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Helter Skelter Directors Cut

December 15, 2004

Rated: NR Runtime: 137 min Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

I remember seeing the first one on a re-run when I was a wee tyke and I didn’t sleep for months. So, I was not excited about rehashing old fears for the sake of a TV remake. The face of then Manson impersonator Steve Railsback burned permanently into my fragile mind and I didn’t have room for another one. Creepy. What sucks so much about that is; if I close my eyes and think real hard I can still see him… Talk about a face only a mother could love… Really Creepy. There is no way anyone can say the star of this version was more scary looking than Railsback because he isn’t, NO ONE IS. Jeremy Davies is however a much better actor and that’s what drove this movie home for me. In an extra on this DVD the director and producers explain the degree of research Davies put in for the ‘honor’ of portraying this loon. But, to me no role is worth walking down the path he does. The commentary stated he watched every interview Manson ever did on TV. Listened to every single radio performance he could get his hands on and even fell asleep with the ramblings of this psycho in his head each night. Wrong on so many levels but after seeing the results I guess it was worth it.

I wasn’t sure I wanted to see this remake for many reasons; my fears aside that is. The biggest being the story has not changed since the first movie in 1975 and what was the point of telling the same story again? That only works (sometimes) when the story is fictional because it isn’t considered poor taste for a director to add his own flavor to make it his own. This story is not fictional and did not need to be enhanced to increase the terror or awareness. So why do it? Who knows but it worked. I guess.

Enough of the prelims let’s get to the review of the movie. (bout time)

This movie follows the Manson family’s exploits through the story of Linda Kasabian (Clea Duvall) and her involvement during the two evil nights in question. Opening sequences surround the Spahn ranch and the freaks that followed this false prophet and the things they would do for him. Boring… Murder in a country house… talk, talk, talk… Beach Boys… Manson spews his psycho babble for another hour or so and THEN, the event that crippled a nation with fear for years, The Tate/Labianca murders. I do not need to go into detail about those events because you can find that anywhere on the net if you really want to know and, if you didn’t I will save you the nightmares. Back to the movie; Most of the characters are shallow with the exception of District Attorney Vincent Bugliosi (Bruno Kirby) and of course Duvall and Davies who is absolutely amazing in his portrayal of Manson. Turns out the warped bedtime stories paid off… Not sure that’s a good thing, only time will tell. The sound is really good. Good enough to hear gurgling sounds and in this case that is not a good thing. The video is pretty awesome too. Blood is red, dirt is brown and Davies looks like Manson. Extras include Directors commentary, deleted scenes and a screen test of sorts with Davies mastering the above mentioned crazy talk. I guarantee it will have you reversing the scene multiple times just to understand what the hell he is talking about. And, by my estimation that about covers it.

If you are not sure if this is something you want to spend your money on, let me break it down for you. Are there better stories in the fictional world that will make you cringe more? Yes. Is there a better way to spend your time than watching this? Yes. Will it achieve the expected creep factor you are looking for? Yes. Will you learn something about Manson? Oh most definitely. Will it make my family uncomfortable if I were to give it as a gift? Guarantee it. If these reasons grab you, buy it. If not rent it and wait for the sequel.

Seen it? How many stars do you give it?

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