From seemingly innocent self-help teams to full-blown doomsday cults, listed below are 10 jaw-dropping documentaries that’ll go away you questioning simply how skinny the road between devotion and destruction actually is.
Most of us suppose we’d by no means fall for a cult, however listed below are 10 documentaries that expose simply how simply even the neatest individuals can get tousled in one thing harmful once they’re feeling susceptible. Whether or not it’s celebrities or faculty college students, these people have been simply looking for some connection or which means. As an alternative, they discovered manipulative leaders who twisted their good intentions into one thing dangerous. These documentaries remind us simply how simple it’s for the road between looking for one thing higher and dropping your self fully to blur.
The Vow (2020)
This HBO sequence dives into the fully wild story of how a so-called “self-help group” known as NVIXM ended up turning into an precise intercourse cult proper beneath everybody’s noses. Essentially the most jaw-dropping half is seeing footage of Hollywood stars and executives shopping for into Keith Raniere’s pseudoscientific nonsense about “private progress.” The documentary crew obtained wonderful entry, together with members’ video diaries as they began to comprehend how deep they have been in. It’s particularly heartbreaking watching Mark Vicente and Sarah Edmondson get up to the truth that they not solely fell for it but in addition led others into it for years.
The sequence takes its time exhibiting how good individuals obtained sucked in by means of seemingly harmless “govt success packages” earlier than issues went fully off the rails with the branding-women-like-cattle nightmare. The actual hook is seeing how manipulation works from the within out. In the event you suppose you’d by no means fall for one thing like this, you may wish to suppose once more after watching.
Dancing for the Satan: The 7M TikTok Cult (2024)
Ever get sucked into these oddly hypnotic TikTok dance movies? Effectively, this documentary digs into how Miranda Derrick’s viral dance strikes have been really a large pink flag. By interviews together with her determined household and former dancers, we find out how the 7M Movies administration firm become a cult that remoted dancers from their households and managed each facet of their lives. Seeing the distinction between Miranda’s social media presence earlier than and after becoming a member of 7M is critically eerie.
What’s so fascinating right here is watching how Robert Shinn and his crew used social media fame and dance to lure performers in, making all of it appear completely legit. The doc does an unimaginable job of exhibiting how dance coaching slowly morphed into controlling conduct, all hidden behind a super-polished social media entrance. Each time considerations have been raised, they’d simply throw out one other viral video to distract everybody.
Escaping Twin Flames (2023)
In the event you’ve ever rolled your eyes at these “discover your soulmate” adverts on-line, this documentary will certainly vindicate you. Jeff and Shaleia Divine (yeah, not their actual names) constructed a million-dollar empire by convincing individuals they might assist them discover their “twin flame “— their final religious soulmate. The sequence reveals, in surprising element, how this seemingly innocent New Age idea was twisted to manage individuals’s romantic lives.
Former members clarify how they have been satisfied to stalk or harass individuals labeled as their “twin flame,” even when these individuals clearly weren’t . It’s disturbing to see how they particularly focused LGBTQ+ people and other people with trauma, promising them their excellent relationship if they simply caught to the “divine” steering (and stored shelling out money). You’ll by no means have a look at these religious courting coaches on Instagram the identical approach once more.
Love Has Gained (2023)
Simply if you suppose cult documentaries can’t get any crazier, there’s Amy Carlson, a former McDonald’s supervisor who satisfied her followers she was actually God in a human physique. This doc traces her weird journey to turning into “Mom God” and constructing her cult by means of YouTube and social media. Amy’s day by day “religious updates” are form of humorous till you understand how tragic the results have been.
What makes this doc particularly highly effective is the stark distinction between the group’s sparkly, optimistic social media presence and the disturbing actuality behind the scenes. Former members sharing the second they realized ‘Mom God’ was only a troubled individual is each heartbreaking and revealing. When Amy’s story wraps up together with her loss of life and the weird mummification makes an attempt, it feels surreal to suppose this occurred within the TikTok period.
Daughters of the Cult (2024)
This documentary takes a tough have a look at the generational trauma attributable to the Kingston Clan, a secretive Mormon offshoot that’s nonetheless lively in Salt Lake Metropolis. By candid interviews with girls who escaped, it turns into clear how this so-called ‘non secular group’ used religion as a software for systematic abuse and compelled marriages. The filmmakers seize how the cult maintains management with a mixture of enterprise success and spiritual intimidation. Seeing present Kingston companies working in Utah will go away you shocked — this isn’t some distant compound; it’s occurring proper in suburban America.
Listening to those girls describe rising up believing their lives have been regular, whereas they have been really being groomed for marriage to a lot older relations, is deeply haunting. What makes this documentary highly effective is the way it lets the survivors communicate for themselves, exhibiting each their trauma and unimaginable resilience.
Sins of Our Mom (2022)
Buckle up for the completely wild story of Lori Vallow, a mother who remodeled into somebody who was satisfied her children have been zombies, all due to twisted doomsday beliefs. The documentary takes us by means of Lori’s surprising transformation, pieced collectively by means of interviews with household and information footage.It’s fairly eerie watching Lori’s outdated dwelling movies, the place all the pieces seems to be picture-perfect, and figuring out what was really occurring beneath the floor. Chad Daybell, this doomsday writer who stated he may see individuals’s ‘gentle or darkish spirits,’ ended up main Lori down a extremely darkish path.
The doc doesn’t shrink back from exhibiting how these excessive beliefs led to real-life murders, together with her personal youngsters. By the top, it’s not possible to not marvel how religion obtained twisted to date that it led to such devastating actions.
Kumare (2011)
This one’s a bit totally different — extra of an experiment than an exposé, and it finally ends up being oddly touching. Filmmaker Vikram Gandhi poses as a pretend guru to indicate how simple it’s to create a religious following, however within the course of, he finally ends up constructing an actual one. It’s fascinating to look at Gandhi develop into more and more uncomfortable as individuals begin trusting his pretend persona. Regardless that he’s making it up as he goes, you possibly can see real moments of connection together with his followers.
There’s a stress all through the movie as Gandhi realizes he may really be serving to individuals — even when the whole factor is predicated on lies. When he lastly reveals the reality, it’s each awkward and surprisingly uplifting, exhibiting simply how highly effective perception may be.
The Secrets and techniques of Hillsong (2023)
In the event you thought common church drama was wild, Hillsong takes it to an entire different degree. This doc explores how Carl Lentz, the hip pastor well-known for hanging out with Justin Bieber, ended up on the heart of a large church scandal. Former insiders reveal how Hillsong’s obsession with celeb tradition and its Instagram-friendly picture hid some very darkish realities.
It’s fascinating to see how the church used conventional management ways wrapped up in a millennial-friendly package deal. The interviews with former members who labored intently with Lentz make it clear that, regardless of its trendy branding, it was all too cultish. And when the scandals about affairs and monetary misconduct lastly break, you’re left questioning how they stored up the shiny facade for thus lengthy.
Intercourse, Lies and the Faculty Cult (2022)
This chilling documentary tells how Larry Ray manipulated a gaggle of Sarah Lawrence Faculty college students into what basically grew to become a intercourse cult — all beginning with him crashing on his daughter’s dorm sofa. The filmmakers lay out how Ray used a mixture of pseudo-intellectualism and psychological abuse to realize management over these college students.
Interviews with survivors are heartbreaking, particularly once they describe being satisfied they owed him “favors” to repay imagined money owed. What’s significantly surprising is how Ray twisted the scholars’ elite schooling towards them, utilizing long-winded “philosophical discussions” to tug them deeper into his management. It’s gut-wrenching to listen to households describe dropping their children to this manipulative conman.
Heaven’s Gate (2020)
This deep dive into the notorious UFO cult that led to mass suicide is extra haunting than you may count on. By interviews with former members and unimaginable archival footage, we get a have a look at how Marshall Applewhite and Bonnie Nettles constructed a following of people that genuinely believed they have been aliens trapped in human our bodies. The way in which Heaven’s Gate blended Christian apocalypse with sci-fi made it resonate with individuals feeling misplaced throughout the 70s and 80s. The recruitment movies are eerie, however you possibly can perceive how individuals obtained sucked in.
Listening to from households and survivors is highly effective, particularly once they describe how peculiar and educated most of the members have been earlier than becoming a member of. By the top, when the mass suicide occurs, you’re left with a deep sense of tragedy and a haunting understanding of how individuals may be led to such a call.