I'm not exactly sure if "Tragic Ceremony" was inspired by the Manson killings, but there's a direct reference in it. The film stars Camille ("I Spit on Your Grave") Keaton as the lone woman in a group of hippies who get out of a rain storm only to find themselves in a mansion where there's a satanic sacrifice occurring. Aside from looking bored, Camille's main contribution to the film is taking a bath.

Being that the entire thing is in Italian with subtitles, it's a bit hard to follow, but from what I gathered, a set of pearls given to Camille by one of the hippies hoping to get in her pants allows the participants in the sacrifice to possess her after they all kill each other in a "look, we've been discovered, let's die" frenzy. After that, the hippies depart thinking everything is over only to discover that each time they look at Camille for more than a few seconds, either she turns into a mummy or one of them goes crazy and drives their motorcycle off a cliff.

"Tragic Ceremony" needed a whole lot less of the three hippie dudes whining over who might or might not sleep with Camille and a whole lot more naked chicks dancing around for no reason. Also, I don't know about anyone else, but as far as Euro-trash horror films go, satanic rituals are one of the least interesting things. Okay sure, a guy gets his head chopped in half, but that's about the film's only decent scene.

"Tragic Ceremony" is definitely tragic.