Chaos: The Manson Murders

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Chaos: The Manson Murders

2025

1h 36m

Crime

Documentary

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

56%

Tomatometer

34 Reviews

22%

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50+ Ratings

In August 1969, Charles Manson's followers killed seven people on his orders. Why? Explore a conspiracy of mind control, CIA experiments and murder.

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Critics Consensus

Errol Morris' Chaos chases too many red herrings to prove a definitive document on the Manson cult, but it does reaffirm why this crime spree continues to haunt the public consciousness over half a century later.

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Graeme Blundell

The Australian

Chaos is wonderfully weird, sensational, if in the end not all that convincing.

Apr 21, 2025

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Jonathan Romney

Financial Times

An Errol Morris film seriously grappling with the current epidemic of conspiracy theory would be worth watching, but Chaos is hardly that film.

Rated: 2/5

Mar 12, 2025

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Alison Willmore

New York Magazine/Vulture

Chaos: The Manson Murders may only be 96 minutes long, but it feels padded, as though its existence is meant to serve as proof that even a documentary legend who helped establish the true-crime genre isn’t immune to the genre’s current streaming bloat.

Mar 10, 2025

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Daniel Gorman

In Review Online

It all adds up to more artless true-crime nonsense, which has proliferated at an alarming rate in our present streaming era. In this case, you’re far better off reading the book.

Apr 3, 2025

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Carla Hay

Culture Mix

Chaos: The Manson Murders is less of a documentary and more of an infomercial for Tom O'Neill's book and conspiracy theory that the U.S. government and Charles Manson used the same mind-control techniques to engineer the Manson Family cult murders.

Mar 30, 2025

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Shawn Edwards

Fox 4 Kansas City

After all the excessive mumbo jumbo, not a single thing is proven... it's just another quick grab for those infatuated with serial killers and mass murderers.

Rated: 2/5

Mar 20, 2025

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Mark D

The book deserved a ten hour series, not this half baked rubbish

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

04/07/25

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Thomas B

Simply put, the book is WAY better. Read it. So much interesting info. This documentary isn't worth your time.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

04/06/25

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Pieter D

There is no clear storyline; it is all over the place, and often, it leaves the viewer more confused rather than clearing up the claim to a conspiracy.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

04/04/25

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Birithivy Y

Chaos: The Manson Murders - 6/10. Errol Morris directs this documentary about Charles Manson, his life before becoming the demon of a human that he became, and his cult. Errol Morris is one of the greatest documentarians in history, and his craftsmanship and abilities as a documentarian are on full display here. But, I feel like this felt a little disconnected at times. Also, it felt a bit indulgent in its stylization the events and focus on Manson. Informative, but not amazing in my opinion.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

03/26/25

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Garbanzo J

What happened to Errol Morris? This so-called documentary doesn't remotely do either the book or its author justice. The book is spellbinding, truly a page-turner. What makes it so is not just the horrible murders and the new information O'Neil unearthed, but also O'Neil's own story as he obsessively pursues leads and becomes consumed by his assignment. O'Neil is forthright about what the information proves and what it merely suggests. He's candid in recognizing that his inferences might cause him to be dismissed by some as a crackpot, which he clearly is not. The movie is junk, full of portentous images and music but lacking in suspense or interest. I only hope that O'Neil benefits from it in the form of renewed sales of his book, which deserves a far bigger audience than this flaccid film.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

03/25/25

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Audience Member

What a disappointment. Rehashes the already known. Brings nothing new. Just another documentary cashing in on this tragedy. Total fail.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

03/25/25

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Errol Morris

Director

Robert Fernandez

Producer

Steven Hathaway

Producer

Errol Morris

Producer

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Synopsis

In August 1969, Charles Manson's followers killed seven people on his orders. Why? Explore a conspiracy of mind control, CIA experiments and murder.

Director: Errol Morris
Producer: Robert Fernandez, Steven Hathaway, Errol Morris
Distributor: Netflix
Genre: Crime, Documentary
Original Language: English
Release Date (Streaming): Mar 7, 2025
Runtime: 1h 36m

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