Over the years, Jim Van Bebber's Manson film has almost became the stuff of legend. It was a myth, just like the 'spiderwalk' sequence in The Exorcist (and we all know where that got us). It's been through a hell of a storm and it may have taken 15+ years to complete (along with the loss of the lead actor who played Manson) but Van Bebber's The Manson Family is now ready for mass consumption thanks to Dark Sky Films. Thanks to what appears to be a tremendous team effort (the DVD boasts credits to both Anchor Bay and Blue Underground) Dark Sky Films (a spin off of MTI) has released The Manson Family in a spectacular unrated 2 Disc Edition, and the verdict is out. It was definitely worth the wait.

Almost episodic in its execution, a last minute editing job really helps the film in the long run. Rather than applying a straightforward narrative, the film jumps from past to present introducing a host of characters along the way. Despite its choppy nature, surprisingly enough, the film is never difficult to follow. Part pseudo documentary, part narrative film, and The Manson Family benefits from this lack of straight forwardness. What didn't work? A lot of the new footage, as Van Bebber tries to tie in Manson and his followers with the kids of today, pop culture etc. You know, it's still all around us, we haven't learned anything, blah blah blah. I see where he's going, but at the same time, it really just comes across as fodder from someone who's desperately trying to complete a film that's taken too long to finish to begin with. However, it's really just a small complaint in the long run, because the rest of the film works, and it works really well.

Easily one of the toughest elements for a filmmaker to convey in a 'based on...' film is a certain sense of realism. Whether or not said filmmakers retelling is wholly accurate or not is really beside the point. Not that accuracy in film is to be taken lightly by any means, but it's really another issue entirely. I'm talking about the ability of a filmmaker to lead the viewer to believe that what they are seeing actually happened (even if it didn't, and this is the key - believability). Obviously, this is important in filmmaking in general, but most importantly in a 'based on" film. This is one area in which Van Bebber is mostly successful with The Manson Family. Whether or not things went down as Van Bebber chooses to portray them on screen, in the end, it really doesn't matter. Van Bebber manages to convince us that, yes indeed, this is the way it happened.

It's mentioned quite a few times in the bonus material and Van Bebber stresses the fact that this is a story that is not told from Charlie's point of view, but his followers. Those he led and controlled. What was their story? Where did they come from? Why did they follow Charlie? Some of these questions are answered while some unfortunately are not. A large part of why we have these gaps is certainly because of the way the film was piecemealed together over the years. Still, you have to admire Jim's Chutzpah, he worked tirelessly to finish this film. Once you get past the blatantly artsy excess including some of the quick MTV style edits or shifting stock quality (how about the bloody rain on the white flowers?) you really are left with a shockingly entertaining flick. Performances (from a group of virtually unknown non-actors) are all incredibly (and surprisingly) effective. Here we have a group of virtual amateurs, quite often running around completely naked, covered in blood, participating in scenes that portray group sex, all tripped out etc. And they are all acting tremendously well...or are they? Well, it's told in the behind-the-scenes footage that there was some drug/alcohol use on set (surprise, surprise) and in a few instances, some of the soft-core simulations, might not have been so simulated after all. Shock! Regardless, Van Bebber extracts some intense, quality performances from this crew of virtual unknowns, including a real life (middle aged and local) news anchor. Crazy.

The full frame image sparks no complaints from me. Some of the film is aged, some of the film was made to 'look' as if it had been aged etc. Overall image quality appears exactly as I would imagine it should. Audio is presented in either a newly revamped 5.1 mix or a 2.0 Stereo mix. Oddly enough, I'd choose the brand spankin' new 5.1 mix. It's understated and quite effective.

As if the chance to finally see this film weren't enough, the extras are where this release really shines. Disc 1 offers up still galleries and trailers, while Disc 2 is truly in a class all its own. First up is "The Van Bebber Family," which runs about 80-minutes. This feature length documentary offers up interviews and insights from a large cross section of the cast and crew. Everybody (including Van Bebber himself) speaks quite candidly about the experiences they had making this film. Needless to say, it compliments the film quite nicely. Next up is 75-minute feature length documentary In The Belly of The Beast that was shot at the 1997 Fant-Asia Film Festival. This is a tremendous extra, and really reason enough to purchase this set. Not only is Van Bebber featured here (he showed a 'work in progress' version of The Manson Family at the Fest that year) but a gaggle (that's right, a gaggle) of other (interesting) indie filmmakers as well. Todd Morris and Deborah Twiss of A Gun for Jennifer, Nacho Cerda who directed Aftermath, Mariano Baino (Dark Waters NOT Water), Karim Hussain festival organizer and director of Subconcious Cruelty and Richard Stanley. This is just a great piece for fans of cult/horror films to see some of these people in such candid conversations. They're all brutally honest and frank and their struggles really shine through. Wanna see Nacho Cerda in a heated debate about the merits (or lack there of) of Aftermath with notorius critc Chas Balun? It's here. Unbelievable, and easily one of the best extras ever included on any horror DVD release, ever. These two features are followed by a brief interview with Manson himself (borrowed from another release) - running just about 10-minutes. These extras round out an already impressive package, making The Manson Family one of the most important and best cult DVD releases of the year. Highly recommended.

Dark Sky Films