which was not introduced till the late 1970s.

Quotes:

Charles Manson: The time is now. Helter skelter.

Movie Connections:

References Valley of the Dolls (1967)

Gave me the willies

This is a rather decent take on the Manson family and the Tate-Lobianca murders back in the late 60's. When one first sees Charlie he's got a sword behind his back and doing a creepy little hop-step, all hunched over, and that kind of sets the tone. The actor playing Manson did a great job, really got into it. The whole scene at Spahn Ranch was interesting, the men seemed kind of "yeah whatever Charlie" and the women worshiped him. The ones he takes with him (and later sends out without him) on "creepy crawls" are EXTREMELY creepy, being that they're so brainwashed into thinking that Charlie is who he says he is (Jesus Christ). Helter Skelter is a war between Blackie & Whitey, which Charlie wants to escalate and then take off for the desert with his gang to hide. Some of the murders are supposed to look like they were committed by the Black Panthers. Anyway, this movie ranges from disturbing to kind of tedious, but disturbing generally wins out. I've seen the original made for TV movie back in 1976 when it was on TV, and as I recall that got pretty talky, and this is much shorter and of course had to cram more in, but in my opinion it seemed better. 7 out of 10.