Truth is Stranger Than Fiction - A Look at 15 True Cases & the Films Inspired By Them

That being said, there are lots of films that actually come from history. Sometime real life is more disturbing than the fiction it creates.

I want to take a look at some of the most interesting cases and the films they helped inspire. Yes, spoilers abound. In the end, Id like you be the judge on whether truth is more horrifying than fiction

Stranger Than Fiction

#15

The Sawney Bean Clan (15th/16th Century)
TRUTH: The Sawney Beane Clan was a family of 16 people (Sawney and his wife plus 14 children) who grew into a family of 48 through incest while living in the caves of Bennane Head in Scotland for 25 years. To feed themselves, they fed on local villagers until finally being apprehended during a manhunt lead by King James VI. The entire family was put to death without trial and without remorse for the over 200 reported victims. Facts and transcripts are incomplete and the Beane story closely resembles that of earlier noted Scottish cannibal Christie Cleek. Therefore, Sawney Beane remains feet firmly planted in both history and legend.
#15

FICTION: The two most notable film creations are of course, The Hills Have Eyes (1977) and Evil Breed: The Legend of Samhain (2003). Keep in mind that this is not a complete or best of list.
In The Hills Have Eyes, a family (father, Jupiter, his alcoholic prostitute wife, Mama, and their three sons, Mars, Pluto, and Mercury, and daughter Ruby) live in the desert and survive by cannibalizing passersby. Notable horrific acts include the head bitten off a Canary and a man cooked alive. Directed by Wes Craven, the film set a standard for horror and pushing the limits of acceptable entertainment.
Evil Breed: The Legend of Samhain takes a more direct and more fantastic route by setting the story in Scotland and having the cannibals grossly deformed incestrious descendants of the Beane Clan. The film features some of the most grotesque gore scenes on film including a man who has his intestine ripped out and is dragged to his death by them and a fetus scene that mirrors ANTHROPOMORPHOUS. EVIL BREED is a decent film and much better than its reputation would suggest. Often overlooked due to the casting of several adult film stars (in MINOR roles), this is a strong and interesting take on the Beane legend.
#14

The Phantom Killer (1946)
TRUTH: The Phantom Killer stalked back roads and lover’s lanes in Texarkana, Arkansas in 1946. Each victim was sexually assaulted and tortured before they died. Five victims in all not including the three that survived. The Phantom was never caught and the murders stopped. Due to several similarities and coincidences, some experts believe that the Phantom Killer eventually became Zodiac. That is however, just a theory.
#14

FICTION: The Town That Dreaded Sundown debuted in 1977. Though taking some liberties for dramatic license, many of the particulars of the case are depicted. A man wearing a white hood and NAVY boots attacks several couples at night on “Lover’s Lane”.
More docudrama than flat out horror film, The Town That Dreaded Sundown remains an intriguing film that still has moments where it unsettles.
#13

Snagov Vacation House Invasion (2002)
TRUTH: Little is actually known other than a home invasion in rural Romania happened in late 2002. A couple was murdered in their vacation home by three teenaged street kids. Home invasion is frightening no matter what so the details are incidental. The frightening thing is that this is fantastic or rare. This happens somewhere in the world every year.
#13

FICTION: ILs AKA Them is a film that terrified me. Filmmakers David Moreau and Xavier Palud heard the story from a cab driver while in country and that was the seed that ILs grew out of. In the film, a couple, Clementine and Lucas are visiting a vacation home in Snagov and are awakened by noise at 3 a.m. Thus starts a terrifying journey into the horror of home invasion. The couple cannot simply escape because there is nowhere to go and though we know it is just the two of them, we have no idea how many attackers are out there in the darkness. One of the reasons why the film is so scary is it takes the idea of the home and makes it a prison from which there is no escape. Best watched with the sound turned all the way up.
#12

The Exorcism of Anneliese Michel (1976)
TRUTH: Anneliese Michel was a young high school student from Aschaffenburg, Germany. Kind, reserved, and religious, she was not the kind of person you would have expected to die so young…and not like this. In 1968, while away at school, Anneliese Michel said that she felt a presence in her room and that it became part of her in the darkness. She was sixteen at the time and began having convulsions. She was soon diagnosed with Epilepsy. At this time she began having visions of demonic forces all around her. Her condition escalated until she smelled of death and evil danced in her eyes.
In 1975, a priest was granted an exorcism and began to treat her. Once the exorcisms started, her behavior got vile. She bit off the head of a dead bird. She would tear off her clothes and urinate on the floor, then lick it up. She ate insects and coal. She screamed all night long. Once she even crawled under the table and barked like a dog for a couple of days.
Over the next 10 months, a total of 67 exorcisms were performed on Annalese while she herself refused to eat. She felt that starvation would drive out the demon within her. Eventually she died. She was 68 Lbs. at the time of her death.
#12

FICTION: The Exorcism Of Emily Rose was the story of a young woman who dies during an exorcism. The theory is that she was epileptic and died from neglect. Father Richard Moore is on trial against a hardened prosecuting attorney and defended by an agnostic D.A. We get to know Emily in flashbacks which detail her horrifying experiences leading up to and including her exorcism. A very sad but clever horror film with great visuals and an exorcism that will send a chill down your spine.
#11

Adolfo de Jesús Constanzo Cult Murders (1989)
TRUTH: Adolfo de Jesús Constanzo was a drug dealer and practitioner of Black Magic. He was born and raised in Miami but moved to Mexico City as an adult. He picked up two followers and started casting “Luck Spells” which involved animal sacrifice. These were very expensive and his clientele consisted mostly of hitmen and drug dealers. However, he soon began to attract high society figures and even police officials. Instead of payment, Police Officials introduced him to heads of drug cartels.
His small group soon grew into a cult and his appetite for power grew as well. When he demanded to become a full partner in one of the Cartels, he was rejected. As a result several members of the cartels family were kidnapped, murdered, and mutilated. The killing continued until he abducted and killed a young American Student named Mark Kilroy, who was on spring break.
Officers raided the ranch and found a cauldron that contained a dead black cat and a human brain. 14 dead bodies were dug up including that of Mark Kilroy. Constonzo was not taken alive. When the police reached him, he was already dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
#11

FICTION: Borderland is a frightening film in its implications because though liberties are taken with the story, they are not taken with reality. The film tells the story of three recent Texas University grads that go to Mexico and get into the kind of questionable trouble one gets into when they travel across the border. This leads to one of the boys being kidnapped and eventually hacked up.
A drug cartel practicing Black Magic needs white Americans for human sacrifices in order to make their drugs invisible to border patrol. The film is a bit convoluted but in essence, it is a cautionary tale of traveling outside of our borders, not just literally, but figuratively as well.
#10

Gustave the Killer Croc (Current)
TRUTH: Gustave is a large Crocodile living near Burundi, Africa credited with over 300 human kills. The number is unverified but well believed, as is his length, over 25 ft. long. Gustave was originally believed to be 100 years old but due to the number of teeth he possesses, he is likely just over 60 years. He bears four documented bullet wounds including one to the face. Locals need the Ruzizi River for fishing and wash so they are at the mercy of this predator that has eaten men, women and children. According to documentarian Patrice Faye, during a three month period he was studying Gustave, 17 people were killed. Noticed that I said killed, for that is one of the most terrifying aspects of Gustave. His victims are often found missing only a bite. He kills for the sake of killing. One reason for his notorious appetite may be his size. He is so massive that killing smaller prey such as fish would be impossible. Elephants, Hippos, and humans would be slower and more manageable making them the food of choice for this aged beast.
#10

FICTION: Primeval is a 2007 film based on Gustave about a fictionalized team of reporters who head down to Burundi to investigate and capture Gustave alive. They in fact end up in a civil war between the people and a warlord calling himself “Little Gustave”.
Gustave himself is an exaggerated version of the real thing and is used more as a plot device than as the heart of the movie.The film was received terribly and though it is by no means great but half way decent. All the marketing neglected to tell you that you were seeing a killer croc movie so this is probably the main reason for such horrid reviews.
The superior 2007 film Rogue was originally thought to also be inspired by Gustave in part. Though the setting and storyline was based on Sweetheart, an Australian Crocodile, no deaths were ever attributed to her.
#9

Snedeker Funeral Home Haunting (1986)
TRUTH: The Snedeker family moved from upstate New York to Southington, Connecticut in 1986 in order to be closer to the UCONN hospital where their son was receiving treatment for Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. Soon after moving in, the family suffered several occurrences including lights flickering without bulbs, dishes moving from the table to the cabinet and mother Carmen being attacked by a shower curtain. Paranormal researcher Ed and Lorraine Warren, along with John Zaffis were called to the home to help battle the problem. During the course of their investigation, the team concluded that the former parlor workers were practicing necrophilia which may have resulted in the unsettled presence in the home.
#9

FICTION: A Haunting in Connecticut told the story of family haunted by spirits in their home which turned out to be a former funeral parlor. The eldest son, dying from cancer, begins to see visions and exhibits odd behavior. Soon they find out that the original owner was attempting to bind the dead with the house and all hell breaks loose. Many aspects of this film are exaggerated including the supernatural showdowns and fiery ending.
#8

Henry Lee Lucas (1960-1983)
TRUTH: Henry Lee Lucas was a text book case of born to kill. His mother dressed him as a girl and would have sex in front of him. In January 1960, he killed his mother with a broom. After serving 10 years in prison, he was released and embarked on his life of crime.Henry drifted around the south until meeting up with Ottis Toole and his niece, Frieda “Becky” Powell. Like minds attract each other and soon Otis and Henry were killing together. According to Henry, He and Ottis killed 108 people together. Differences eventually arose and Ottis headed off on his own, leaving Becky with Henry. Henry eventually killed her as well during an argument and was on his own till his 1983 arrest. Henry confessed to over 3000 murders including Jimmy Hoffa and indirectly, Jim Jones’ cult. 213 crimes were cleared off the books due to Henry’s confessions, making him the most prolific serial killer in history, regardless of his exaggerated claims.
#8

FICTION: There are two main films that are worth a look dealing with Henry. The original Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer and Confessions of a Serial Killer.
Confessions of a Serial Killer was a TV movie that though changing the names of its central characters, remains much more faithful to the life and times of Henry. The film begins with Daniel Ray Hawkins’ interrogation and his story is told in flashback. The film details his young abusive life, first murder, and finally his team up with “Moon Lewton”. Though made for TV, the film has a sleazy quality and a desperate feel that will leave you feeling icky inside in spite of its restrictions.
#8

FICTION: Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer follows drifter Henry as he drives from town to town killing at will. His roommate Otis is a small time drug dealer and pedophile that picks up his sister from the airport and brings her home to live with them. Soon Ottis becomes Henry’s murder student and Becky begins falling for him. For a while they become the perfect dysfunctional family, but the ticking time bomb will have its day and a series of bad decisions brings their small, death filled existence to a violent and repulsive end.Henry haunted me for days. The video tapping of the home invasion was unlike anything committed to film and still looks as unsettling today. The opening murder scene montage is haunting and though the pace slows a bit, it never stops disturbing you, right up to its gruesome and heart stopping climax.
#7

Ilse Koch (1937 -1941)
Many know the name Ilsa but few know she was a real person, though not exactly the buxom nymphomaniac that has been portrayed. Ilsa’s reputation went far and wide as a sadistic Commandant and sociopath. It’s hard to say how far she actually went with her behavior, but she was accused by several witnesses of skinning prisoners and keeping their tattoos as souvenirs. She was also accused of making human skin lampshades years before Ed Gein. She was brought to trial as a war criminal but due to lack of evidence, the skinning aspects were dropped and she was convicted of incitement to murder, incitement to attempted murder, and incitement to the crime of committing grievous bodily harm. She managed to avoid the death penalty but hung herself in her cell in 1967.
#7

FICTION: Ilsa She Wolf of the SS was made in 1975 starring Dyanne Thorne. Simply an exercise in exploitation, the film holds little in the way of good taste and those with weak stomachs should steer clear. Ilsa is torturing prisoners in order to prove that women have a higher tolerance for pain than men and should be allowed to serve on the front line. She also has an unhinged sexual appetite and when she outlasts her prisoners, she castrates them before execution. Eventually she takes on an American who has the stamina to defeat her.
#6

Joe Ball (1938)
Joe Ball was a WW1 war veteran who, once returning home became a bootlegger. When prohibition came to an end, he decided to open up a bar and continue on his chosen path. Soon after the bar opened, Ball installed an Alligator pit and charged people to view them during feeding time, which usually consisted of live dogs and cats.Joe occasionally pulled a gun on a patron for one reason or another making the entire establishment a sickening experience. Business went on as usual though until the disappearances. In 1937, a young waitress from the bar went missing. Ball put off the cops for a time but not forever. Lists of 12 former employees were missing in addition to two ex-wives. Authorities began to question Ball’s other employees including his handy man who, under intense interrogation, cracked. He confessed to helping Ball feed at least two bodies to the gators and stated that over 20 more had been disposed of. When police returned to the bar to question Ball, he pulled a gun from the register and blew his brains out. So ended the strange life of Joe Ball.
#6

FICTION: Eaten Alive was Tobe Hooper’s second film released in 1977. The film shared a common inverted fairytale quality with The Texas Chain Saw Massacre and is at the very least, a bookend to that style of film making for Hooper. Taking place in Texas, Our insane proprietor, Judd, runs the Starlight Hotel and keeps a pet Alligator. He is obviously insane and when a young prostitute begins renting a room, Judd loses his mind. He feeds the girl to his pet and pretends he never saw her. A young couple arrive at the hotel for a stay as do the prostitute’s parents. When all the extra body’s roaming the halls, it’s only a matter of time before the alligator must be fed. The film is a bit of a mess but appearances by Marilyn Burns, Caroline Jones, Stuart Whitman, and Robert Englund make it fun.
#5

Jim Jones and White Night (1978)
TRUTH: Jim Jones was pure evil in the worst way, he came as a friend. Jones was a community organizer and religious leader who used his influence and power to create a modern day slave culture to support his fragile ego. Jones built a community of poverty stricken people who worshipped him for the most part and those who didn’t still followed him. Everything may have seemed above board within the camp, but to outsides, things were just not adding up. After undergoing media scrutiny in San Francisco, Jones decided to move the colony to Guyana and named the settlement Jownstown, after himself. The rules for the People’s Temple were simple; give up all worldly possessions. Once you join, you can never leave.
In 1976, a Congressman Leo Ryan was informed that the son of a friend, who had joined the temple, was found mutilated by some train tracks. This happened to be just a few days after a taped phone conversation in which he stated that he wanted to leave the church. This was the inciting incident as far as Ryan was concerned. In November 1978, Congressman Leo Ryan led a team of reporters and cameramen to Jonestown to find out exactly what was going on there. Reports had surfaced of inhumane treatment and with America already against the idea of Jonestown, it didn’t take much for a visit to be deemed necessary.
Suspicion was thick as Ryan and the team entered the camp. During the evening, a note was passed to one of Ryan’s men that read "Dear Congressman, Vernon Gosney and Monica Bagby. Please help us get out of Jonestown." The next morning, several defectors came forward and demanded to leave with Ryan and his crew.
After a failed knife attack on Ryan, there was minimal resistance and fifteen people were allowed to leave. The group got as far as the airstrip before coming under fire by Jones’ "Red Brigade". While Jones’ armed guards opened fire from the outside, supposed defector Larry Layton pulled a gun while sitting in the plane and wounded two before being disarmed. Several people were killed including Congressman Ryan.
As horrifying as that was, the bloodbath at the airstrip was only a prelude to the real massacre. With his illusion of peace and control shattered, Jones preached that they were coming to kill them all. White Night was a daily practiced ritual suicide, a fail safe against reversion to society. Once Congressman Ryan was declared dead, Jones instructed all to drink the Kool-aid laced poison and die with dignity. Those who refused to drink were forced at gunpoint to inject a syringe into themselves. Over 900 people died from the poison including small children and infants. Jim Jones took his own life.
#5

FICTION: There have been three interesting films made from the Jonestown massacre, Guyana: Cult of the Damned, Guyana Tragedy: The Story of Jim Jones, and most recently, The Sacrament.
Guyana: Cult of the Damned was rushed out in 1979. Names were tweaked slightly including Stuart Whitman as “Reverend James Johnson” and Gene Barry as "Lee O'Brien". The film is gruesome in its depiction of the violence and though it takes a couple of liberties with the facts, it very much gets the truth of the horror across.
#5

FICTION: Guyana Tragedy: The Story of Jim Jones followed one year later. This made for TV miniseries starred Powers Booth, Meg Foster, and Randy Quaid. The film takes the viewer from Jim’s early life through his decent in to madness and murder. Though restrained because of its TV format, there is no denying its power.
#5

FICTION: The Sacrament is a 2014 fictionalized account inspired heavily by the events in Guyana. Patrick and his two friends who work at VICE head over to “Eden Parrish” so Patrick can check up on his missing sister. The whole idea seems a bit off and they figure they can document the goings on while they are there.
The crew is met by armed guards and a foreboding feeling hangs in the air. They meet up with Patrick’s sister Sarah, who assures them that this is the happiest place on Earth. They do some interviews and most people are pleasant but a few refuse to talk. That evening they meet “Father”, the leader of the community and they sit down for an interview. Slowly, as the night goes on, things get uncomfortable and by morning, everyone is fighting for their lives.
#4

Ted Bundy (1971-1978)
Ted Bundy was pure evil. He really had no good reason for the things he did. Bundy killed to kill beginning in 1971. His total was officially 36 confirmed dead but he famously said “Add one digit to that and you’ll have it.”
Bundy drove a VW Bug and targeted women who resembled his first girlfriend, who had rejected him. This coupled with the fact that his older sister turned out to be his mother, destroyed his ideas of life and love at a young age. Is this the reason for his hatred? Who knows? What we do know is that Bundy was unparalleled in his evil ways. A sadistic kidnapper, killer, cannibal, necrophile, and a few things I don’t know the name for. It was often thought that Bundy merely killed his victims but he would revisit them and paint their nails before making love to them. Sometimes he would decapitate the bodies and take head home as a souvenir. While on death row, he profiled and aided in the eventual capture of the Green River Killer. Bundy often volunteered to help law enforcement in order to stay his execution.
Bundy was electrocuted on January 24th, 1989.
#4

FICTION: There have been several Bundy films but only two are worth your time. The first was again a TV mini-series entitled The Deliberate Stranger made in 1986.
The Deliberate Stranger starred Mark Harmon as Ted Bundy. He did a remarkable job becoming Bundy and was praised by Bundy’s attorney for his performance. For those who are unaware, Mark Harmon was the TV doctor heartthrob of his day. Basically he was the '80s version of ER-era George Clooney. The film skips Bundy’s early years and picks up with him entering his prime, murdering in Washington, Utah, Colorado and Florida. The film shies away from the more horrifying aspects of the case which were not public knowledge at the time.
#4

FICTION: 2002’s Bundy is stomach-churning in its accuracy. All of his behavior is on display here. From stealing TVs (he never paid for anything if he could help it), to making up severed heads in his apartment. Where the mini-series focused on the man and his methods, this film focuses on the crimes. If you want a crash course on the sickness of his mind, this is it.
#3

Jeffrey Dahmer (1978-1991)

TRUTH: Jeffrey Dahmer was the quintessential misfit. He never quite fit in no matter how much he tried. His mother was an attention hog and would literally work herself sick to get attention from Jeffrey’s workaholic dad. In short, no one paid much attention to young Jeffrey. This started a trend of loneliness that would drive Jeffrey to murder. After his parents’ divorce, Jeffrey felt everyone in his life would leave him. While staying at his family home alone, he picked up a hitch hiker and invited him back for beers. After a while, the traveler wanted to leave, so Dahmer hit him with a 10 lb barbell. This started a trend of killing that would last 13 years. He killed 17 boys and men, usually with Exorcist III playing in his apartment and trying to drill holes in their brain to “turn them into zombies”.
#3

FICTION: There are only three films concerning Dahmer. His tale is gruesome but not particularly interesting as a whole so I imagine that telling his story has been a challenge.
Of the three, two are interesting, Dahmer: The Secret Life and Dahmer.
Dahmer: The Secret Life was a straight-forward serial killer film. It focuses on the crimes and tries to offer a window into the madness that was Jeffrey Dahmer.
#3

FICTION: In 2002, we got Dahmer starring Jeremy Renner and Bruce Davidson. The film attempted to tell a human story of how someone becomes a serial killer. There are two timelines running simultaneously in this film, the story of Dahmer’s final victim along with the story of his first. We get to know Jeffrey and his father in this film and the performances are so strong that you may not mind that this is a near bloodless film. It’s good but I recommend watching both to satisfy you.
#2

Ed Gein (1947-1952)
TRUTH: Ed Gein was a disturbed man who lived with his older brother and mother in rural Wisconsin. His mother was domineering and often put Ed down, though he still loved her. In 1944, Ed’s brother Henry decided to leave home after falling in love with a woman. Ed would have none of this and though it was never proven, the consensus is that Ed killed his brother. After all, he was going to leave mother.
Mother eventually left him as she died at the age of 67 in 1945. Ed later remarked that he "lost his only friend and one true love. And he was absolutely alone in the world." Yes, good old Ed.
With no one left, he shut mother’s room off as a shrine and lost himself in books about war. (Coincidently, he read many sensationalized accounts of Nazi torture, so it is possible that he read of Ilse and her human lamp shades.)Gein began visiting the cemetery and digging up bodies. He had decided on a sex operation but wanted to wear the skin of a woman right away. He constructed a suit made of human flesh from the corpses he dug up and would dance in the moonlight. He never brought mother home due to her grave being solid and him being unable to reach her. As with all people prone to sociopathic behavior, eventually you can no longer make due. You have to go out and satisfy that craving. Ed went to the hardware store owned by Bernice Warden.
The police found Warden’s blood at the Hardware store and a receipt led them to Ed. They entered the house at night, in pitch black, and found the decapitated body of Warden, hung up and dressed like a deer. Though he has pieces of 20 plus bodies in his house, he said he only robbed nine graves. He was only convicted of two killings and that was the body of Mary Hogan (local Tavern owner) and Bernice Warden. He was found guilty by reason of insanity and spent the rest of his days in a mental institution.
#2

FICTION: Ed Gein has been responsible for more films than any other killer. Psycho, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and The Silence of the Lambs are obvious as is their power. But there have been many others starring the likes of Steve Railsback and Kane Hodder among others. Two of the best are Deranged and Three on a Meat Hook.
#2

FICTION: Deranged is the story of Ed Gein, called Ezra Cobb here. Sure the names have been changed as has some of the identifiable characteristics of the victims but the story rings true and it remains, in my opinion, the most terrifying and the most faithful.
Ezra Cobb lives with his old and sick mother in an isolated farm house. He is okay with that because he has her. After she passes, Ezra slips into madness. He tries to date but it ends in murder. He soon gives in and begins robbing graves and sets up an entire dinner party with corpses at his home. He abducts a woman who works at the local bar and brings her home. She puts up a fight but he eventually kills her.
Sometime later, he goes to the hardware store and shoots the young pretty clerk in the head. She attempts to run away, but bleeding from a head wound, she succumbs to Ezra and winds up hanging in his shed. Ezra is found in the kitchen, covered in blood and laughing insanely.
#2

FICTION: Three on a Meat Hook is a product of the seventies, a grotesque experiment in exploitive slashers that is derived from the story of Ed Gein. The film plays on the story with some gender switching but its influence is obvious. Billy lives on a secluded farm with his overbearing paw (as country folk say). In any case, Ma has passed away years ago and Paw is trying to convince Billy that he has a murderous streak when he brings women over. This gorefest is better to be seen than to read about because from that point, the plot lacks. What it has going for it is gore and interesting tips to the Gein mythos that you don’t normally see. Good to check out as a curiosity.
#1

Charles Manson (1969)
TRUTH: I can talk about Manson for days. He is an interesting paradox. He is the embodiment of hatred and force of will yet driven by fear and insecurities. Manson was released from prison in 1967, but didn’t want to leave. The outside world was something that was alien to him having been institutionalized over half his life. He quickly amassed a group of young women who were disenfranchised and started a “family” of his own. This family would grow into a cult which hung on Charlie’s every word.
It’s impossible to break down all the moving parts that lead to and steamed from Tate-La Bianca murders but basically, Charlie was involved in a drug deal gone bad with an African-American guy named “Lotsofpoppa”. Charlie shot him, thought the Black Panthers (a radical black power group) were gonna come after him, and became paranoid.
The murders were simply to turn “Whites” against “Blacks” in hopes to save his own skin. The Tate house was chosen because it belonged to Terry Melcher, a record producer who had refused Charlie a deal. The La Bianca house was familiar to them as well as they had attended parties next door.
The murders, the arrests, the 747 hijacking plan and subsequent gun store shootout all were set in to motion from a lie. Charlie never believed in “Helter Skelter” but a bunch a drugged out kids would. The family carried out the killings for Charlie while he waited back at the ranch they called home.
#1

FICTION: In the past few years there have been several Manson films with more in production as you read this. Most are pretty bad due to the complexities of the case. Films like The Love Thrill Murders and The Manson Massacre (which only exists with dubbed German audio) were a dime a dozen, but Helter Skelter (both versions) are the ones to watch along with The Manson Family.
#1

FICTION: 1976’s Helter Skelter starred Steve Railsback as Charles Manson. It is a docu-drama and police procedural at heart but benefits from strong performances and intense scene, even by today’s standards.
This was a two part mini-series that used the aftermath of the murders as its starting point and unfolded into its investigation.
#1

FICTION: The 2004 version plays things as more of a straight film told from the point of view of Linda Kasabian, the only family member at the killings who didn’t participate.
This film starts with the Hindman torture/murder and then proceeds to introduce you to the family. The remarkable thing about this version is that Jeremy Davies became Charles Manson.
Unlike Steve Railsback, Davies had decades of Manson video and audio at his disposal and went to sleep at night listening to Manson interviews with headphones.
Watching his performance is like watching Manson himself and if you compare any of his performances before with him now, you see that Manson never left him. He is forever changed and that alone is a little eerie.
#1

FICTION: The Manson Family, originally titled Charlie’s Family, has a notorious history of its own. Started in 1988 by Jim Van Bebber, the film was an experimental exorcise in excess. Much of what you saw in the film was not simulated and there is a sense of realism that surrounds every scene.
It is a lot to take in and requires some endurance. Not to say it is a bad film but simply that it throws a lot at you. These murders will continue to inspire be horror because it is all of our worst fears rolled up into one little package named Charles Manson.