Shannon Baker It's an awful story, but it's what happened. There has always been a morbid fascination with these crimes and the Manson family in general. One thing I give this docudrama is that they do tap into the public's interest in the whole Helter Skelter thing; but they also explicitly show how brutal and awful it was too. I don't think it was bloody just for shock value. It's what happened. If that sort of thing is disturbing to you; then I would suggest not watching it. But I think it's important to show the brutality of it, because otherwise you're sanitizing it. I'm sure the last thing the filmmakers wanted was to glorify these murders. But in order to do right by the victims you have to tell the truth. I think they did an excellent job. It's very interesting, but wrong as hell all at the same time. I think they did a very good job with handling the subject matter.

ptb-8 This seriously deranged faux doco about the hideous Manson family killers is peppered with actual photos of the real victims in their heartbreaking stabbed gore. This use of real photos shocked me more than anything and I personally found the genuine police report black and white pic of 8 months pregnant Sharon Tate lying on the floor, all smashed to death particularly distressing. The reenactments are also very gruesome, with repeated scenes of actors stabbing and bashing each other. One scene even has a 3 year old child in an unedited shot where 'Manson' beats and kicks a woman. How this assault looked to the child is horrifying as a 3 year old cannot discern playacting of this brutal magnitude. This doco seems to have a keen eye to explicitly display the atrocity reenactments for maximum gore exposure. Debra Tate, Sharon's sister actually appears and I gasp to think how she dealt with this as a finished product. For a TV movie is contains R Rated violence and would have been a tough sit for anyone involved. The details described in the stabbings are equally pointless as we already know these poor people died in a horrific way but to hear what they said and blood and bone details is simply revolting cruelty to the audience. And unbelievable disrespectful to the real families of the original crime. This is a vulgar exploitive doco with a desire to expose the worst violence imaginable, explicitly re inact it, and show the real crime scene photos....and rub it in your face. Terrible.

Brad When I saw that the History Channel was putting together yet another documentary on the Manson Murders, my skepticism was pretty high. Recent attempts to discuss or re-enact the murders and/or trials have added little to the discussion, and in some cases, were downright awful or amateurish at best (see Jim VanBebber's "The Manson Family"). After watching this latest attempt, I was mildly impressed.The acting is decent, although some of the actors chosen were all wrong for the parts (Terry Melcher as a skinny guy with short brown hair...I mean...REALLY). The re-enactments of the murders were pretty well done, although for some unknown reason, the filmmakers got the clothing wrong AGAIN. It is common knowledge that the killers all wore dark clothing (a mistake also made in the latest TV-movie version of "Helter Skelter" five years ago...WHY???) and the houses used to sub for the Tate and LaBianca residences look all wrong. Surely they could have found houses that looked somewhat like the actual sites? Still, it could have been worse! What made this most intriguing was the participation of star witness Linda Kasabian. She has given few public interviews over the past forty years, so it was interesting to see her here. While some may still disagree with her exoneration due to being the star state's witness, the fact remains that she did not kill anyone either night. Was she an accomplice? Yes...but nowhere as culpable as her colleagues in madness. Vincent Bugliosi and Debra Tate also make appearances in the film, although they add little new to the mix. I really think Bugliosi could do Manson material in his sleep at this point! The program also does a good job of showing Manson's shift from "peace and love" leader to the raving maniac he has since become (partly due to his joy in mocking the mass media by being the madman they want him to be). The scenes of the Spahn Ranch are well done, and for the most part, this is a decent documentary. While few Manson programs will reach the heights of the original TV movie from 1976 (even with its over-the-top moments), this little program does a good job of hitting the primary points of the case.Classic or definitive? No. A decent introduction to those who do not know the case? Yes.

notpotus This was a good, not great, documentary. The part that was very well done was the realistic reenactment of watching the girls and Tex going into the house and doing the senseless deed. In previous movies and documentaries the reenactments were not at all realistic. In this one, you can actually believe that this is the way the crimes were committed. And the events are not depicted in a gruesome manner, while at the same time there was no question the murders were horrible. The part that was not well done was some of the scenes at the murder site suggest that you could just drive right by the house and you were right there. That was not the case. The house was behind a gated driveway and down the driveway. The LoBianco house was much more accurately depicted. I also think they made an error on the location of the Spahn Movie Ranch. I believe the graphic read that it was in Benedict Canyon. That is not correct. Spahn Movie Ranch was out in the Chatsworth area in the Simi Valley, although they were correct in saying it was about 25 miles from Los Angeles. Minor errors like this cause the documentary to lose credibility. Overall, I thought the documentary was well done. The acting in the reenactments was very believable. Getting the real Linda Kasabian to speak about the crimes was a real fine catch because, to the best of my knowledge, she's been silent on the crimes since she provided the testimony that put away Manson, Tex Watson and the girls. Was her version of things a bit slanted? Probably. But no one has ever said she actually participated in the killings-- not even the people she caused to spend the rest of their lives in prison, and not any member of the Manson family, and all of these people had reason to attack Kasabian's credibility. That doesn't make Kasabian a saint and she should have spent considerable time in prison (she didn't report the crimes, she simply ran away after the Lo Bianco murders)but without her testimony it is very likely Manson and all the others would have walked away without being convicted. This was a good documentary that, with a few improvements, could have been a great documentary. A documentary that includes Bugliosi, Tate's sister and Linda Kasabian is off to a great start and those interviews alone make this an important documentary.