Helter Skelter (DVD)

How did it happen? How did young people who had so much right going for them turn out so wrong? How could they become willing participants in a murder spree that still shocks the nation? Based on the book cowritten by prosecutor Vincent Bugliosi (also the source for a 1976 film centered on the investigation that brought convicted killer Charles Manson to justice), Helter Skelter provides a chilling look at Manson and how he controlled his twisted young "family." The cult. The crimes. The courtroom chaos. All are part of this chilling movie starring Jeremy Davies (Saving Private Ryan) as Manson, the frustrated would-be rock star and manipulative ex-con who convinced some followers that he was the Messiah...but who in reality was a psychopathic and terrifying messenger of death.

• action
• drama