For a guy who has only released two feature films, Jim Van Bebber has made quite a name for himself in the world of cult movies. This true renegade director took over ten years to complete this flick and it was worth the wait. I don't know if I can think of any other example of someone being as dedicated to his vision as Van Bebber was to making this film and this is going to be the movie that he is remembered for. While he is known for his outbursts, his bouts with addiction, and his tendency to be unpredictable, Van Bebber is also known for making some crazy flicks that are never boring and pay attention to details that you would not expect. My only hope is that this is not Van Bebber's last flick as he has pretty much vanished from the film world. Maybe all that time obsessing about The Manson Family took too much of a toll or maybe he is just fed up with the process of making movies. It is truly a shame because he vastly improved with each feature or short film and I think we have only seen a small sample of what he is capable of.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with the story, this is a true crime tale of Charles Manson and his group of followers who were involved in two nights of murder in the Hollywood Hills in 1969. This, along with the Stones at Altamont, marked the end of the hippie generation and ushered in the 70s with a dark shadow. Van Bebber spends most of the film showing the family when they lived at Spahn Ranch and focusing on Katie, Sadie, and Tex. There is not an abundance of character development as the film more depicts the feel of the time and situation as opposed to the events. This is an interesting approach that is risky if the director's vision is not clear and complete but Van Bebber is successful in capturing this and it comes off an an innovative and original way of telling the story. It combines the documentary feel of the infamous film entitled Manson (with a faithful rendition of an interview with Squeaky and Sandy from that film), combines it with the events depicted in Helter Skelter, and throws in a visual style similar to Natural Born Killers in editing and the use of different film looks to give a unique and thoroughly interesting experience.

The brave performances from the cast are another main reason that this movie works as well as it does. Between the nude scenes and the uncensored violence of the killings, the actors needed to be totally dedicated to pull this off. In particular, Leslie Orr stands out as Patricia Krenwinkle (aka. Katie) as does Marc Pitman as Tex Watson. The two literally bared all and made the characters interesting even though we did not know a lot about them. Van Bebber himself plays Bobby Beausoleil. Although some of the actors do not necessarily look like the real family members, they all capture the essence of what the family members were like. As the movie was shot over a long period of time, we get another unique aspect of filmmaking as you can see the actors age in the different time periods shown in the film.

This is not a movie for the faint of heart. As I mentioned, there is a lot of graphic nudity and sex. The Tate-LaBianca murders are shown in brief but ghastly detail. We do not see a lot of close-up gore as VanBebber does not linger in this section but seeing Tex and the girls repeatedly stab the victims in a frenzy is disturbing to say the least. It should also be noted that there is a parallel story running throughout the movie about a small group of goth-junkie-misanthrope terrorists planning an execution that comes off as cheap and awkward and does not fit in with the rest of the film at all. Had this brief section not been in the film, I would have given this movie four stars but it was enough to slightly detract from the strength of the rest of the flick. I understand what Van Bebber is trying to say with this portion but I am glad that these segments are brief and do not do too much to change the tone of movie as a whole. (Josh Pasnak, 7/17/10)

Directed By: Jim Van Bebber.
Written By: Jim Van Bebber.

Starring: Marc Pitman, Leslie Orr, Marcelo Games, Maureen Alisse.

aka: Charlie's Family.

Picture Ratio: Full Frame.

Picture Quality: Dark Sky provide a great transfer of this movie. I am surprised how good it looks considering all of the difficulty getting the final product released.

Extras: First up, we get an in-depth documentary on the making of the film entitled "The Van Bebber Family". Running at 76 minutes, this features interviews with Van Bebber and all of the major cast and crew members with the only noticeable absence being Marcelo Games (who plays Manson). The insights shared in this piece amazed me as they reveal the dedication of Van Bebber and his collaborators. It sounds like an experience that will be a highlight of all of their lives and reinforces that the making of this film was a unique experience that has not been done before or since.

Next, we get another in-dept documentary on the trials of indie filmmakers. Director Alex Chisholm's "In The Belly of the Beast" runs 73 minutes and looks at a number of filmmakers at the 1997 Fantasia Film Festival in Montreal including Richard Stanley (Hardware), Nacho Cerda (Aftermath), Todd Morris/Deborah Twiss (A Gun for Jennifer), Karim Hussain (Subconscious Cruelty), and Van Bebber. Through interviews with the filmmakers, Chisholm gives us a sense of the dedication and frustrations that these artists all face and it comes across as both inspirational and maddening. I have seen most of the films that are featured in this documentary and it is interesting hearing what the directors feel about their films as they are being premiered and the success or failure is uncertain. This is an very well done indie time capsule that is well worth seeing.

Rounding out the extras are a couple of photo galleries, trailers, and an interview with Manson himself. This interview is not exclusive to the disc but is actually 10 minutes that was taken from the Charles Manson: Superstar documentary made in 1989 by Nikolas Schreck. I have always been fascinated by Manson and the whole story and this is a good place to go if you want to see more on the subject.