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Summary
message warning : The take after article contains treatment of suicide and vilification .
True - crime rooter have had a long - standing fascination with cult , and the in force religious cult documentaries give an unprejudiced , thoroughgoing look into how these community mould . Cult documentaries are so pop because of how ludicrous they can often seem on the outside looking in . Many feature one leader , usually male , who is able-bodied to gather an unprecedented amount of devotion . Those necessitate in these cults seem to be totally enraptured long past the point most masses believe they would bang they ’re being assure lies . There ’s a certain voyeurism in look on this happen .
However , another aspect of these documentaries that makes them so piquant is the build - up is how so many ostensibly every twenty-four hours masses come to be involved in cults . The idea that only the vulnerable are susceptible to being attracted to a cult is challenge . From one position , anyone under the correct condition and stresses of modern life may be have by the idea that there is a upright way of life out there . A rage documentary ca n’t only be a lurid look into an foreign public . The good fad documentaries test to impartially depict how and why these cults study root , and when and where they did .
16Heaven’s Gate: The Untold Story (1999)
One of the more unique cults was Marshall Applewhite ’s , who founded a faith based around outlander . Sergio Myers shares the storey in his cult documentary , Heaven ’s logic gate : The Untold Story . After class of following Applewhite ’s rules , the group came to the conclusion that the only way to unite with these alien beingness would be by destroying their world - bound consistence . In March 1997 , San Diego County deputies discovered the consistence of the Heaven ’s Gate religious cult , victims of a ritual suicide pact . The documentary is commendable unprejudiced , never casting judgment on the Heaven ’s Gate members . However , its info - dump flair of storytelling may be too ironic for some .
15The Six Degrees Of Helter Skelter (2009)
There have been manymovies about the Manson syndicate , as it was perhaps the most notable furor in American history . lead by Charles Manson , several member of the Manson family were tried and jailed for the Tate - LaBianca execution that take place in August 1969.The Six Degrees of Helter Skelterdelves more into the murders themselves and the areas in Los Angeles where the Manson family spent clip . Many of the good religious cult documentaries are film on small budget , and admittedlyThe Six Degrees of Helter Skelterdoesn’t have the best output time value . But despite this , the movie maker manage to uncover some little - known detail about the religious cult .
14Deprogrammed (2015)
This cult documentary follows Ted " Black Lightning " Patrick , a human being who spent much of his calling in the seventies " deprogramming " former cult member . Filmmaker Mia Donovan first fill Patrick when she was 13 , when he was asked by Donovan ’s stepfather to help deprogram her brother Matthew . The film explore the extreme lengths Patrick would go to , including snatch and tight questioning , to break the hold cults have had on people . " He was the first somebody to advocate that there was a likely danger with these variety of groups , " Mia said , viaRefinery29 . It ’s a personal moving picture but one where the impartiality is suspect due to Donovan ’s proximity to the casing .
13Kumaré (2011)
While it may not cut across a cult in the traditional sense , Kumaréby film maker Vikram Gandhi , explores the world of yogis and their followings by posing Gandhi as one . Gandhi calls himself Sri Kumaré , a yogi hailing from a fictitious region of India . He “ journeying ” to Arizona in an endeavor to grow and develop a craze of followers . The documentary film realize rave reviews upon freeing but came under fire for the movie maker ’s conjuring trick and question were arouse about if it was an ethical or even worthful experiment . However , like many of the best cult infotainment , Kumaréexplores how the member themselves are not blameless in how a cult can grow out of controller .
12The Source Family (2012)
The 2012 furor documentaryThe beginning Familydepicts Father Yod and the titular Source Family . Father Yod founded a " spiritual commune " in the Hollywood Hills in the belated 1960s . The Source Family mold a rock band , habitually smoked marijuana and took LSD , and consecrate themselves new figure like " Isis " and " Prism " , all at the behest of their spiritual male parent Yod . The infotainment shows how the fad misappropriated the New Age movement of the ' 60s and ' 70s , dig into the darker side of the chemical group , let in the fad members being nix to practice modern medicine and antibiotics to treat illnesses .
11A (1998)
In 1998 , Tatsuya Mori unblock a cult docudrama about the Aum Shinrikyo Cult . Acenters its focal point on a well - cognize spokesman of the group , Hiroshi Araki , who gave the documentary crowd unprecedented access to the cult ’s business office . standardized to other religious cult acolyte , Araki had to sever all family linkup in joining . The cult claim to be a religious order of Buddhism but end up being more of an radical chemical group . Their terrorist flak on the urban center of Tokyo in 1995 was meant to be a smoke screen to shillyshally the probe into the establishment by local police enforcement . However , the GB gas onset only illuminated the spotlight on the mathematical group .
10Children of God (1994)
tiddler of Godfeatures Sylvia Padilla and her children , who describe their time inside The Family International cult . Founded by David Berg , The Family International , recognise by many name including " Children of God " , was founded in Huntington Beach in the late 1960s and included member such as River and Joaquin Phoenix , Rose McGowan when they were children . Helen Mirren recite and like the best furore documentaries , the truly horrifying nature of the group is n’t revealed until Battle of Midway through the report . Padilla and her daughters disclose how the group authorized the sexual abuse of minors and how the trauma lingers with them to this day .
9Bikram: Yogi, Guru, Predator (2019)
The good cult documentaries persist impartial and fact - driven while still maintaining a compelling narrative , andBikram : Yogi , Guru , Predatormanages that balance well . The Netflix cult documentary concerns Bikram Choudhury , an Indian American guru who popularize his vogue of hot yoga in North America . Filmmaker Eva Orner tracks his rise from outlandish guide to sinister sexual abuser by interviewing his former acolytes . The filming mirror the arc of how a scholarly person may have initially been convinced of Bikram ’s teachings before uncover the iniquity beneath his practices .
8Holy Hell (2016)
Will Allen tells his report as a former member of Buddhafield in his cult documentaryHoly inferno . As a member of the furore for 22 years , Allen exposes abuse leave by their drawing card , Michel Rostand . Allen audience several other former members , all share stories of their time in the Buddhafield cult , some of which include Rostand forcing the member to remain continent while he was destitute to have sex act with them . Allen contribution footage he demand during his Book of Job as a videographer for the mathematical group , extend a first - hand account of the events . At the metre of the film ’s wrapping , the radical still had nearly 100 member .
7Prophet’s Prey (2015)
This documentary is based on the 2011 bookProphet ’s Preyby Sam Brower , who also wait on as the pic ’s manufacturer . The documentary follow Warren Jeffs , the current head of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter - Day Saints who was attempt and lag for the rape of teenage girls . Jeffs is still in care of the system despite being in prison house , and the infotainment chronicle much of the secret dealing and abuse that other members of the church go through . As many of the best documentaries do , Prophet ’s Preybrings in expert like Jon Krakauer and Brower , to allow color and details for the foreboding chronicle .
