Plot so thin, it passes unnoticed.

The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.

Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

I'd thought that this was actually going to be a director's cut of the original movie - but then I saw that it was a new take and was very interested to see how they did.The guy who played Manson I think was a bit over the top and trying too hard to be eccentric. All the women in the movie pretty much were gorgeous, which was not the case with the original women. Clea Duvall was good, as were the ones playing Atkins and Krenwenkel. Kudos also to the woman playing Rosemary LaBianca, although the parts for the victims were of course not long enough or complicated enough for the actors/actresses to expand.Facts-wise it was very interesting because they pulled a great deal, especially with the dialogue, directly from quotes attributed to the real people in Bugliosi's book. But then just when I was about to commend them for being that meticulous, they pull out absurdity such as Sharon asking Atkins to cut out the baby, and other real embellishments. I think the real story is horrifying enough. There was no need to try and make things more "bankable" or to try to ratchet up the sadness by making stuff up.I wasn't looking directly at the screen when Bugliosi made his first appearance. You could NOT have told me he was not being played by Joe Pesci until I looked up to see. He sounds exactly like Pesci - it was hilarious in spite of the subject matter.The graphic scenes were well done. They kept on graying out the screen not unlike movies such as Sin City when things got especially graphic - at least partly for effect.Overall not a bad movie. It got most of it right, but left out a lot and embellished a lot. It was far more like a "TV movie" than the original was and overall I'd say if you saw the original you can absolutely skip this one. In fact I'll be watching the original again as soon as this is over - it's still on as I write this.

After seeing the 1976 version of HELTER SKELTER directed by Tom Gries, which focuses more on the investigation and trial of the Manson "family" than on the crimes themselves, I thought "It would be interesting if someone made a film which focuses on the 'family' rather than the prosecutor and actually dramatizes out the murders." That's exactly what John Gray did here. HELTER SKELTER (2004) provides an in-depth look at the Manson "family," using Linda Kasabian as a frequent focal point. It also gives some illustration of the wacko theories that Manson and certain of his followers developed in order to justify the Hinman, Tate, LaBianca, and other murders, shows the crimes themselves in front-story (rather than the brief flashbacks the '76 film showed), along with giving a new perspective on the trials and aftermaths.I've noticed some complaints that certain details of the crimes, as well as Manson's whole "Helter Skelter" theory, were misrepresented or missed altogether. As one of many long-time obsessives with the Manson murders, I can only say that the creators of this film really strove to be as accurate as possible, right up to details such as a bloody towel inadvertently landing on Jay Sebring's face and being interpreted as a symbolic "hood." It would be well-nigh impossible to capture every detail (some of which are not terribly important for our purposes today) of the murders or to explain/reveal all the justifications (which are themselves subject to disagreement) that the "family" used for committing these horrible acts. This being a drama rather than a documentary, too much analysis of Manson's motives would become quite ponderous after a while.That being said, there ARE one or two rather vague, fluffy scenes. I also read a comment somewhere by former Manson associate Bobby Beausoleil, still incarcerated for the Hinman murder, who, after watching this film, stated something to the effect that, had Manson been anywhere near as obvious a megalomaniacal creep as the one shown in this film, none of his "family" would ever have had anything to do with him. A fair statement, but again, perfectly capturing Manson's personality and his interactions with his accomplices would be virtually impossible.All things considered, this was a very hard and complicated story to pack into 137 DVD minutes, and the creators did a commendable job of choosing what/what-not to show. The acting by virtually all the major players here is quite good, often outstanding. I also like the way that the police, Bugliosi, and the other prosecutors are not represented as the completely squeaky-clean paragons of virtue that they were in the '76 HELTER SKELTER. There will always be those who are dissatisfied with how certain actual people and events are portrayed, especially when it comes to people they actually knew (or were) and events in which they actually took part. Some oversimplication is inevitable. But I repeat, it would be hard to recreate the Helter Skelter murders with a higher degree of accuracy than this film does, and anyone with the remotest interest should find HELTER SKELTER (04) fascinating.

I should have seen it coming; there it was right on the front cover: 'based on the true story of the Manson murders'. Fair warning, in other words, that the truth is only one ingredient in the anemic 'once-over-lightly' fare that is 'Helter Skelter (Director's Cut)'. The Manson story is as (no pun intended) meaty a tale as one could want, with indictments aplenty in all directions. In the no-man's land between the intolerant strictures of 'straight' society and the wilds of the willfully unguarded 'alternative' society career criminal Charles Manson gathered his clan into a black bus and set off on a trip into the night-side of the 1960s counterculture which took in psychedelic mysticism, communal living, the Bible, the Beatles, the Beach Boys, Scientology, outlaw biker clubs, big-time drug dealing, intimidation, torture and multiple murders. It was like lifting up 'America' to see the scuttling bugs feasting on the decay beneath, and along with student riots, Altamont and urban guerrilla gangs the whole Manson affair pretty much annihilated the 'peace and love' 1960s. Despite featuring fair-to-good acting (especially an acceptably deranged yet seductive Manson in Jeremy Davis), this movie is a disaster. True, the movie claims to be based on prosecuting attorney Vincent Bugliosi's book, but in this case 'based on' apparently means you can just do whatever you like and sure enough, within a few minutes of beginning we've strayed into fantasy (Gary Hinman had his ear cut through, and not severed as in the movie). The Manson story has been a lifelong interest of mine, and whilst I could fill the page with the jaw-droppers and historical howlers which abound in this movie, consider just this one point which illustrates how wrong 'Helter Skelter' gets it. The entire treatment of Charles Manson's supposed lack musical ability amounts to a running gag throughout the screenplay. He is depicted as downright deluded and his formless efforts laughable. In real life Charles Manson was a remarkably talented singer-songwriter, albeit one with a slight lyrical fixation on prison and incarceration. Go to YouTube, click on 'Eyes of a Dreamer' or 'Cease to Exist' (the one the Beach Boys did) and you will hear melodically attractive compositions driven by a rhythmically strong acoustic guitar style and topped with a pleasantly blues-tinged voice favorably reminiscent of Jose Feliciano. Manson did indeed have talent, not that you'd know it from 'Helter Skelter'. They get it completely wrong there and in chopping great lumps out of the story (e.g. the Family's doomed 'alliance' with the biker gang, the weekend 'attraction' the Spahn ranch offered the young and hip L.A. set, and so very much more) to concentrate on turncoat Linda Kasabian's story, far too much expository dialogue is utilised to fill in the details. The talky and curiously gore-challenged screenplay gives 'Helter Skelter' a shallow 'TV movie' feel (which indeed it was). The real Manson story contains multitudes, and although filmed a number of times now, no-one has yet captured the disturbing, almost cosmic darkness which is its hallmark. 'Helter Skelter' just re-hashes fact and fiction alike and dumbs down what's left into a soap opera with murders. The story (still) remains untold.

Although the Manson Family was vicious, this movie was Excellent! Everything about it was great, acting, costumes, production, script, directing and photography. I give this movie 10 out of 10 stars. Two Thumbs Way Up! Thank you for not making it a stupid movie.The whole Manson Family should have been executed. They should have gone right away. No appeals or clemency for any of them. Fry them all. The world would be better without them.Charles Manson was and still is a very vicious and cold blooded and hearted individual, as well as his followers. I do not think that any of them should ever be paroled from prison. Cocoran State Prison is where he belongs and the California Institution For Women is where the women belong.