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Charles Manson in Mindhunter season two: Netflix serial killer series turns eye on infamous cult leader

  • New season of the crime thriller series features a host of serial killers from the 1970s and 80s, but it is Manson who will surely draw the most interest
  • Played by Australian actor Damon Herriman, the infamous figure will go head-to-head with series stars Jonathan Groff and Holt McCallany

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Jonathan Groff in a scene from the 10-episode second season of Mindhunter, which started streaming on Netflix on Friday. Photo: AP

If you thought the 1969 moon landing was the only significant 50th anniversary being marked this summer, you should think again. A rather more grisly series of events, and the man behind them, are also a big thing right now.

It was exactly five decades ago, almost to the day, that Charles Manson and his murderous acolytes left residents of Los Angeles fearful for their lives. Now the bearded cult leader and mass murderer, who died in prison in 2017 aged 83, is back.

Already, Mary Harron’s recent movie Charlie Says saw Matt Smith play Manson in a story that focuses on three followers – Leslie Van Houten, Patricia Krenwinkel and Susan Atkins – who did his bidding, killing supermarket executive Leno LaBianca and his wife, Rosemary, a dress shop owner, in their Los Angeles home.

“I was just interested in ordinary people doing terrible things,” Harron says. “I think the fascination of true crime is always, ‘This really happened. Could it happen to me or my family?’”

Charles Manson is escorted to his arraignment on conspiracy to commit murder charges in connection with the Sharon Tate murder case in Los Angeles in 1969. Photo: AP
Charles Manson is escorted to his arraignment on conspiracy to commit murder charges in connection with the Sharon Tate murder case in Los Angeles in 1969. Photo: AP

More explosive is Quentin Tarantino’s celebrated new movie Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood . The story melds fictional characters such as Leonardo DiCaprio’s fading actor Rick Dalton with real-life figures such as Sharon Tate (played by Margot Robbie), the young actress who was 8½ months pregnant when she was murdered in her own home – the night before the LaBianca killings – by members of the so-called “Manson Family”.

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