The Manson Family (film)

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The Manson Family is a low budget B film about the mass murderer Charles Manson. The movie covers the lives of his family and details the relationships between its members. Resembling an entry in the docu-horror genre, the film contains abundant gore and nudity.

The film had a long and troubled production history. Director Jim Van Bebber self-financed the production over the course of a couple of years starting in 1988, and then continued to shoot it sporadically on weekends and off days whenever possible.

Despite support from various people (including members of the band Skinny Puppy, who provided a musical score that was released separately years before the film itself), the film remained incomplete. It screened on video as a work-in-progress at a number of film festivals during that time.

In 2004, Dark Sky Films, a US-based company, stepped in with the funds to finish the film properly, and it has since been released theatrically and on home video.