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Hulu Documentary Follows Filmmaker Who Learns Charles Manson Is Her Biological Grandfather

A first-person reckoning that mixes therapy footage with archival records to examine whether biology shapes behavior

Photos of filmmaker Sophia Maddox as a child with her father Daniel Arguelles, who is the son of infamous cult leader Charles Manson.
Cult leader Charles Manson in custody led by guards. The new documentary “My Grandfather Charles Manson” could have been a powerful film, but instead, it is a baffling, self-absorbed mess.
Charles Manson was the cult leader who formed the Manson Family in California in the late 1960s. He is most notorious for directing his followers to commit the brutal 1969 Tate-LaBianca murders, which claimed nine lives including pregnant actor Sharon Tate.
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Overview

  • Sophia Maddox discovered the familial link after a genealogy DNA match her father flagged and turned that revelation into the co-directed film My Grandfather Charles Manson, which premieres on Hulu on Wednesday, July 22.
  • The documentary records Maddox’s personal reaction and strained relationship with her father as she investigates hidden family records, unheard audio and the lives of former Manson associates.
  • Maddox filmed therapy sessions and conducts interviews with people connected to Charles Manson, including members of the Manson circle and figures such as photographer Ed Roach and prosecutor Stephen Kay.
  • Early reviews note the film’s emotional candor and its 1 hour 46 minute run time while also saying the real-time approach delivers limited narrative closure, with one notable outcome being Maddox’s decision to change her surname to Maddox.
  • The film raises wider questions about identity, the reach of consumer genealogy testing and the ethics of telling stories tied to notorious crimes as it asks what, if anything, biological ties mean for descendants’ lives.