The Manson Family (2003) (Blu-ray Review)
Directed By: Jim Van Bebber
Starring: Marcelo Games, Marc Pitman, Leslie Orr
Rated: UR/Region: 1/1×33/1080p/Number of disc: 1
Available from Severin Films
It has been hailed as amazingly disturbing (Dread Central), extreme and uncompromised (Roger Ebert) and one of the best true crime films ever made (DVD Talk). Now from the punishing mind of writer/producer/director Jim Van Bebber comes his epic of hallucinatory horror like you’ve never seen it before: This is the ultimate account of Charles Manson and his followers, a blood-soaked saga that takes you from their drug-fueled orgies, to their grisly massacres, and into the legacy of depravity that survives today. It is a singular vision of nihilistic evil that remains alarmingly original, unapologetically graphic and shockingly real. These are the most infamous crimes of our time as depicted by one of the most dangerous underground filmmakers of all time. This is THE MANSON FAMILY.
The Manson Family is an eye-opening film odyssey that started in the 80s and wasn’t finished until 2003. The content of the film is at times hard to watch and it should be because it is telling a very nasty story that did really happen. It takes a film like this to help drive home the fact of just how horrible the events that took place around The Manson Family really were. Here we have a group of actors that went all in to make this as realistic as they could and the end results is a creative film that is anything but typical and loaded with gruesome scenes, events, and style. It isn’t what I’d call a fun watch like Van Bebber’s Deadbeat at Dawn, but it isn’t meant to be.
The fact that the film started filming in the 80s and completed many years later only adds to the realness of the movie and its documentary style format. The fact that the “prison” interviews with the family members have now older actors that are talking about past events and they are naturally aged to go along with it is an accidental victory for the film. They say things happens for a reason and the long and hard journey of Jim Van Bebber and his quest to finish this film seem to have all worked out for the best. I’m not a hardcore history buff on Charlie Manson at all, but this film is the best film I’ve seen on the very dark and twisted subject. And, if you owned the DVD before now, the new HD transfer looks better than you’d think and is worth of another dip.
– Audio Commentary with Director Jim VanBebber
– Gator Green – Exclusive First Release of VanBebber’s latest short
– Exclusive New Interview With Phil Anselmo
– The VanBebber Family – Uncut Version of ‘Making Of’ Documentary Featuring Interviews with Cast and Crew
– In The Belly of The Beast – Documentary On the 1997 Fantasia Film Festival
– Interview With Charles Manson
– Deleted Scenes
– Theatrical Trailers
