NINETOES VS CHAOS: THE MANSON MURDERS

Ninetoes watches Errol Morris’s CHAOS: THE MANSON MURDERS and explores the mysteries behind the infamous cult leader.

TITLE: Chaos: The Manson Murders

DIRECTOR: Errol Morris

WRITERS: Tom O’Neil and Dan Piepenbring

STARS: Tom O’Neil, Errol Morris, Stephen Kay, Charles Manson

RUN TIME: 95 minutes

Hey there, movie lovers. It is your old pal, Ninetoes, coming at you from the Ninetoes HQ with a review of Chaos: The Manson Murders. I have coffee in my system, and my thinking cap on, so let’s get to it!

I am a kid of the 70s, and the most talked about event was the trial of Charles Manson. We lived on the east coast, on Long Island, and I remember my grandfather talking about this. As I got older, I saw the television movie, I read Vincent Bugliosi’s book Helter Skelter (twice) and my wife and I have seen just about everything about Charles Manson and his followers.

The other night I pulled up NETFLIX, and my wife, my son and I watched Chaos: The Manson Murders. This is a different take on the Manson Murders and the aftermath. In this movie, the director (Morris) interviews Tom O’Neil, the man who wrote CHAOS: Charles Manson, The CIA, and the Secret History of the Sixties. Basically what started out as a three-month assignment for Premiere Magazine on the 30^th anniversary of the Manson Murders led to a twenty-year investigation and there are still questions that need to be answered.

The main question is: How did Charles Manson convince his followers to kill for him? The movie attempts to answer this in five chapters. In each chapter, some thought-provoking questions/points are made. In the end, there is no definable answer. It all depends on what you want to believe.

The movie is enhanced with music by Charles Manson, and I am surprised to say some of it is really good. In addition to his music, there are clips from interviews with Mr. Manson, and some of his followers, namely Susie Atkins, Tex Watson, Leslie Van Houten, Patricia Krenwinkle, and Bobby Bouseliel. These interviews give an insight as to how Manson worked and got into your mind, and if that failed, how he got you under his thumb (usually with something called “convict currency”, I did something bad for you, now you do something bad for me.).

What I did not like was the split-screen element of a lot of the movie. One moment, you are looking at Tom O’Neil, and then it goes into a sort of mirror image split screen. Why? This did not add anything to the movie. If nothing else, it made my eyes want to cross.

This film is perfect for anyone interested in the Manson murders, true crime buffs, conspiracy theorists, and anyone wanting a peek at the dark underbelly of the late 1960s.

I give this 4 popcorn buckets out of 5!

Happy Viewing.

Darren “Ninetoes” Perdue is a book and media reviewer. When he is not reading, he is watching true crime shows, cooking for his family, or working on a plan for universal domination. If you see him on his porch, say hi. He does not bite…much.