Charles Manson Film Starring Matt Smith And Hannah Murray Released Today

A new film about criminal and cult leader Charles Manson has just been released and the early reports seem to be that people are more excited than they were for Zac Efron's performance as serial killer Ted Bundy.

Charlie Says sees former Doctor Who actor Matt Smith playing the charismatic Manson. But much of the story focuses on the women who followed him, adored him, and even killed for him.

Hannah Murray plays Leslie Van Houten, Sosie Bacon plays Patricia Krenwinkel, and Marianne Rendon takes the role of Susan Atkins.

Unlike Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile, the movie recently released that stars Efron as Ted Bundy - who killed at least 30 women before he was brought to justice - Charlie Says is angled at telling the story of how these women came under the spell of Manson, and how authorities attempted to deprogramme them after their crimes.

The synopsis for the film reads: "Years after the shocking murders that made the name Charles Manson synonymous with pure evil, the three women who killed for him - Leslie Van Houten (Hannah Murray), Patricia Krenwinkel (Sosie Bacon), and Susan Atkins (Marianne Rendón) - remain under the spell of the infamous cult leader (Matt Smith).

"Confined to an isolated cellblock in a California penitentiary, the trio seem destined to live out the rest of their lives under the delusion that their crimes were part of a cosmic plan - until empathetic graduate student Karlene Faith (Merritt Wever) is enlisted to rehabilitate them."

"Convinced the prisoners are not the inhuman monsters the world believes them to be, Karlene begins the arduous process of breaking down the psychological barriers erected by Manson. But are the women ready to confront the horror of what they did?

"Boundary pushing auteur Mary Harron (American Psycho, I Shot Andy Warhol) presents a provocative new perspective on one of the most notorious crimes of the 20th century."

Manson died in prison in 2017 aged 83. During the 1960s he started a cult called the Manson Family that was responsible for several high profile murders in California. Those killings included Sharon Tate, a Hollywood actor.

He was eventually jailed in 1971 for first degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder. Despite being sentenced to death, his sentence was later commuted to life imprisonment after changes to Californian death penalty laws in 1972.

Charlie Says is released in the US today by IFC Films.

Featured Image Credit: IFC Films

Topics: TV and Film, US Entertainment

Tom Wood

Tom Wood is a freelance journalist and LADbible contributor. He graduated from University of London with a BA in Philosophy before studying for a Masters in Journalism at the University of Salford. He has previously written for the M.E.N Group as well as working for several top professional sports clubs. Contact him on [email protected]

@TPWagwim