Holy Hell (2016)

Holy Hell: Directed by Will Allen. With Amy Allen, Cristala Allen, Gina Allen, Will Allen. An inside look at Buddhafield, a West Hollywood cult formed by a charismatic teacher in the 1980s that eventually imploded.

“Sometimes it seems that all cults are built from the same ingredients: a charismatic, but weird, frontman; techniques designed to lose the self, but also to sever members from any external influence; the systematic harvesting by the organisation of the value of its members labour; sexual abuse. Watching u0026#39;Holy Hellu0026#39;, the story of one such cult, the striking thing is how much of the cultu0026#39;s history has been caught on film (in no small part due to the narcissism of its leader); the story, however, seems very familliar, and not unlike not only the story of other obviously similar cults, but also the story of Michael Jackson as recently covered in u0026#39;Leaving Neverlandu0026#39;. Whatu0026#39;s interesting for the outsider is that, while in some senses brainwashed, the cult members canu0026#39;t be said to have simply u0026quot;lost their mindsu0026quot;; they speak logically and eloquently about their experiences, and sometimes with more respect for the cult they have left than the viewer might consider justified. Again, this is familliar from other films about cults; andnshockingly, the man behind the sect featured here is still leading a group of devoted disciples. Itu0026#39;s not obvious how society should deal with groups that are, at some level, voluntarily constituted, yet which act so clearly against their own membersu0026#39; interests. All we can do, perhaps, is to look out for our friends.”