Manson spits at Abraxas

CHARLES MANSON SUPERSTAR (1989)

Reviewed by Jerry Saravia

In the eyes of the media, Charles Manson remains the epitome of evil, the counterculture carbon-copy of a Hitler on the rise who never quite fulfilled his agenda. As we all know, in the dark days of August of 1969, Charles Manson led a group of followers in Death Valley, known as the Family, to murder unsuspecting people in their own homes. They were actress Sharon Tate and friends in their home. The next day, it was the LaBianca couple in another home. The killers weren't apprehended for some time, but the nature of the crimes was so bestial that homicide detectives were vomiting in the bathrooms. The Family was eventually captured, Manson's piercing eyes graced Life magazine covers, and the rest is history.
Many films and books were written about this infamous chapter in the annals of crime, but little has been examined about Manson himself. Who was this little man (professing to be a hippie) and why did he think he was Jesus, Satan and above everything and anything, and what was this talk of a racial war? "Charles Manson Superstar," a crudely and badly edited yet never less than compelling document, attempts to deal with such questions but it never really succeeds.

Writer-director Nikolas Schreck filmed Manson in an interview at San Quentin to get some answers. Manson is seen sitting at a chair, uncuffed and not wearing shackles, waving his arms, getting into karate positions and diddling with a lavalier mike. He speaks admiringly of his Family members, including "Squeaky" Fromme who once attempted to kill former President Ford. He understands "Tex" Watson's desire to be a born-again Christian, though he insists that Tex is making a mistake following the Lord, something people have been doing for 2000 years. Manson claims he has all the answers and that he no longer inhabits the human form - he is a ubiquitous spiritual manifestation. He speaks admiringly of Abraxas, the ancient Gnostic god who is the "Symbol of the Eternal Now." Manson also claims to be a "beautiful woman," a "matriarch" for all the Manson girls! Now, I am no philosopher but this is obviously more than a man in touch with his feminine side.

Schreck seems to say that Manson was wronged by society, by the media, and turned into a monster because nobody understood his philosophies. Schreck also implies that killing Hollywood celebrities is no big deal, further supported rather chillingly in a powerful cameo by James N. Mason, the leader of the Universal Order, a U.S.-based Nazi organization. The question remains, what exactly is Manson's philosophy? To be the new Jesus? The new Hitler? The one who thought he could persuade 100,000 people to do his murderous bidding? Why start a racial war and stay in a bottomless pit? Why favor death as opposed to life, stating that death was a beautiful thing? This same pseudo-revolutionary was afraid to die when he thought he was going to get the death sentence. So Manson got away scot-free and remains in prison to this day, denied parole again and again. True, he was not allowed to testify for rather ambiguous reasons - it must have helped that President Nixon famously declared Manson guilty. How could the defense team top that?

Editing is not one of Schreck's strong suits, as his audio and video transitions are haphazardly pasted together. At times, Schreck seems to cut himself off before he starts a question, and even cuts off Manson in the middle of a speech. Also, his narration and his wife's, Zeena LaVey (Anton LaVey's daughter), can get grating but the use of Manson's bootlegged songs and other obscure music bring a sense of foreboding gloom to the proceedings.

"Charles Manson Superstar" is quite compelling overall, and many will find Manson either incomprehensible or profound. Still, seeing this man professing to be one thing or another while we, the audience, know what he had done makes one feel queasy and uncomfortable. In the end, you'll be left with those piercing eyes and more questions than answers.