Judgement Day Theatre: The Book of Manson

1989, 118 min, color, sound

A day in the life of Manson and his dysfunctional family, as filtered through Pettibon's distinctive sensibility. In this fictional verite drama, Pettibon and co-director Dave Markey envision the paranoid obsessions and violent anomie of an apocalyptic cult in the waning of the 1960s. As in all of Pettibon's tapes, the sense of insularity (they all appear to be shot in one living room), the slacker/punk aesthetic, and the deadpan ensemble of amateur actors combine with Pettibon's startlingly original writing to form a bleakly ironic, if often outrageous, evocation of an American subculture.

Directed by Raymond Pettibon and Dave Markey. Writer/ Producer: Raymond Pettibon. Featuring: Robert Hecker, Joe Cole, Shannon Smith, Dave Markey, Dez Cadena, Dan Clarke, Jennifer Schartz, Joel Raine, Pat Ruthensmear, Lance Pettibon. Camera: Raymond Pettibon, Joe Cole, Dave Markey. Editors: Raymond Pettibon, Joel Rane. Music: Raymond Pettibon, Robert Hecker.