AllMovie

Adapted from the book by Vincent Bugliosi, Helter Skelter is a stellar docudrama that details the Manson family murders and the subsequent trial. Using a documentary style with voice-over narration to keep the story moving along, director Tom Gries perfectly captures the horrifying details of the case, including Charles Manson's eerie, brainwashed followers and his belief that he was receiving messages to start a race war from The Beatles' White Album. The film also does a fantastic job of conveying the public fear over a case that sent shock waves throughout the entire nation. In the part of Manson, Steve Railsback is frenetic, frightening, and always mesmerizing. His powerful address to the courtroom at the end even provokes a glimpse of sympathy for the madman. In a less exciting role opposite Railsback, George DiCenzo is solid as Bugliosi, the young lawyer chosen to prosecute the case. Helter Skelter was originally shown as a two-part CBS television movie that ran 194 minutes, but beware the video version released in the 1980s -- it comes in at a significantly chopped 119 minutes.