As evidenced by the success of recent series likeWild Wild CountryandThe Vow, we humans are fascinated by cults. These segmented groups follow specific, usually taboo beliefs, often masterminded by a charismatic figurehead who, more often than not, has nefarious goals of power behind their facade of newfangled ideas of how to live. They thrive on multiplication, recruitment, and punishment of anyone who dares speak against or uncover the truth behind their system. Cults are fascinating corruptions of that basic human need to socialize and find our group of like-minded people. We’re fascinated by them because we think to ourselves, “Could this be me? Am I that gullible? Is this cult that convincing?”
With that lens in mind, I’ve examined 20 of the best fictional movies about cults with one simple, personal, interactive question: What are my chances of surviving this cult? These films are arranged from “most likely to survive” to “least likely to survive,” and I hope they spark the kinds of discussion that I always love from the best movies exploring the darker impulses of the human condition: What wouldyoudo?
20. The Master
Philip Seymour Hoffmanis a powerful force, an acting titan who makes sense to successfully lead a cult that’s kinda-sorta based on Scientology. But ultimately,The Masteris too interested in poking at the vulnerabilities that lead to the inherent destruction of said cult and any emotionally volatile participants (looking at you,Joaquin Phoenix) therein to present a real threat of taking me over. I’m not gonna lie: A cult leader who vulgarly buckles under the pressure of a few polite “Excuse me’s” is not a cult leader who can successfully brainwash me. You gotta have unchecked confidence as a cult leader, and from his pig-inspired outbursts to his power-play sexual dominations byAmy Adamsto his eventual explicit instruction for Phoenix to never find a master again, Hoffman’s “The Cause” is one that could never persuade me.
There are many admittedly scary (and admittedly problematic) elements to the Eastern-culture-appropriating cult at the center ofHelp!, the secondBeatles-starring feature film that’s rife with full color pop art, music video-foreshadowing imagination and surrealism. They’re interested in human sacrifice, they have a large cabal of followers, they have various pieces of sci-fi machinery, they’re powerful enough to be able to stalk the most powerful band in the world so they can kidnap a certain ring-wearingRingo Starrto murder him. Their Achilles' heel? Shenanigans.Richard Lesterand his Beatles are masters of staging silly slapstick set pieces, turning the most fearsome of cult hunters into doddering nincompoops easily defeated by enough frenetic moxie and musical performances. I may have to hide my love away, but I don’t see myself needing to hide in fear from this particular cult.
18. Sound of My Voice
Sound of My Voiceis an intoxicating, tension-filled, beautifully ambiguous low budget thriller. It asks its documentary filmmaker protagonistChristopher Denhamto keep believing what he knows to be factual — this society is a cult led by a fraud — while the sound ofBrit Marling’s voice — and various unexplainable occurrences — luringly insist it’s all true. It’s a phenomenal feature that explores the fragility of structures like monogamy, righteous confrontation, even linear time. The impulse to believe Marling is palpable, even understandable, especially given her offering of a glimmer of hope in a certainly doomed future. The main guy even looks like me! I’m gonna be putty in this cult’s hands, right?
Well, no. Because part of the initiation involves eating an apple and vomiting it up. And I, simply,hatevomiting. I had to turn away during this scene and I feel weird even writing about it. Yes, within the context of the scene it actually makes Denham believe Marling more, and yes, there are more tangible, fact-based reasons to doubt Marling’s shaky story. But the moment a cult leader asks me to puke, I’m running the hell out of there, and no one will be able to stop me. A cult of personality will always be trumped by the power of emetophobia.
17. The Village
In a sense, the cult fromThe Villagemay have already defeated me. Because when I look at the foundational reasons of the cult’s existence, I think to myself, “That’s not so bad!” At the center of any other cult, movie or otherwise, tends to come a selfishly human need for power. But the reasons forWilliam Hurtto create this compound where members of our modern society exist in a pretend 19th century village are fundamentally altruistic and protective — in intent, at least. Hurt and several other adults have suffered endless trauma in our real world; in this village, hidden away from such modern trauma, all will be safe, understandable, peaceful. To an extent, I get it!
With, of course, some pretty wild exceptions. For one: The children born within this cult have no say into whether they believe the Big 19th Century Lie, because it’s presented as truth to them; this is a level of insidious brainwashing that’s hard to forgive and hard to combat. And for two, there are, like, giant bone monsters that attack people who try to escape. These do present challenges to my survival, to be sure, especially if I’m hypothesizing a world where I’m born into this and accept it as “reality” rather than “choice.” But I consider myself, likeBryce Dallas HowardandJoaquin Phoenix, a naturally curious person, one who loves to investigate, to poke, to find the substance behind the costume. So once I realize in some way these bone monsters are just costume, not to be particularly feared, I have a feeling the remaining unveilings and re-acclimations into society would occur in short order after — even as I admit the therapeutic allure of inventing an old-timey village to deal with trauma.
The mythology and ostensible beliefs behindChris Hemsworth’s cult inBad Times at the El Royaleshould be enough to discredit it as a threat on paper alone. There’s not much substance behind what he’s selling, beyond vague, Scientology-cum-Charles-Manson notions of freeness, clarity, and utopian ideals (that somehow manage to involve killing non-believers, wouldn’t ya know!). I don’t see this cult having enough of an appeal to even get me close enough to orbit to threaten me…
…except for the Chris Hemsworth of it all. Hemsworth is, as we all know, unbelievably charismatic and attractive. When he reaches out his hand to “save"Cailee Spaeny, lit like Christ carrying you on the beach with only one set of footprints, I’m taking it without thinking. And his character is wonderful at using this innate charisma in a twisted, trapping sort of way, turning on a dime to threaten murder, punition, revenge when he needs to, without breaking a smile (even as he often breaks his shirt). He’s able to gum up the works of an entire hotel filled with capable gangsters by the power of his own power alone, making him a cult leader worth being scared of. I’d like to think my brain would triumph over my instinct before getting caught in the snare, but I’m not entirely sure.
15. The Wicker Man (2006)
To be blunt: If I were to find myself in the 1974 version ofThe Wicker Man, I would die immediately. That’s why I’m tackling the controversially campy 2006 remake as a more intriguing case study. I’d like to think I could pop on a bear suit, punch some pagan waifs, and scream the hell out of there, asNicolas Cagedoes so explosively. It’s a disruptive strategy, one that shocks the cult in the film out of their complacency, and one I suspect would work even harder in a real life scenario (picture me in a gorilla outfit scissor-kicking someone trying to give me Kool-Aid).
But then again, Cage ends the film by being ended. A bunch of bees sicced on him. Screaming that killing him won’t bring back their goddamn honey; being unheard; killed. Much like businesses like MoviePass, perhaps disruption only has a limit to efficacy. Perhaps Cage’s technique in this film burns too bright too quickly. Perhaps the silly business ofNeil LaBute’sWicker Mandeserves more reverence, more fear.
14. Hot Fuzz
I grew up in the suburbs; more of aNick Frosteating ice cream and devouring action movies than aSimon Peggin the city making the action himself. And while I’ve since moved to the big city where I hear the sound ofHot Fuzzpretty constantly, the foundational siren call of the suburbs remains tempting. I feel like I wouldthrivein Sandford, the small Gloucestershire village Pegg relocates to. It’s pleasant, quiet, everyone knows each other, and everyone seems content in their small circle of life. Like a frog in slowly boiling water, I could see the whole “murderous neighborhood council that will do anything to ensure they’re ‘village of the year’” unnoticeably washing over me, and I could see myself willing to participate in such evil actions to keep my small circle content.
And even if I do snap out of this pall, as Pegg helps Frost do, that doesn’t change the fact that everyone in this town is packing serious heat, and is willing to engage in all kinds of action movie-esque firefights and set pieces to protect themselves. Granted, they’re all older folks and not in the most “action movie ready shape,” which gives me at least the advantage of youth if it comes down to it. And I don’t have as emotional attachment to the people of the city; it’s more about the vibe, which I’m guessing I could find in any other quiet English suburb. It’d be really, really tough, but I think I could get outta this one by the skin of my Cornetto-coated teeth.
13. Martha Marcy May Marlene
The cult at the center ofMartha Marcy May Marleneis objectively terrifying. Led by the megalomaniacal, manipulating, and ultimately murderousJohn Hawkes, this group of land-living, boundary-blending drifters asserts power by explicit emotional and sexual abuse, and insidious identity disruption and erasure (the title comes from Hawkes instantly callingElizabeth Olsen, who’s name is Martha, Marcy May). To an extent, I find this flagrant wielding of “we are a murderous power-seeking cult led by a pretty obvious monster” to be disadvantageous to a cult’s ability to lure me in with honey; there would not be much room for temptation to stay once I see what the deal is. But then again, the film concerns Olsen trying to leave the cult, and goes into detail of not only how agonizing her trauma remains (manifested in Olsen’s paranoia and erratic behavior), but how pervasive the cult wants to keep her in their claws. It ends on a truly sour note of the lingering evils that remain from evil gripping claws into you. It’s a fight you have to remain vigilant about every single day; this film makes the convincing case that you’re not always going to win.
12. Manos: The Hands of Fate
Another camp classic that is — and I mean this as a sincere compliment — way, way, aggressively worse than Cage’sWicker Man.Manos: The Hands of Faterocketed into the “Best Bad Movie” conversation thanks to a particularly iconic episode ofMystery Science Theater 3000. It’s often out-of-focus, rife with bizarrely elongated takes of not much at all, has a truly silly repetitive synth score, and features some of the most bizarre performance techniques you’ll ever witness in cinema. To even get to reckoning with the threat level of the cult, which features a vampiric Master (Tom Neyman), a litany of brainwashed wives, and the threat of human sacrifice to Manos, their god whose hands are of fate, there’s a ton of form-based nonsense to engage with, and yes, ridicule. Surely, such an incompetently-made piece of outsider hilarity proves this cult ain’t nothin', right?
Think again. TheManoscult is surprisingly effective, surprisingly magic, and because of all the oddness, surprisingly endearing. Well, to me at least; I love Torgo (Tom Neyman) with all my heart, finding his jagged, clipped matter of talking and walking to be charming and intriguing. I would follow Torgo into the dark, and once I got there, realized it was a polygamist cult with intentions of brainwashing my wife and sacrificing me to a god, and tried to leave, it would be very difficult given that shooting the Master point blank in the facedoes nothing.
It’s a perilously effective cult tactic. Look charmingly incompetent on the outside, be irrationally evil on the inside. I wonder if there’s a recent political figurehead that pulled the same trick on half the country…
11. Midnight Special
I’ll be blunt about this one: The only reason the heroic participants ofMidnight Specialmake out of the clutches of members of the Ranch, a religious cult run bySam Shepardthat seems to infiltrate and chase a family on the run with fervent, militaristic force despite Shepard himself being nabbed by authorities, is because of a child, played byJaeden Lieberher, who possesses fierce and fearsome powers. The ultimate thing that stops the Ranch as we see play out in the narrative? Liberher literally opening up a portal to an alternate, friendly-alien-filled dimension and escaping to there.
I do not possess such a child. I do not know how to create a portal to an alternate dimension. This would be a lot harder for me.
