6. The Family
Ed Sanders 1971 study of the dark countercultural phenomenon known as the Manson Family is often thought to be the definitive book on the subject. Lacking the self-interested viewpoint of prosecuting attorney Vincent Bugliosi, whose HELTER SKELTER spawned the 1970s TV miniseries of that title, Sanders was himself a mover in the hippie era: an underground poet and member of New York anarcho-folk rock band the Fugs. His own anti-establishment credentials allowed him to get closer to the frayed edges of the hippie scene, some of whose acolytes were acid-addled enough to be indoctrinated by Charlie Manson. The outcome of it all was the Tate-LaBianca murders of August 1969 (whose victims included filmmaker Roman Polanskis wife and unborn son), its motives hidden beneath layers of psychedelic mysticism, myth and plain old BS. The rationale for so much bloodshed ranges from apocalyptic visions of a race war (Charlie was not so much a hippie as an acid fascist) to the pettier motive of revenge on a record producer who failed to turn Mansons acid-folk songs into hits. Considering the power of Charlies supposedly magical charisma (he wasnt even present for five of the seven murders, when the Family was said to do his bidding), it seemed appropriate to get a genuine movie star on board for the film of Sanders book. In 2000, Johnny Depp earned a little unwanted publicity when he requested a visit to Charlie at Corcoran State Prison, where the former head of the Family (these days an online environmental activist, apparently) is serving out his life sentence. Its not known if his request was ever actually granted, but THE FAMILY never went ahead once Depp left the project. As of late 2014, the latest option on the book was taken by independent production company Roxwell Films. If it does actually go forward this time, their intended screenwriter is Guinevere Turner, who adapted AMERICAN PSYCHO for Mary Harron. Part of the longterm problem in bringing THE FAMILY to the screen appears to be the perception that it belongs at the other end of the market. HELTER SKELTER has been filmed as a TV miniseries twice, three decades apart, while low-budget exploitation director Jim Van Bebbers psychedelic gorefest THE MANSON FAMILY (2003) borrowed factual elements from THE FAMILY, HELTER SKELTER and just about every published work on Mansons murderous little clan. First begun in 1989 under the title CHARLIES FAMILY, the no-budget movie took a full 14 years to complete. (As Van Bebber told me many years ago, the process was talking so long that the actor playing lead murderer Tex Watson was losing his hair.) At moments the films lack of resources can make it look jaw-droppingly inept; at other junctures, its down-and-dirty grindhouse ethos and deeply disturbing gore lend it a chill that a Hollywood picture probably couldnt match.
Jamie Langlands as Nilsen, in the truncated short film based on KILLING FOR COMPANY (2013).