"Texas high school football, Mexican grass, and mass murder. What's more all-American than that?"
— Tex Watson (as played by Joe Cole)
A low-budget 1989 movie shot by artist Raymond Pettibon (best known for his album covers for bands like Black Flag and Sonic Youth, as well as zine-style inkings), about the misadventures of the notorious Charles Manson and his followers. This is an irreverent take on the Manson Family, who are played by a who's who of Pettibon's punk rocker friends.
Cast
- Charles Manson — Robert Hecker (of the punk rock band Redd Kross)
- Bobby Beausoleil — Dave Markey (of Sin 34 and Painted Willie)
- Christopher Zero, aka Jon Haught — Dez Cadena (of Black Flag)
- Mary Brunner — Janet Hausden (drummer of Redd Kross)
- Sadie, aka Susan Atkins — Shannon Smith
- Tex Watson — Joe Cole (Black Flag roadie and stepson of Charlies Angels actress Jaclyn Smith)
- Patricia Krenwinkel — Jennifer Schwartz (co-founder, along with Markey and her brother Jordan, of the hardcore punk zine We Got Power)
- Norman Mailer/George Spahn — Joel Rane (artist, author, and librarian)
- Jimi Hendrix — Pat Smear (of The Germs and Nirvana)
- Roman Polański — Raymond Pettibon
Tropes in The Book of Manson include:
- Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking: Several of the Family openly consider quitting the cult when Manson asks them to cut their hair. Murder, robbery, and drugs are peachy, but that's just going too far!
- Dowsing Device: Some of the guys attempt to use sticks to dowse for the corpse of someone they had killed and buried.
- Failed Audition Plot: Manson auditions for the part of The Devil in Polanski's Rosemary's Baby by flailing about and sticking his fingers on his head to look like little horns.
- A God Am I: Manson certainly thinks he is.
- Interplay of Sex and Violence: Gary Hinman's murder has undertones of this. Beausoleil offers him a joint by asking Hinman, "You want to suck my cock?" When Beausoleil threatens him with a gun, Hinman tells him he'd rather take his cock than a bullet.
- Tex Watson becomes fixated on Sharon Tate, fantasizing about sex with her and even marrying her. The Manson girls even complain that he neglects them in favor of his fantasies about Sharon.
- Mister Seahorse: Mercifully averted, but at one point two male members of the 'Family' make out and when asked what they'll do if one of them gets the other pregnant, they indignantly reply, "Only Charlie can do that!"
- Rock Me, Asmodeus!: Manson plays a guitar duel against Jimi Hendrix.
- Russian Roulette: Weevil is forced to play when she's caught with a weed stash she's been hoarding. The gun jams, thus sparing her... so Manson takes the gun and shoots her anyway.
- Stoners Are Funny: Don't let this lull you into a false sense of security, as goofy as they are they're still the Manson Family.
- Stoner Flick
- Villains Out Shopping: Most of the time the Family is shown sitting around, getting high, or participating in other barely-functional activities.
