Trigger warning: This article contains mentions of murder, death, and drugs. Reader’s discretion is advised.From the mind of director Joe Berlinger, ‘Conversations With A Killer: The Charles Manson Tapes’ has officially been released online. The docuseries is a coverage of Charles Manson’s crimes and how he managed to manipulate the group of women who were known as his “family” into carrying out the horrifying murders.
About ‘Conversations With A Killer: The Charles Manson Tapes’
The official description of the docuseries reads: “An unfiltered look into the psyche of infamous serial killer Charles Manson unfolds through contemporary interviews and exclusive audio recordings.” The documentary is broken down into three parts, each almost an hour long, that detail Manson’s life and who he was. From never-before-seen clips and photos, Berlinger painted a picture of Manson’s overall personality and life and how he manipulated multiple people, mainly women, to become devoted to him.This manipulation led to a series of horrifying murders that all of the women took part in under his orders. The criminal was mainly active in the 1960s and started his own cult at the time, known as the “Manson Family.” In Los Angeles in August 1969, Manson ordered the women in his cult to carry out a series of murders. This also included the death of pregnant actress Sharon Tate. He was later convicted of murder and spent the remainder of his life in prison.The three parts reveal interviews with actual former members of the “Manson Family” along with reenactments and clips and audio files from Manson himself and paint a picture about what really happened. Manson’s victims included Sharon Tate, pregnant wife of director Roman Polanski; Abigail Folger, who was a coffee heiress; celebrity hairstylist Jay Sebring, writer Wojciech Frykowski, teenager Steven Parent, supermarket executive Leno LaBianca and his wife, Rosemary LaBianca.
Joe Berlinger talks about working on the true crime docuseries
The director behind the newly released docuseries recently sat down for a conversation with USA Today. He opened up about what the series explores and what it was like to work on it. He shared, “It’s a horrifying story about a mastermind manipulating other people to do their evil bidding, where these people at the time of the crime, because of drug use and his influence, were remorseless. It was Hollywood’s worst nightmare.”Berlinger specifically challenges the claims that were made during Manson’s trial about how he had committed the murders to start a ‘race war.’ Prosecutor Vincent Bugliosi, who was a part of Manson’s trial, made claims in court about how the cult leader had been obsessed with The Beatles and their ‘white album’ and that the murders had occurred while his cult members pretended to be Black Panthers. Berlinger now claims in his documentary that the murders were not entirely part of a race war but were part of a drug deal gone wrong.The documentary series, according to Berlinger’s recounting of the incidents, covers how the cult leader had invited a biker gang into their ranch to provide them with protection and drugs. A man named Bobby Beausoleil was at the centre of it all and would provide them all with the illegal substances. However, when the biker gang grew unhappy, Manson and Beausoleil allegedly murdered Gary Hinman, the one who had supplied them with the drugs. When Beausoleil was arrested, a lot of problems arose for the cult leader. Further talking about the series, Berlinger added, “It’s actually just a series of blunders and bad planning by petty criminals, and that’s the story we’re telling here.”As to why Berlinger approached the topic, he detailed that he was quite interested in why people go “off the rails,” sharing that while Manson was a known racist person, the murders were possibly a result of a drug deal gone bad rather than a ‘race war’.
Where to watch ‘Conversations With A Killer: The Charles Manson Tapes’
The documentary series is available to stream on Netflix. It officially premiered on the platform on August 12.
