Once Upon a Time in Hollywood is a strange film. If you don’t know the real story behind it, you might find it puzzling—especially the final sequence, which seems utterly bizarre and confusing.
That was exactly how I felt. After watching it, I immediately looked up the background, only to discover a chilling truth: behind it lay a series of random, senseless murders, orchestrated by a bizarre and terrifying cult.
So instead of writing a movie review this time, I’ll lay out the story behind the murders.
1. A Murder Case That Shocked the World
On August 9, 1969, in the affluent Beverly Hills area of California, a shocking murder took place that soon made headlines around the world.
Among the five victims, the most famous was Sharon Tate, the Hollywood actress and wife of director Roman Polanski. She was eight months pregnant at the time.
When police arrived, the scene was horrific: Sharon had been stabbed 18 times, her body mutilated, her unborn child nearly cut from her womb. A rope hung from the ceiling, tied around her neck, the other end binding her hairstylist’s throat. He, too, bore numerous stab wounds, eyes frozen wide in terror.
Another victim, a screenwriter, was stabbed 51 times and shot 13 times, likely because he fought the hardest. A wealthy friend was stabbed 28 times, and the youngest victim—an 18-year-old—was found in the driver’s seat of his car outside, shot four times and stabbed once.
The only survivor was Polanski himself, who was away filming abroad.
The killers left behind messages scrawled in blood—“PIG,” “RISE,” “HEALTER SKELTER”—later confirmed to have been written with Sharon’s blood.
At first, police and the media speculated the murders were mafia-related revenge killings, given their brutality.
But the very next day, another grisly double murder rocked Beverly Hills: the wealthy LaBianca couple, owners of a supermarket chain, were found butchered in their home, with similar bloody words smeared on the walls.
Since the victims of both attacks had no personal ties and robbery or jealousy were ruled out, authorities concluded this was a case of random, serial, ritualistic killings. Panic spread across Los Angeles, especially among the rich and famous.
Polanski even offered a $25,000 reward for leads, but two months passed without progress—until an unexpected breakthrough came from an unrelated case.
2. The Birth of a Cult in 1960s America
In July 1969, police were investigating the murder of a drug dealer and uncovered links to a cult known as the Manson Family. On August 16—just a week after the Tate murders—authorities raided the cult’s hideout, arresting 26 people, including their leader Charles Manson and key follower Susan Atkins.
Atkins, while in jail, horrified fellow inmates by boasting about the Hollywood murders. She declared chillingly: “The killer is sitting right across from you.” Terrified, the women reported her—thus bringing the Manson Family into full view.
Who was Manson?
Born in 1934 to a 16-year-old mother who spent much of her life in jail, Manson grew up neglected, shuffled between homes, and steeped in crime. By adulthood, he was a petty criminal—pimping, forging checks, stealing cars—and spent half his life in prison.
When he was released in 1966, America was in turmoil: the Vietnam War, the assassinations of Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr., the rise of hippie counterculture. To Manson, the chaos was an opportunity.
In 1967, at the “Summer of Love,” he used his charisma to recruit followers—mostly young women searching for meaning. Thus began the Manson Family.
Manson controlled his “family” with classic cult tactics: sleep deprivation, drugs, sex, and psychological manipulation. He led them into caves, claiming only there could they survive the coming apocalypse.
But how did this cult connect with Hollywood?
In 1968, the Manson Family crossed paths with Dennis Wilson, drummer for the Beach Boys. Seduced by Manson’s girls, Wilson let them into his home. Manson, with his charm, convinced Wilson he had musical talent. Wilson even introduced him to record producer Terry Melcher.
When Melcher eventually rejected Manson’s music—partly because Manson couldn’t carry a tune—Manson’s bitterness grew. By then, he and his family had been kicked out of Wilson’s home and relocated to an abandoned movie ranch.
Resentment festered, and the seeds of violence took root.
3. Manson’s “Helter Skelter” and Polanski’s “Baby”
Two events in 1968 fueled Manson’s apocalyptic worldview: the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. and the Beatles’ release of the White Album.
Manson believed the Beatles were prophets, foretelling a coming race war in songs like Helter Skelter. He preached that Black Americans would rise up and destroy white society. To spark this war, he believed, the Family needed to commit murders so brutal they’d be blamed on Black militants.
Meanwhile, Roman Polanski’s Rosemary’s Baby (1968)—a film about satanic cults—had scandalized audiences. In Manson’s twisted mind, Sharon Tate was carrying the Antichrist’s child.
Some later insiders claimed that Tate herself wasn’t the intended target—Terry Melcher, the producer who had spurned Manson, had previously lived at the house on Cielo Drive. By 1969, Polanski and Tate were renting it.
Manson allegedly told his followers: “Go to that house and kill everyone inside. Do it as gruesomely as you can. Leave no survivors.”
4. The Night of Terror
According to later testimony, the murders unfolded with ritualistic cruelty.
Screenwriter Wojciech Frykowski, startled by the intruders, asked, “Who are you?” One replied: “We are here to do the devil’s business.”
The attackers forced the victims to the ground. Sharon, heavily pregnant, pleaded desperately for her child’s life, but her cries only enraged the killers. Jay Sebring, her hairstylist, tried to defend her and was shot and stabbed. Frykowski fought back but was brutally gunned down and stabbed dozens of times. Abigail Folger, the heiress, was chased and stabbed 28 times.
Sharon was left begging to be spared for her unborn baby. Instead, Susan Atkins and others stabbed her repeatedly. Atkins later admitted she considered cutting the baby from Sharon’s womb to present it as an offering to Manson.
The next night, the LaBianca couple were similarly slaughtered, cementing the case as one of America’s most infamous mass murders—forever known as the Manson Murders.
5. Trial, Infamy, and a Disturbing Legacy
Manson was eventually convicted of orchestrating the murders. Initially sentenced to death, his punishment was commuted to life in prison after California abolished the death penalty in 1972.
During his televised trial, Manson turned the proceedings into a grotesque spectacle, using his charisma to deliver cult-like sermons. Shockingly, this won him fans. Some young people even gathered outside court chanting in his support.
His followers continued their devotion: one tried to assassinate President Gerald Ford in 1975, claiming she acted on Manson’s orders.
Manson himself lived until 2017, dying at the age of 83. While in prison, he even attracted young admirers—one of whom he attempted to marry.
Disturbingly, he became a pop-culture antihero. His crude songs were released and covered by other musicians. Rolling Stone once put him on its cover, calling him “the most dangerous man alive.”
The story of Charles Manson reminds us that heaven and hell often coexist in the same world. America’s freedoms created both dazzling creativity and space for evil to thrive.
For Sharon Tate, the world became hell.
And so, when Quentin Tarantino rewrote history in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, letting Tate live and the cultists perish, perhaps it was his way of offering comfort—especially to his friend Roman Polanski.
Because sometimes, the one who survives is the one who suffers the most.
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