House of Manson (2014)

As a huge history buff and a person that enjoys breaking down true crime documentaries, novels, and shows, there are two stories that truly captivate my mind and make me consume everything I can find. Those two subjects are Jack the Ripper and Charles Manson. Whenever I find something new, I have to watch it. That was again the case this weekend after I found the 2014 entry House of Manson (AKA Manson) at Family Video.

Plot/ An unflinching chronicle of Charles Manson, the ex-con who was able to amass a dedicated following of young people in the late 1960s. The era of peace and love was ultimately brought to its knees following his orchestration of the notorious Tate and LaBianca murders, which sent a shockwave throughout the USA and the world.

By now, everyone knows who Charles Manson is, and what he and his family perpetrated during their Helter Skelter rampage. This film, written and directed by Brandon Sagle, takes a different approach at looking at multiple aspects of the notorious cult leader and does it with a great mixture of action, crime, and horror. This one has many positive attributes including an authentic 1970s feel, solid cinematography, an outstanding cast with decent performances, good scripting, and offers an interesting perspective on one of the most infamous crime sprees in modern history. Yes, there may be a few choppy moments with pacing and editing, and there are a few disjointed moments when the sound quality does not flow smoothly within a scene, which adds to the overall unevenness of the technical aspects of the movie. However, those flaws are easily overlooked when one takes into consideration the smaller budget and views the movie from that prism. In the end, this movie is well worth watching and a film I totally recommend to fans of biopic/true crime/horror films. Sure, this one may not appeal to everyone and some may be turned off by the brutal realism, but to tell the story any differently would be a disservice to the truth. Find it and watch it!