Inside The Manson Gang

So I finally got to see this and two things scream out at me. #1 I am so glad I did not buy this piece of shit. #2 What a waste of time.

There is really nothing to gleam from this less than 90 minute borefest. There is a lot of very nice period footage and its especially interesting to see the family in the "wild", but its haphazardly put together with no real rhyme or reason. Hendrickson tries, as narrator to build this tower of doom to talk from, but its just bullshit for the most part. The original music is absolutely horrible and the horror film cliches of playing doom music during scenes which he wants to be dramatic are hokey and schlocky.

I really hated this film compared to Manson which is a bonafide piece of cinema history. This is a directionless and really useless sequel that no one in their right mind should buy/pay to see unless they absolutely have to have everything. I learned nothing new about the case whatsoever and aside from seeing Gypsy's titties, hearing Gypsy talk a lot, and hearing/seeing shit that Ive seen 1000 times before despite it being from a new camera angle, its just useless.

At any rate, waste of time, avoid. If it wasnt all original period footage, this would be the worst Manson documentary ever, but from a visual perspective alone, its quite engaging, just dont pay attention to anything else.

Didn't like it then, Yer?

Yerblues,

Tell us how you really feel :thumb:

No I didnt like it and I think that the price Hendrickson charges for it is highway robbery. There is nothing remotely interesting about this presentation whatsoever at least when it claims to be something worthy of its predecessor.

I know what you mean about Hendrickson's sarcastic "voice of doom" narrative. 90 minutes of my life I will never get back...

/tmac

I think a few of us believe that Hendrickson missed a golden opportunity to release a remastered and re-edited "Manson". I firmly believe a "Director's Cut" of the original film with the best of the new footage cut in would have secured a new distribution and a wider audience.

Sadly,(for me) this sequel has little to get excited about. It's a gross miscalculation to believe that it would appeal to anyone other than students of the case. It assumes that everyone knows who Manson and the Family is, which is quite a assumption- especially given the length of time that has passed.

Having said that, there's a few moments in the film that could enhance the original; Squeaky's emotional outpouring for one. It would just take a little imagination. Undoubtedly, Hendrickson's footage is remarkable and unique- it's just how it's constructed that is really the issue here.

Just my thoughts

Si

Yea, exactly. The material is engaging, its the presentation that completely detracts from that. Phil Phillips is one of the best gets for this film, and hes barely in the first one and in even less of this one. The other footage that was interesting was the Ronnie Howard stuff, especially seeing her watching the X goofballs outside the court. The Watkins stuff is also interesting. Not enough Brenda or Sandy though. Id rather hear them rant and rave than see Gypsy and some horny no-name male Family douche stand in the middle of a dirt road rubbing each other sans clothing.

Just finished this. Some nice unseen footage. Some repeats. Annoying use of music. Should've used more Manson/Family songs. Voice over full of fear. Clem comes off as creepiest. Just totally unhinged, used way too much acid, doesn't seem to have a grasp on ordinary reality very well. Seeing Gypsy in the nude made me wonder - did Manson use the girls knowing they would take out some of their repressed anger due to self-esteem issues on the women like Sharon Tate?

I felt a lot of the film was wasted showing other social happenings. I'd like to see every bit of footage he got of the Family, the Ranch, the Trials. Even if it's just a camera rolling while peopl sit around picking their noses. The more unedited it is the better understanding we will actually get of how things flowed there.

Also I'm kind of tired of seeing Clem fondling that blonde girl child knowing what a creep he is.

Is it just me or does Brooks Poston look destroyed in the clips with him? He looks like he's just come out of a very abusive relationship, which I guess he had. I noticed frequent use of "agree" and "agreement" which are Paul Crockett terms. They went from parroting Manson to parroting Crockett.

I agree, he would have been way ahead of the game had he incorporated some of that into the original movie and created a Director's Cut. As a feature film "Inside the Manson Gang" is nothing more than a bunch of out takes poorly assembled with an even worse voice over. :twocents:

FB