Review – Charlie Says

In my review of a screen adaptation of Lizzie Borden’s story, I expressed the wish that someone would make a version of her tale in which she isn’t actually the killer. My aspiration for Manson murder movies is the opposite: just once I’d like to see the story told as if everyone who showed up for the killing spree was in fact guilty as charged (or not charged, in the case of Linda Kassabian). This time around it’s a version that might as well have been written by Leslie Van Houten’s parole hearing lawyers. Beyond that, this is standard fare. Charlie (Matt Smith) acts crazy. The girls fall for it. People die. Years later, a teacher tries to help the imprisoned killers make sense of it all. Mildly amusing