Manson Massacre, The (1972)
** (out of 4)
There have been some very good movies made about Charles Manson and those evil events of 1969 but this here isn't one of them. This movie is pure exploitation as we get no real connection to actual events but the title is all you need and I'm sure many have been drawn to it. In the film we see Manson, looking for like a guru, taking in various young woman and seducing them before sending them out to do his evil acts. We also get to see flashbacks of the early Manson and the start of his madness. Again, the actual events aren't followed so no one should come into this thing expecting some sort of documentary. What you do get is a cheap horror movie that's main goal was to show beautiful women naked and we get quite a bit of this. This German production has never been released with English subs but following the movie wasn't too difficult. I find it interesting that the producers made Manson a rather boring figure as he is pretty laid back and never really shows any emotion. The "Manson Girls" aren't really anything special as they're basically just used for T&A as they're constantly getting naked for any reason. I'm certainly not going to complain about this as nudity is certainly a very important factor in exploitation. Cult favorite Uschi Digard gets plenty of nude time as she plays one of Manson's early lovers and it's her abusive boyfriend that the nut tests in terms of murder. It's always nice seeing Digard show up in anything so that is a plus. The violence in the film is extremely low and doesn't happen until the final few minutes of the 69-minute running time. The special effects are pretty lame and the blood letting is just a few drops. The final murder sequence is probably going to be what draws most people here but again, the facts of the real case aren't used. A Sharon Tate figure is used here but she's not pregnant. Another change is that they have the Manson girls being invited into the home as the males living there are swingers. I've read a few theories that some of the killers had been in the house weeks before the murders and perhaps this is why the film selected that thought as it was probably popular back in 1972. In the end, this movie is extremely cheap but some of the colorful shots and constant nudity at least keeps it moving. There's certainly nothing too special here but fans of trash should get a few kicks out of it.
