Matt Smith is Manson in First Trailer for Mary Harron's 'Charlie Says'

"We don't talk about our pasts. Our lives started when we met Charlie." IFC Films has released the trailer for Charlie Says, another new film about Hollywood killer Charles Manson. This is the latest film from acclaimed filmmaker Mary Harron (I Shot Andy Warhol, American Psycho, The Notorious Bettie Page), and it premiered at the Venice Film Festival last year. The story focuses on three young women who were sentenced to death in the infamous Manson murder case; when the death penalty was lifted, their sentence became life imprisonment. A woman goes into the prison to teach them, and through her we witness their transformations as they face the reality of their horrific crimes - exploring how it all happened in flashbacks with "Charlie". Matt Smith stars as Manson, with Hannah Murray, Sosie Bacon, Marianne Rendón, Merritt Wever, Suki Waterhouse, Annabeth Gish, Grace Van Dien, and Chace Crawford. I'm not the biggest fan of this film, but it does cover some interesting ground and feature a few great performances.

Here's the first official trailer (+ poster) for Mary Harron's Charlie Says, direct from IFC's YouTube:

Years after the shocking murders that made the name Charles Manson synonymous with pure evil, three women who killed for him—Leslie Van Houten (Hannah Murray), Patricia Krenwinkel (Sosie Bacon), and Susan Atkins (Marianne Rendón)—remain under the spell of the infamous cult leader (Matt Smith). Confined to an isolated cellblock in a California penitentiary, the trio seem destined to live out the rest of their lives under the delusion that their crimes were part of a cosmic plan—until empathetic graduate student Karlene Faith (Merritt Wever) is enlisted to rehabilitate them. Convinced the prisoners are not the inhuman monsters the world believes them to be, Karlene begins the arduous process of breaking down the psychological barriers erected by Manson. But are the women ready to confront the horror of what they did? Charlie Says is directed by Canadian filmmaker Mary Harron, director of the films I Shot Andy Warhol, American Psycho, The Notorious Bettie Page, and The Moth Diaries previously. The screenplay is written by Guinevere Turner; inspired by the book written by Karlene Faith & Ed Sanders. This premiered at the Venice Film Festival last year, and it will play at the Tribeca Film Festival next. IFC Films will release Harron's Charlie Says in select theaters starting May 10th this spring, plus VOD on May 17th. Intrigued?