DVD Review: Manson, My Name is Evil
Distributor: Lions Gate
DVD Release Date: October 12, 2010
Directed by: Reginald Harkema
Cast: Gregory Smith, Ryan Robbins, Don McKellar, Kristen Hager
Review by: Robert Saucedo
Lions Gate, thy name is false advertising.
Manson, My Name is Evil, the 2009 quirky Canadian film being released on DVD by Lions Gate Entertainment, represents a blatant attempt to sell a hard-to-market dramedy as a brutal horror film. From the sinister face of Charles Manson plastered on the box art to the promises of gratuitous sex and violence that are nestled in the DVD’s ad copy, movie fans looking for a horror film might suspect they are dealing with a movie akin to Jim Van Bebber’s The Manson Family. Well, don’t judge a movie by its crappy cover art because the closest Manson, My Name is Evil comes to being brutal are the long stretches of the film where it takes on a brutally campy tone.
Written and directed by Reginald Harkema, My Name is Evil was originally titled Leslie, My Name is Evil before Lions Gate got hold of the distribution rights. Kristen Hager stars as the aforementioned Leslie, a quiet girl with serious daddy issues that winds up a member of Charles Manson’s ranch commune, a LSD-powered think tank of sputtering insanity and egomaniacal self-worship.
Meanwhile, Perry (played by Everwood’s Gregory Smith) is a deeply devout Christian and up-and-coming chemist. The most level-headed member of a jingoistic, Jesus-loving family, Perry winds up as a juror in the Manson trial — a courtroom spectacle that bounces back and forth from the lurid to the farcical as details are shared about the heinous real-life murders committed by Charles Manson (played by Ryan Robbins) and his group of infatuated, brainwashed girlfriends.
My Name is Evil is very much a satire — of what, I’m not so sure. On one hand, the movie takes a tongue-in-cheek approach to the idea of religious institution and overwhelming allegiance to order. On the other hand, it does not paint a flattering portrait of Manson and his commune of crazed chicks. The Manson Family are shown as blood-soaked sheep, following Charles Manson around like love-sick puppy dogs willing to do anything to get a treat from their master.
Perry and Leslie are by far the most sympathetic characters in the film. Hager’s performance is an understated traipse through the best-of hits of troubled teens gone wrong origins. From her parents’ divorce to an early abortion, Leslie seems to have had the cards stacked against her from the start. Following a cute musician into Charlie Manson’s love ranch, Leslie finds herself drawn to the charismatic cult leader as surrogate father.
Unfortunately, Ryan Robbins (like most other actors who have attempted to play Manson) lacks the charisma needed to believe he could sway a group of young women into having sex with him — let alone convincing them to cut a bloody swath through the silent majority. Robbins makes up for his lack of personality by overdosing on the crazy juice. Robbins’ nails the wild-eyed mania of Manson the psychopath — delivering his half-coherent rants with a gusto usually reserved for high school theatrics. Which is only appropriate.
My Name is Evil feels very much like a high school play. Everything from the minimalistic set design to the frequent bouts of overacting scream of “let’s put on a show” mentality. The tone of My Name is Evil, a weird zigzag between psychedelic camp and Aaron Sorkin-esque courtroom banter gives me the impression that Harkema got really stoned and watched a double feature of Skidoo and 12 Angry Men before writing the script. The fact that the film has more than one musical number should give you an idea of just what kind of monster you’re dealing with.
My Name is Evil is not a horror film. For the most part, all of the Manson murders are shown off-screen, referenced in that most cherished of clichés: the spinning newspaper cutaway. A brief scene during an early Manson-fueled murder spree is shown just as a way of providing sympathy to Leslie, a woman who didn’t seem to have her heart in killing people — at least until a knife was put in her hands.
As Perry, Gregory Smith is the heart of the movie. When the film begins, Perry is a devout Christian — all too keen to spend a beautiful afternoon reading Chick Tracts with the love of his life, Dorothy (played wonderfully by Kristin Adams).
Despite clashing with his father over his lack of desire to go overseas and fight in Vietnam, Perry gets along with his family for the most part and has just been offered a job at a top-notch pharmaceutical company. A stray smile from Leslie as Perry sits in the jury box, though, sends the boyish young man head over heels into full-on crush mode. Soon, he’s torn between his two loves (Jesus and his fiancé) and the sexy allure of craziness that Leslie secretes from her pores like a cat in heat.
The best thing My Name is Evil has going for it is its unique visual panache. Through the heavy use of vintage stock footage and a quirky tilt in its perspective, My Name is Evil is able to separate itself from the legions of low-budget serial killer “tribute” films released every year.
In fact, the movie isn’t even about Charles Manson as much as it’s about the impact he has on two different lives. More a cataclysm than a character, Manson provides a through shake to the head of Leslie and Perry — causing the two to reevaluate their lives and sending them an express ticket journey to their seemingly pre-determined destiny.
Unfortunately, My Name is Evil’s quirks are not enough to shake the cobwebs from this dusty story. There have been better, more engaging explorations into Manson’s legacy and My Name is Evil fails to offer viewers any reason why they should give the movie a second thought after viewing it.
The good news: like a high school play, My Name is Evil provides a few hints that the talent involved are destined for future greatness. Reginald Harkema has an interesting voice and the bits of his personality he lets peak out from behind the scruffy beard of Manson’s specter promise an interesting career ahead for the director — if only he can settle on a slightly better story with more engaging characters.
Let’s hope his next film isn’t the victim of such blatant mishandling by a distributor, though.
