As a true crime fan, I was very disappointed by the many, many inaccuracies in this film. I'm aware it's only 'loosely based' on the Manson murders but I don't think there's any reason to omit the truth & embellish the lies.
Obviously the second storyline featuring Perry, the juror, is fiction but this aside, the real back story is shocking enough without twisting round the facts. Little things annoyed me, for instance, the complete absence of Tex who was obviously a key player in events at the time, the numerous missing explanations from Charlie about his apocalyptic prophecy & as if him saying 'it's all coming down' every 5 minutes is supposed to offer some clue to the uninitiated. Someone who does not know the story would be even more confused at this point as suddenly there's a complete & utter lack of comprehensive story progression from Bobby being jailed, to the murders taking place & then into the trial. The chain of events that led to it literally 'all coming down' is absent altogether & in actuality it was almost a year before the trial even began.
On a positive note, the acting of both Gregory Smith & Kristen Hager was well thought out but sadly not enough to save this flop. Most of the characters were unconvincing & the whole thing just seemed cheesy & contrived. Not recommended if you want the facts.
For the best portrayal of Charles Manson I have ever seen watch Jeremy Davies's performance in Helter Skelter (2004).
Obviously the second storyline featuring Perry, the juror, is fiction but this aside, the real back story is shocking enough without twisting round the facts. Little things annoyed me, for instance, the complete absence of Tex who was obviously a key player in events at the time, the numerous missing explanations from Charlie about his apocalyptic prophecy & as if him saying 'it's all coming down' every 5 minutes is supposed to offer some clue to the uninitiated. Someone who does not know the story would be even more confused at this point as suddenly there's a complete & utter lack of comprehensive story progression from Bobby being jailed, to the murders taking place & then into the trial. The chain of events that led to it literally 'all coming down' is absent altogether & in actuality it was almost a year before the trial even began.
On a positive note, the acting of both Gregory Smith & Kristen Hager was well thought out but sadly not enough to save this flop. Most of the characters were unconvincing & the whole thing just seemed cheesy & contrived. Not recommended if you want the facts.
For the best portrayal of Charles Manson I have ever seen watch Jeremy Davies's performance in Helter Skelter (2004).