2 December 2019
Inside The Manson Cult: The Lost Tapes (2018)
Using archive footage of the Spahn Ranch in LA – where the Manson Family lived – and new interviews with various people close to Charles Manson, this documentary manages to shed new light on the much-publicised story.
With the use of hallucinogenic drugs, Manson kept his 100 or so followers completely under his control, and eventually convinced them to commit mass murder.
But this documentary focuses on the hippie disciples and what led them to join his cult, rather than on the leader. “Manson: The Lost Tapes had the distinction, to an extent, of keeping Charles Manson…largely out of the picture,” wrote Carol Midgely in The Times (UK).
Over 100 hours of footage, some of which is featured in this two-hour film, was lost for over 40 years, and gives an authentic, chilling look at what really went on in Manson’s sordid commune.
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