Wonderful Movie

Good concept, poorly executed.

Fresh and Exciting

A Masterpiece!

Helter Skelter is a British theme park ride where children climb to the top and slide down to the ground in a spiral fashion. The Beatles wrote a harmless song about it. Maniac cult leader and thankfully now deceased Charles Manson's only success in life was that he unfairly tarnished the term forever. He literally failed at everything else.The Tate murders involved the murder of beautiful and talented actress Sharon Tate in her home on 9th of August 1969. What made this event most despicable is that she was eight and a half months pregnant. Four friends died with her that night. Manson was a such a coward that he stayed home strumming his guitar and smoking pot while his idiot followers carried out this heinous act. This one event signaled the end of the hippy free love movement. Sharon Tate's address was 10050 Cielo Drive in Los Angeles. This address is so infamous that the murder house was demolished and the current owners lobbied successfully to the Los Angeles council to change the address.Most documentaries on this case focus on two people: Sharon Tate and her husband Oscar winning film director Roman Polanski. This one is different in that it focuses on the Manson family and their lesser known victims. Namely the four friends that died with Sharon Tate and the Labianca family, who were murdered after the murderers fled the scene. Its worth watching this one as it goes into great detail, especially if its viewed in combination with one that focuses on Tate and Polanski, so that the viewer gets the full picture.

As someone with a slight knowledge of the actual details of the Tate/LaBianca murders, there is much to learn from this documentary. And the writer and narrator have apparently studied the events and those involved quite thoroughly. In fact they almost provide more background on the murder victims than Manson and his "family." Some of it seems non essential so you must have patience for the actual murder events to properly unfold. Also, as was said by another reviewer, the very beginning seems to be nothing more than an opportunity for the narrator to sell his tour business and himself. Throughout the rest he guides us to various locations in California in relation to Manson and the murders, during which he provides a substantial amount of anecdotal, personal commentary. Luckily for him he is amiable enough but i did find myself wishing for a more properly produced documentary for which the budget obviously would not allow. Or maybe it was intentionally written that way. Regardless, there were plenty of genuinely creepy moments on location and enough information to keep me interested.

Hollywood death tour guide Scott Michaels takes us on a lively, thorough, and illuminating exploration of the infamous Tate/LoBianco murders committed by the notorious Manson Family. Among the stuff covered in this incredibly comprehensive documentary are autopsy reports (the inevitable crime photos of the victims are quite graphic and upsetting), background information on all the victims, visits to primary locations (the journey to the desolate godforsaken desert town of Battarat where the Barker Ranch is located proves to be genuinely eerie; ditto a late night walk down the street the killers went down on the anniversary of the murders), Manson's abortive recording career (we get to heart Manson sing the creepy ditty "Cease to Exist"), and connections to everything from the movie "Grease" to the folk-rock group The Mamas and the Pappas. Moreover, Michaels goes out of his way to debunk certain popular urban legends about Manson (for example, Manson couldn't have auditioned for The Monkees because he was in jail at the time). Michaels makes for an extremely enthusiastic, passionate, and engaging host. Recommended viewing for true crime buffs.

This is a very engaging, well-researched documentary that details a great many additions to the Tate/LaBianca murders that were never made public. Mr. Dorsey is a likable, enthusiastic host throughout the film, who clearly has an obsession with Hollywood trivia. Despite his legal troubles, I've always considered Roman Polanski to be one of the world's best and original directors, and the film gave me a little more depth into his life and what he must have gone through during this horrific period. The doc appears to be shot on video, and I'd never heard of it until now; am curious if Mr. Dorsey managed to make a profit off of it, as it looks as though he put a great deal of work into its production. It's chilling at times and a little on the black/ghoulish side, but a bit like driving by a car wreck... you want to, but you can't look away. Manson and his followers were clearly very sick individuals who created a great deal of destruction besides just the Tate/LaBianca killings; this is an excellent documentary that explains that in a lot more detail.