Cult Documentaries
A list of documentaries about cults
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46 titles
- StarsVernon GosneyLeslie Wagner-WilsonTim CarterDocuseries looking back on the Jonestown Massacre on the 40th anniversary.
- StarsJanja LalichBenjamin ZellerRobert BalchA comprehensive analysis of the UFO cult. The disappearance of 20 people, and the largest suicide on U.S. soil. Forever changing the face of modern era religion.
- StarsNatasha PavlovichGlen WingerdCarey WingerdFollows the Remnant Fellowship Church, exploring the fame and power of its leader Gwen Shambling Lara as a diet guru and church leader, and the truth behind her carefully-curated image, detailing the church's controversial practices.
- StarsSarah EdmondsonMark VicenteBonnie PiesseA look at the experiences of the members of the NXIVM, an organization and sex cult that made headlines for being charged with sex trafficking, racketeering, and conspiracy.
- StarsCatherine OxenbergIndia OxenbergJanja LalichSeduced follows India Oxenberg's abuse and her own culpability inside the NXIVM cult, an organization marketed as a self-help group.
- StarsAmanda CoffmanJodi GrahamChip HellmanA self-help group simply looking to improve their lives soon finds themselves subjected to a megalomaniac leader who blackmailed, brainwashed, and branded his female members.
- StarsLeah ReminiMike RinderMary KahnA series featuring stories from former members of the Church of Scientology whose lives have been affected by the Church's alleged harmful practices.
- StarsMike WatkissElissa WallRebecca MusserExamines the rise of Warren Jeffs in the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and his shocking criminal case.
- StarsMa Anand SheelaPhilip ToelkesJane StorkWhen Osho, the world's most controversial guru, builds an Utopian city deep in the Oregon country, conflict with the locals escalates into a national scandal.
- StarsMike CarusoChris UrquhartElizabeth Stuart-MorrisTold by survivors, news clips and audio recordings of David Koresh. It tells the story of how he rose to power as their "prophet" and then fell from glory in the standoff and fire that made history.
- StarsSimone McKnewA two-part series that examines the plague of sex abuse in the Amish community and the broken criminal justice system that has failed to protect the victims.
- A group of Sarah Lawrence College students fall under the influence of a friend's father, Larry Ray. The series follows the cult from its origins through its still-unfolding aftermath.
- DirectorEric SanterreStarsKim HandysidesJacques St-PierreArnaud BédatTemplar capes, luminous swords, rituals and speeches, OTS meetings would look like a fair if the sect had not been one of the most deadly in history.
- CreatorDrew DowdleJohn Erick DowdleStarsMichael ShannonGiovanni RibisiKeean JohnsonFive-part drama series portraying the searing aftermath of the disastrous Waco standoff at the Branch Davidian compound - an event that galvanized American militia movements and helped radicalize Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols.
- DirectorWill AllenStarsWill AllenDimitrius PulidoPhillipe CoquetAn inside look at Buddhafield, a West Hollywood cult formed by a charismatic teacher in the 1980s that eventually imploded.
- DirectorMaria DemopoulosJodi WilleStarsAhom AquarianIsis AquarianDon BollesA charismatic leader founds a commune in Los Angeles in the early '70s based on natural food, spiritual practices and psychedelic rock. This short-lived era is recreated with archival material and the memories of participants.
- DirectorJohn SmithsonStarsHelen MirrenSylvia PadillaDebbie PadillaA family describes their time within a religious cult, one that perpetuated pedophilia, sexual abuse, and prostitution.
- DirectorAmy BergStarsNick CaveElaine AndersonSam BrowerWhen Warren Jeffs rose to Prophet of the Fundamentalist Church of Latter Day Saints, he took control of a religion with a history of polygamous and underage marriage. In a short time, Warren managed to expand these practices and the power of his position in unprecedented ways. He bridged the gap between sister wives and ecclesiastical rape, befuddling the moral compass of his entire congregation. The film examines Warren Jeffs' life and shows how he became a worshiped and adored Prophet. Warren has a devout following numbering in the tens of thousands, many of whom would give their life at any moment with just one word from the Prophet. Despite a trail of abuse and ruined lives, Warren has maintained his grip on power.
- DirectorBen AnthonyStarsAlex HannafordDanielle SayerEsther SayerMichael Travesser says he's the Messiah and that God has told him the world will end with an apocalyptic event at midnight on 31 October 2007. As leader of a cult in a remote corner of New Mexico called Strong City, this 66-year-old former sailor, previously called Wayne Bent, has spent nearly 20 years preparing his 56 unquestioning and devoted followers for Doomsday. They say they are all preparing for death, to go to a better place. As the programme delves into the world of Strong City, the program find out whether Michael Travesser is about to lead his cult to suicide. Will this be another tragedy like Jonestown or Waco? Or is Travesser just a skilful manipulator, who undermines his subjects before convincing them that he is the route to all wisdom? Our world did not come to an end on 31 October 2007 - but did theirs?
- StarsCarl LentzDan AdlerAlex FrenchExploring one of America's most successful megachurches and the investigative reporting that lead to the dismissal of two prominent pastors.
- StarsElizabeth VargasTeddy HoseStephen KentA look inside the mysterious world of organized cults.
- CreatorJason BolickiStarsTheresa CroftNathalie FrederickJess CaglePeople Magazine Investigates: Cults explores shocking stories of ordinary people who, lured by promises of eternal life, get caught up in a terrifying web of abuse, deception, and manipulation. PEOPLE journalists cover the deeply disturbing world of cults through the eyes of survivors who managed to escape.
- StarsAmanda KnoxLara FoxRoger HervasDocuseries based on the life of televangelist Tony Alamo.
- DirectorBill PerrineStarsRuth NormanCharles SpiegelLani CalvertUsing rare archival footage and interviews, Children of the Stars chronicles a UFO contactee group as they relive their past lives on other planets by making their own science fiction films.
- StarsPeter DinklageLola BlancDiane BenscoterLook inside the cult leader's playbook for achieving unconditional love, endless devotion and the power to control people's minds, bodies and souls.