Wuchak Released in 2009 and directed by Michael Dorsey, "Six Degrees of Helter Skelter" is a micro-budget documentary that examines the Manson family and the infamous Tate/LeBianca murders that shocked the world in August, 1969, bringing to end the idealism of the hippie movement. Host Scott Michaels visits more than 40 locations in Southern California as he goes into detail about the victims, their murderers and Manson's ties to the Hollywood elite.Charles Manson was a decent singer/songwriter and the documentary includes (a snippet of) one of his songs, "Cease to Exist," performed by the Manson family. Although he wasn't anything phenomenal, Manson had a real shot at making it, but his narcissism, paranoia, and general malice toward everything destroyed it. He ruined everything he touched, everyTHING and everyONE. He wreaked havoc on dozens, no hundreds, of lives, probably thousands. And his psychopathic acts were the death knell of the good side of the counter-culture movement. Technically, a psychopath is not actually insane. These types simply have no conscience. Hurting & killing people, doing horrible things and wreaking havoc on society doesn't bother them in the least.Costing only $200,000, this documentary is not a polished production. It's only a couple steps above a typical Youtube video and mostly consists of Michaels visiting the many locations and elaborating details in a freeform manner. He often throws in interesting side bits here and there. Some people criticize that he tends to ramble and sometimes stumbles over his words, but I understood everything he was saying perfectly and appreciated his casual, non-rehearsed, fact-oriented delivery. Micro-budget or not, the film is very informative and takes you to the actual locations of the infamous crimes, combined with a lot of stock footage of the people and events. For a documentary, it fulfills its purpose.The film runs 103 minutes.GRADE: B-

David Johnson The narrator begins by basically selling his business and showing off his collection of rubbage gathered from celebrities. At certain times he gives way to storytelling and his own theories which kind of takes away some credibility. He does a very thorough job but there are times where he points to an object and says it has to be a relic of the Family when he has no proof. There were times when I wanted to shout "just because you see the words Helter Skelter doesn't mean the Manson Family wrote it". There are brief moments when he seems to become too attached to the Manson Family activities to the point it looks like he is excited about the killings. At one time he even makes a joke about the Lablanca couples murder.

Dylan Ramsay The Six Degrees of Helter Skelter is a slightly non-linear documentary of the Helter Skelter scenario of August 1969, executed by the one and only Manson Family. It documents the lives of the victims, what the Manson Family were up to during this period of time and other odd tidbits of information.I was always fascinated by the Manson murders, and have watched a good number of documentaries on the subject, but this one in particular sparked my interest, as I think it would any Manson fan, due to the unique presentation of the film.I rate this 8 stars out of 10 due to the wealth of odd information I had not previously known but had acquired after watching this film (and I have read Helter Skelter). But if you know nothing on the subject and have barely even heard of Charles Manson or the Tate/LaBianca murders, then you may find this to be just a little bit confusing only because they focus a great deal on little bits of odd info (ex. interviewing a man who now resides at Jay Sebring's house, or how the rumor of Sharon Tate living right across Mama Cass' house turned out to be a false one).I don't know, if you're a Manson fan, watch it. If you like true crime, watch it. If you like history, watch it. If you're 5 years old...then I guess you shouldn't watch it.

gavin6942 This is a documentary about the Charles Manson murders, but also about the hobbies of the man who is obsessed with celebrity deaths. The Manson family is covered, as are many, many others topics that may be of interest to Manson scholars.opens with a disclaimer saying that there are so many different theories that some people will find something about this film they disagree with. As I entered into the film looking for flaws, that struck me a bit personally. Though, it did not stop me from looking for flaws.The film is different from other documentaries -- it actually spends little time on Manson at all, focusing more on the victims and the various houses they lived in and places they worked. There is some interesting background on Sharon Tate and Roman Polanski. Many other tangential connections... but if you have read as much Manson material as I have, this is actually quite a treat.If you haven't heard Manson's music, you should. "Cease to Exist" is featured in this film, which went on to be a Beach Boys tune. No aspect of the crimes or lives of those involved goes uncovered. Even Jack Nicholson and the movie "Grease" somehow get tied in.I absolutely, positively recommend this film to anyone who has an interest in Charles Manson. I think I know a lot more than the average person about the crimes, but this documentary still keyed me in to things I could never have discovered otherwise.