The Wild Wild World of Cults (in TV and Movies)

April 13, 2018 4:49 PM

I've been on a bit of a kick on watching/listening to shows/podcasts about cults. I finished Charles Manson's Hollywood on the You Must Remember This podcast (SO GOOD) and Wild Wild Country on Netflix (and the OPB documentary too!). What else should I watch?

Slight preference for documentaries/non-fiction content, but definitely open to fiction (Faults, for example, was a great movie about cults).

Also mostly interested in hearing about films/shows/podcasts/books that folks thought were really good and enjoyed than just a list of random documentaries that are just meh.

posted by forkisbetter to Media & Arts (19 answers total)

Jonestown: The Life and Death of Peoples Temple
posted by Thorzdad at 4:57 PM on April 13, 2018 [3 favorites]

The Paramount Network just aired Waco, a six-part miniseries about the FBI/ATF standoff with the Branch Davidians. You can quibble whether the Branch Davidians are actually a cult, and it's a dramatization, but it's based on memoirs (one by a Branch Davidian who survived, and one by the FBI's chief negotiator. It got some criticism for being too sympathetic to David Koresh, but I thought it was good. If you're interested in the inner workings of cults, it spent a lot of time on the practices and beliefs of the Davidians.
posted by kevinbelt at 5:00 PM on April 13, 2018

Best answer: Heaven's Gate podcast - really great.
posted by Knicke at 5:03 PM on April 13, 2018 [2 favorites]

2 Words - Mel Lyman
posted by Freedomboy at 5:18 PM on April 13, 2018 [1 favorite]

Best answer: I watched this PBS documentary on Rajneeshpuram a few months back and it was pretty fascinating.
posted by Ufez Jones at 5:27 PM on April 13, 2018

Best answer: Holy Hell! Also seconding the Heaven's Gate podcast, it's really great.

Jeff Guinn's Manson is also wonderful, and goes even more in-depth than the YMRT series.
posted by quatsch at 5:28 PM on April 13, 2018

'Oh no! Ross and Carrie' the podcast has an amazing series where they join Scientology, among other such groups.

Going Clear is another great Scientology doc.
posted by elke_wood at 5:28 PM on April 13, 2018 [3 favorites]

Response by poster: Not exactly a cult (but similar themes), but the recent PBS American Experience documentaries on the Oklahoma City bombing and Ruby Ridge are both extremely well-done and scarily timely.
posted by forkisbetter at 5:40 PM on April 13, 2018

The recent movie Martha Marcy May Marlene is the best fiction I’ve seen about a cult. It’s very tough to watch: one murder scene that’s unforgettably tense and fairly graphic, a sexual assault (not long or graphic, but clear), and an overall atmosphere of intense tension and unease. But if those sound tolerable, it’s both a fantastic exploration of why and how violent cults can develop and a fantastic piece of art.
posted by kalapierson at 6:10 PM on April 13, 2018 [5 favorites]

Can I offer a negative endorsement? Do not watch the most recent season of “American Horror Story,” which is called “American Horror Story: Cult,” because even though it’s about cults, it’s not informative or revealing in any way.
posted by ejs at 6:35 PM on April 13, 2018 [1 favorite]

Came in to suggest Martha Marcy May Marlene and also the short film, Mary Last Seen, which is a prequel, of sorts and shows the cult's recruiting practices.

The Path on Hulu is also okay.
posted by PhoBWanKenobi at 6:45 PM on April 13, 2018

The Source Family is good.
posted by otio at 7:19 PM on April 13, 2018

Seconding Holy Hell, though it's pretty disturbing. The Source Family is much more enjoyable, though it's clear that Father Yod was abusive and controlling in his own ways.
posted by scruss at 7:31 PM on April 13, 2018

Best answer: Podcasts: Cults looks at all kinds of cults. The hosts have a very scripted, NPR-voice shtick which isn't my favorite, but the information can be fascinating. The Heaven's Gate podcast miniseries mentioned above is excellent. Dear Franklin Jones is a miniseries currently running that is similar in tone. Franklin Jones was also known as Adi Da, if that rings a bell. Casefile is mostly true crime, but case 60 (three parts) is all about Jonestown and is very good. Speaking of Jim Jones, The Road to Jonestown is a recent book on Jim Jones and follows him from birth to the last days of Jonestown. It's great.
posted by lovecrafty at 7:37 PM on April 13, 2018

I have recommended this before on the green, it was the single most compelling podcast episode I have ever listened to in my life.

Tim Binall interviewed Jonestown survivor Leslie Wagner-Wilson in 2015. She's a remarkable woman. You'll see.
posted by jbenben at 9:19 PM on April 13, 2018

There's a 1981 Canadian film called "Ticket to Heaven" that's a favorite of mine. It's obscure, but is well searching out for.
posted by AlonzoMosleyFBI at 6:06 AM on April 14, 2018

Seconding Oh No Ross and Carrie. They go to lots and lots of odd places.
posted by flabdablet at 10:31 AM on April 14, 2018

For books on Scientology I recommend Bare-faced Messiah by Russell Miller, and Let’s Sell These People A Piece Of Blue Sky by Jon Atack. I enjoyed the Scientology show by Leah Remini enough to watch a few episodes, but its not essential viewing.

Seconding the recs above for the Jonestown and Waco documentaries, both answer questions which often get forgotten in shorter takes on the topic.
posted by harriet vane at 2:14 AM on April 15, 2018

The 3rd episode of the BBC series The Century of the Self deals with the "human potential" movement - est, Werner Ehrhard, Mind Dynamics, etc and all their descendants, like The Forum and Psi Seminars. Whether you agree that they're cults or not, their tactics are cultlike. Very interesting, especially in the context of the whole series which traces the 20th fascination with the individual. All 4 are on YouTube, complete.
posted by Miko at 5:30 PM on April 15, 2018