What is a cult? In a contemporary context, cults are usually social groups united around a goal, figurehead, or belief. These groups are often led by one voice who employs brainwashing techniques to coerce his or her followers into thinking, acting, and behaving according to rigid standards. In some cases, these cults turn violent – and even deadly.
The best documentaries about cults do more than expose the nefarious people who helm them - they prove how easy it is for every day, well-adjusted individuals to become sucked into these fanatical movements. These individuals are manipulated into avoiding the warning signs until it's too late.
The Vow (2020)
Helmed by award-winning documentary filmmakers Jehane Noujaim and Karim Amer, The Vow is a sweeping HBO series about NXIVM, a multi-level marketing company and self-improvement group that is, in reality, a cult. NXIVM made headlines in 2018 when it's leader Keith Raniere and some of his closest confidantes were charged with crimes like sex trafficking, racketeering, and forced labor.
This docies focuses on a group of people who left NXIVM when they realized something was wrong, and it follows these former as they work to expose what's going on behind the scenes. In great detail, The Vow unravels Raniere's decades-long effort to coerce and manipulate everyone around him, especially women.
Prophet's Prey (2015)
Prophet's Prey, a Showtime original film, exposes the horrifying day-to-day reality of life within the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, an excommunicated off-shoot of the Mormon Church that practices polygamy. Warren Jeffs, who took over the FDLS when his father died in 2002, spent decades preying upon underage girls and boys before he was finally arrested in 2006.
Despite being charged for sexual assault, Jeffs continues to unofficially run the FDLS from prison. Using classic cult leader techniques like manipulation, doomsday prophesies, and severe punishments, Jeffs and his ruling counselors maintain a large following to this day.
Holy Hell (2016)
Director Will Allen shares his experiences as a member of the Buddhafield cult in this compelling documentary. Originally founded in 1980s Hollywood, Buddhafield and its eccentric leader Michael is now based out of Hawaii.
Michael goes by many names, and he's known to don very interesting costumes – from swim briefs to surgical masks. Relying on New Age doctrines, Michael pressures his into remaining through brainwashing, hypnotherapy, and (according to some former male followers) sexual harassment.
A (1998)
In 1995, the Japanese cult Aum Shinrikyo took responsibility for the sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway that killed 12 people and injured dozens more. Now known as Aleph, this death cult was founded by Shoko Asahara in 1984.
A digs into the history of Asahara's movement by telling the story of the cult's spokesman, who disavowed material possessions and his own family before ing. Despite the indictments of multiple for the 1995 attack, Aleph remains an active organization labeled as a terrorist group by many countries.
Helter Skelter: An American Myth (2020)
Marketed as the most comprehensive retelling of the Manson Family's journey from hippie cult to doomsday mass murderers, Helter Skelter is a recent docies from EPIX. Told in six episodes, brutal killings ordered by Charles Manson in 1969, which led to the deaths of pregnant actor Sharon Tate and four of her friends in Hollywood.
Manson, a white supremacist, hoped to incite a race war through these murders. Convinced the world was coming to a violent end, Manson used his status as the group's "master" to compel them to commit heinous crimes.
Wild Wild Country (2017)
Netflix's docies dives into another hippie cult: the Rajneesh movement, which incorporates elements of Buddism, Hinduism, and Taoism. Led by a controversial figure named Rajneesh, Rajneeshees converged on a small town in rural Oregon to start an intentional community in the 1980s: the Rajneeshpuram.
Wild Wild Country details the war that ensued between the Rajneeshees and locals, one that escalated to armed confrontation, allegations of poisoning, and FBI intervention. With its extensive interviews and archival footage, this documentary is almost too insane to believe.
Deprogrammed (2015)
While many cult documentaries focus on the nefarious leaders who indoctrinate their followers, Deprogrammed explains the real toll that cult hip takes on and their families. The movie centers around Ted "Black Lightning" Patrick, a man who went on an anti-cult campaign in the 1970s that often involved illegal tactics.
Parents and law enforcement turned to Patrick to save indoctrinated cult , and the notorious Patrick employed kidnapping and forced captivity to make his "deprogramming" stick. Patrick is a controversial figure, to say the least, and Deprogrammed shows there's no easy answer to ending cult involvement.
Waco: The Rules Of Engagement (1997)
The world watched in horror as the Branch Davidian compound outside Waco, Texas, burned to the ground after a 51-day standoff between federal agents and the group in 1993 over sexual assault and illegal weapons charges. Considered a religious cult, the Branch Davidians were controlled by David Koresh when the confrontation occurred.
While Koresh is believed responsible for multiple acts of abuse toward women and children, the US government received criticism over its handling of events at Waco – which resulted in over 70 Branch Davidian deaths. Waco: The Rules of Engagement digs into what happened over those 51 tense days.
Jonestown: The Women Behind The Massacre (2018)
When followers of Jim Jones participated in a mass suicide at his new intentional community in Guyana, the Peoples Temple solidified itself as one of the deadliest cults in history. By the end of the day on November 18, 1978, 918 were dead – most by ingesting a poisonous cocktail.
Jonestown: The Women Behind The Massacre takes a different approach to telling the Peoples Temple story. This well-made television docies shares firsthand s from women who followed Jones to Guyana, many of whom were involved with him romantically.
Children Of God (1994)
Known these days as the Family International, the Children of God is a free love Christian cult started in Huntington Beach, California. Known for having a young Joaquin Phoenix and Rose McGowan as , the Children of God encourages female to secure new recruits through sexual .
This is just one of the many questionable practices that propagated by the cult's leaders, who give themselves nicknames like "Prophetess" and "King." As this TV documentary proves, the Children of God also encourage underage assault and abuse.
